Out of the frying pan...

Take your blow-dryer, turn it on at max heat and point it directly at your face. Or heat up your oven to about 220°C and then open it while having your face placed directly in front of the oven.
These are just two things you could do to simulate the immense heat that we endured today. According to our tour guides this is one of the hottest TAD-tour they've ever done. So... "Yay!" I guess?

But first things first. The day started wonderfully! Ok, the weather was beyond bad, with heavy fog and low temperatures (12-14°C). But still, I can say I was standing in the Pacific Ocean! The water was freezing cold, but I didn't care. And after a few minutes you get used to it, to be honest. (Although that might be because your feet are freezing off.) Being all alone at the beach at 6.30 in the morning was just glorious. I could stand there all day long and just listen to the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore.

Back then, i.e. a few hours ago, I was looking forward to getting to warmer areas soon. Oh, stupid me! I'm currently sitting in my air conditioned hotel room at 10.50 pm and outside it's still abnormally hot

(33°C). This is the first time we'll leave the AC on overnight.

We left San Simeon at 9 am, with heavy fog and 12°C making it necessary to not only wear full motorcycle gear, but also add several layers of warm clothing to our outfits. Just a few miles from San Simeon, however, we were all crashing against a strong wall. A huge wall made of pure heat. Within a few miles temperatures rose to 28°C, so we had to stop to change into something lighter.

Of course, 28°C was laughable compared to what awaited us ahead. After having visited the James Dean memorial site in Cholame, temperatures rose and rose, reaching their maximum in the Mojave desert at 45°C. We had to make several stops along the way, because we simply couldn't stand the heat for too long. I have no idea how many liters of water I drank today. Four? Five? Six? I honestly can't tell. All I know is that my Harley couldn't bear the heat either. The engine got so hot that I got burns on my right calf even though I didn't touch the engine or the exhaust at all. I drove the last 40 miles in excruciating pain, with my calf feeling as if someone pointed a magnifying glass directly at it. But I wasn't the only one who got hurt, Axel suffered lighter burns as well.

I hope I can think of a solution overnight, because right now I have no idea how to sit on the bike without worsening the burns...

Nevertheless, we did it! We made it to the famous Historic Route 66! Together with today's memories of the oil fields around Lost Hills, the giant almond plantations at Wasco and the enormous wind park in the Mojave Desert, the feeling that I'm now at a place that I only know from movies and documentaries, a road that I've always wanted to travel, makes me forget my aching calf for (hopefully) tonight.