Yuma, AZ. 6036 miles.

I left Los Angeles this morning early and left some heart-felt notes for Christo, Astrid, Sebastian, and Anika. I will never forget their generosity and I know now I have a new family on the west coast.

For some reason I decided I needed to see the PCH through to the end so I took CA 1 through the sprawling strip malls of Orange County all the way to San Diego. If you are following this route, please do not ever do this. It is nothing but Starbucks and Del Tacos stretching to the horizon and you will stop at a red light every quarter mile. When I finally had a close call with a fire truck who just decided it didn’t want to sit at a red light for 2 minutes I got on the intestate and booked it to San Diego.

I San Diego, I made my way to the Mexican border. This whole leg felt like a chore as I had been in Vancouver a few days earlier and wanted to know I had ridden the entirety of the West Coast. Border Field was exactly as unfulfilling as you might expect, complete with Border Patrol jeeps winding through all of the horse parks that dot the landscape between the suburbs of San Diego and the straight up razor wire border fence.

I said my last goodbyes to the Pacific Ocean at Border Field and made a very hard left turn. Seeing “East” on the highway signs was a bit of a shock and I knew that even though there are thousands of miles left in this trip I am officially on my way back home now.

The coast quickly gave way to the rocky hills of Southern California. Up at 5000 feet the air was a beautiful 80 degrees and the rocks posed in gorgeous red and grey panoramas. Little did I know that I was about to head into an absolute furnace. By the time I got to sea level on the other side of the hills the temperature was at 114 degrees and climbing. Every possible millimeter of skin that was exposed by the edge of my jacket or the neck roll of my helmet became a microwave spot in minutes.

I stopped in El Centoro for gas and lunch and the temperature was nearing 120 degrees. I knew I was only about 60 miles from Yuma and I decided I could solider on for that long through the desert.

The desert has a ver singular beauty to describe. Coming through the gravel mountains of Cleveland Forest down into the desert valley and through the Imperial Dunes was a beautiful ride. Unfortunately I was focusing all of my energy on not passing out from the extreme heat so I decided all of you can go see for yourself in lieu of my pictures.

Everything was going as well as could be expected until 2 miles before the Arizona state line when the California Highway Patrol caught me in a speed trap. I couldn’t care less about the ticket, but the patrolman made me stand on the side of the highway in that terrible desert heat for 20 minutes while he ran my license. To make it worse, there was as sign showing Yuma was 2 miles away right by the hell hole I had to wait in. All I could think about was an air conditioned room. I was delirious from the heat sitting in the shoulder by the time he let me go.

I stopped in Yuma, AZ, where I literally pulled in at 3:10 (thanks, California Highway Patrol) and basked in some much needed AC before heading down to their amazing historic Main Street. Some of the best locals I’ve met on this trip so far, Yuma is a true place to see if you’re in the southwest. The very definition of an old border town, the people are as friendly as their storefronts.

Tomorrow I head back into the desert towards Pheonix to spend a couple days with my parents in their beautiful new house in the mountains.

Wyatt Neumann was a phenomenally talented photographer and director, a loving husband and father, and a passionate motorcyclist. On June 11th he was doing what he loved riding in Delaware when he suffered a brain aneurysm which caused him to lose control of his motorcycle. He died shortly after. Wyatt was instrumental in both inspiring this trip and planning many of its routes and logistics. The title of this site was unapologetically stolen from his series of photographs from his own travels. He leaves behind a wife and two young children. A memorial fund has been established to help his family in this very trying time. Please consider donating. Any amount will help. Thank you.

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