Early morning coffee-making at Coyote Springs, Mojave National Preserve

I'm inspired by yesterday's great hike into Bighorn Basin, and the hot morning sun prompts me to get up a little early (9h is early for me) for today's ride to the Butcher Knife Canyon area on the northwest side of the New York Mountains.

Breaking camp and packing up

So much for being up early, it's already past 11h and I'm still not on the road yet. Procrastination rules! But I have to get to Kelso Depot soon because almost all my water bottles are empty.

OK, I'm finally on my way down the road away from Coyote Springs

At least I've managed to get on the road by noon! Now I'm completely out of water; the sooner I get to Kelso Depot to refill my supply, the better.

I've got three miles of this somewhat sandy road from Coyote Springs to ride on a slight downhill

I have great views of Kelso Dunes down below and the road is fun to ride in this slight downhill, as I skid and scooter the bike along the more slippery stretches.

After 30 minutes, I reach the pavement of Kelbaker Road

It has been a lot of fun up here, but since I'm out of water, I'm looking forward to filling up at Kelso Depot 8.5 miles down the hill in the valley.

A roadkill specimen greets me just as I'm about to start the ride down Kelbaker Road

This may have been a turkey vulture. I recognize them when they hover in the sky patrolling the land, but I'm not used to seeing them up close like this.

I can't resist taking a closer look at this big bird

Presumably, another turkey vulture should come by soon to clean up the mess.

The 8.5-mile descent down Kelbaker Road to Kelso Depot is always fun

It's early Monday afternoon, so there's not much traffic, which makes it funner. I almost reach 30 miles per hour on the steeper stretches here, and the desert wind is cooperating, pushing me a little from behind.

One hour after leaving Coyote Springs, I pull into the Mojave National Preserve visitor centre at Kelso Depot

I stop in and chat briefly with rangers on duty and replenish my 18-litre (almost 40 pounds) water supply again. I have to carry this much because I don't know if the springs in the Butcher Knife Canyon area will have any water for me.

I also visit the washrooms outside Kelso Depot to wet my hair and rinse one of my wool t-shirts and a couple of other items

These merino-wool t-shirts are proving to be excellent. They are comfortable, lightweight and airy, and don't get all heavy and wet from my sweat. Soaking my hair with water feels great since I haven't had a shower in five days.

After my 45-minute break at Kelso Depot, I begin the next segment of today's ride: Kelso-Cima Road toward the New York Mountains

During the next 14.5 miles, I'll rise from 2100 feet here at Kelso Depot to about 3700 feet at the base of Cedar Canyon Road.

As I climb the Kelso-Cima Road grade, train tracks are always to my right near the road on a raised bed

Sometimes the tracks are high enough to significantly impair the view of the Providence Mountains in the background.

After 3.8 miles, I pass Globe Mine Road, where I camped for three nights a few days ago

I enjoyed it up there; perhaps I'll get to explore more of that area on a future trip.

A train just passed me on the Kelso-Cima grade

When the train caught up to me, the conductor stuck his head out the window of the cab and we waved to each other. Today's destination is on the middle left edge of the New York Mountains, that mass straight ahead in the distance beyond the train.

I pull off the road for a short break and to refill my Camelbak from my 10-litre water bag

It's a warm afternoon with the hot sun on my back, probably in the high 80s, and I've already drank two litres of water since leaving Kelso Depot almost an hour and a half ago.

I take another break when I reach the end of my Kelso-Cima Road climb at the junction of Cedar Canyon Road

A marker commemorates the old Mojave Road that leaves from this intersection and heads up to Marl Springs. It took me about 2 1/4 hours to climb the 14.5 miles of Kelso-Cima Road with 1600 feet of elevation gain.

When people come down Cedar Canyon Road, here's the sign that they see when they reach the end at Kelso-Cima Road

I'm as rejuvenated as I'm going to be, so I end my short break and begin the next segment of the ride, the 2.4-mile mostly paved climb up Cedar Canyon Road during which I'll rise about 800 feet.

Welcome to Cedar Canyon Road

At the base of Cedar Canyon Road, one encounters this "cows" sign. It's possible that this sign is just decorative now because some of the ranch lands in the area have been purchased by the National Parks Service and are no longer.