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new cycling diary of chris mcintosh / c.mcintosh photo

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TransMojave - Day 7 - Sourav and Pau celebrate as we roll through the ridiculously fancy Palazzo lobby with our bikes. We made quite a scene.

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TransMojave - Day 7 - After rolling into the Strip, we made the necessary stop in front of the sign, where some nice Russian guy offered to take our photo. 

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TransMojave - Day 7 - Nick cresting the top where we met the highway that brought us into Las Vegas. We branched off from a dirt road and were sent through a rollercoaster-like downhill trail network in Cottonwood Valley, including trails named Three Mile Smile, Dead Horse, and Badger Pass. 

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TransMojave - Day 7 - Crossing Ivanpah Lake, en route to the tiny Casino town of Primm, NV. The lake is at least 7 miles across, though we could see the highway clearly from the beginning. 

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TransMojave - Day 6 - Mojave Preserve. Pau finishing a blast of a long, rough descent, and onto a joshua-tree-lined dirt road descending into Nipton, CA on the NV border. The one time I managed to get in front of everybody after lunch, I saw the shot and waited a few minutes for someone to come through.

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TransMojave - Day 6 - Mojave Preserve. Trevor took this from the Pathfinder, of Jenn and I riding. Loved the camera angle, and my legs look good.

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TransMojave - Day 6 - Lunch in the shade at the top of Black Canyon Rd. This was a hard, hard day of riding but the terrain was incredible, and there was no civilization for many miles. This was the first day I had a beer mid-ride.

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TransMojave - Day 6 - Mojave Preserve. We turned off the road onto a power line road, and followed it up and around a mountain range, switching back and twisting and turning. We had climbed 2400′ in about 10 or 15 miles, but the view from every switchback made it all so worth it. Dana and Chris can be seen cresting the road.

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TransMojave - Day 6 - Amboy, CA. Our trucks stopped for snacks at the famous yet forgotten Roy’s Cafe and Motel on Rt 66. Once booked every night, what’s left is a gift shop, $5/gallon gas, and a row of empty rooms.

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TransMojave - Day 6 - Amboy, CA. A fenced trailer park community, complete with barbed wire, a keep out sign, and dogs barking, lays at the bottom of a mountain range. Sourav quickly said “Ok, I want to get out of here now!”

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TransMojave - day 5 - Our rest day. Murphy and Trevor cook up a warm lunch for us after a short spin around Joshua Tree.

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TransMojave - day 4 - north of Lucerne Valley, CA, following some swoopy doubletrack where being on mountain bikes was a big advantage. 

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TransMojave - day 4 - a dry lake bed, somewhere. Many sick skidz were had.

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TransMojave day 3 - Following Michael’s wheel through some sandy BLM tracks in the Grass Valley wilderness en route to Barstow, CA. 

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TransMojave day 3 - view from Opal Mountain, with Pau.

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TransMojave - Day 3 - Hiking up to Opal Mountain. The color of the gravel grew deeper as we ventured towards the canyon. 

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TransMojave day 3 - Ridgecrest, CA. Chris and I attempt to cross an unrideable, not-so-dry lake bed.