384.7 mile ride over two days. Day 2 is uploaded at: http://ridewithgps.com/trips/4315753 First day of the Orange County-Borrego Springs 600k brevet with the PCH Randos, organized by Willie Hunt. Hot in the dessert, but not as bad as might be expected with the heat wave that was forecast. My biggest issue was only getting one hour of sack time the night before, which caused me problems late in the ride with great mental fatigue, which seemed to translate to slow speeds as well, and which contributed (together with Garmin navigation snags) to my confusing directions and taking a bonus detour out of Salton City. I did an extra 8.1 miles there (and only 243', but it felt like more) on the roughest road(s) I've ever ridden for that distance. I had too little water to ride hard into the headwinds with what would otherwise be easy climbing because breathing hard with my mouth open in that really dry air left me parched very quickly, and meant I needed to drink more water; I had not topped off my CamelBak when I returned to the route after my little detours, and so I had a problem and had to ride slow in order to breath slow and conserve water. I was carrying Gatorade in my water bottles, and I was sick of Gatorade and really just needed fresh water. I finally stopped a truck which was exiting from a OHV area hotel (Desert Ironwoods Resort in Ocotillo Wells) and asked if they had water they could spare, or direct me to some, and they pointed down the long, sandy, dirt road to the hotel, which I took. I met some very friendly people around the pool; one couple gave me a 16.9 oz bottle of bottled water, and another group of guys let me fill up from their tap (well water), and offered me a beer, which I would have enjoyed if I had not already been so, so sleepy. (Only a 0.55 mi. bonus...but definitely mixed terrain!) This route was an adventure, with a lot of what were new roads and trails for me, which are always welcome. We took the SART (which has gaps here and there) all the way from PCH to our northern most point of the route in San Bernardino just short of Loma Linda (at mile 86.4); that last section of SART started at the entrance to the Hidden Valley Wildlife Area at mile 68.8. One road, IMHO, needs to be avoided though, Johnson Rd alongside the I-10 (at mile 115.5); in spite of the perils of riding on the interstate, it would be preferable. The vibration was so great on Johnson Rd that my headlight broke off of its bracket (and I had the pleasure of holding it in one hand or the other from about 8PM to 1AM); I could carry a spare bracket, which was in my drop bag, but at some point I'd have to start pulling a Bob Trailer (LOL). I was bunny-hopping 2"-1' cracks crossing the pavement, and I heard another rider pinch-flatted when he rammed into one, which is no surprise. It's downhill with a strong tailwind, so you don't want to pick your way along at 10 mph just to enjoy the dry heat. Some of the roads in the desert (Palm Springs area, and continuing) are a little sketchy with a disappearing shoulder and cars wanting to go fast, so it is necessary to just take the lane in those situations.