It never rains but it pours

I woke up at 3am to high winds and fine rain. I threw the tent fly over the pannier with the lap top and climbed into my gore tex bivvy bag.I figured it would blow over by the time I wanted to get up, too late to put the tent up now.

At 8 it was raining hard , really hard. Hard cold rain with icy winds and it was showing no sign of stopping. I had to get up. I put the tent up to have a dry space to get organised in to keep my things dry. It was freezing cold, I couldn't feel my hands.

The tent was up. It started to hail. I got dressed as if it was November in the hills in England(fleece,rain gear,thick gloves and hat). It felt like it was. At 4000ft it gets pretty cold at night it turns out.

I got on the bike and coasted down to the border town of Jacumba. At 10mph I couldn't feel my hands or feet, nor could I comfortably look up to see where I was going. Today I was supposed to descend the In Ko Pah Gorge. 6 miles of twisting 6% descent from 3500ft to near sea level on an Interstate Freeway (American for motorway). It is noted for it's extreme winds.

Seeing as I couldn't see where i was going I thought I'd stop for coffee at a little restaurant in Jacumba and warm up a little and wait for the weather to pass. The Super friendly clientele filled me in on the details from the outside world.

This was the worst storm this year in southern California, in fact it was the first time it had rained in San Diego for 180 days. A cause for celebration, once you've got the feeling back in your hands! The 4000ft passes I'd crossed yesterday at Pine Valley now had snow on top. There had been multiple crashes on the interstate: oil builds up during the dry season and the first rains of the year turn it into a big old skid pan.

It wasn't going to stop soon apparently. The winds and rain were due to last all day. The hotel had a jacuzzi fed by a natural hot springs. My fate was sealed! Too dangerous to go down the gorge and so tempting to stay there.

I spent the day resting my aching limbs,I had to admit I needed a rest day. After all I'm not really a cyclist. Not one of those lycra clad ultra fit types. I'm just a guy with a bike who decided to ride a long way so see a country on the cheap. My legs were sore, the hot spa was just the job.

Sometimes you just have to forget your schedule and take what life offers you. I met some really interesting Californians in that pool and they told me all sorts of things about where I was going and where I'd been. I ate delicious food and most importantly I didn't crash or freeze to death.

I really can't afford to do this too often though, I owe my funds about 8 days of wild camping now to break even. The Yuma desert awaits with plenty of nights out under the stars I hope.