Keep right, idiot!: Yosemite

Yosemite Village

8th June. Merced, CA to Mammoth Lakes, CA

So today started off in a crummy way. I gave brekky a miss in the hotel as there was a tour group staying there and they had decided to get to breakfast 5 mins before me. There were only 2 people taking orders and preparing meals and it looked like it was going to take an age to get served and I wanted to hit the road before it got too hot.

I tried to fill up the bike at the servo, but got stuffed around by the pay-at-the-pump system not accepting my card. During this, I had managed to lose one of the nose rests from my specs and it felt like it 30 degC already. To say I wasn't happy was an understatement.

I was headed east, directly into the sun without a cloud in the sky. The ride was pretty uneventful until I got to Yosemite, when all hell broke loose - well, not exactly, but the place was flat out busy with cars and buses everwhere. I've developed an intense hatred of tour buses. They're slow, and full of people that will ruin a view, or a cafe in about 2 mins flat when they're unloaded. It felt like everyone from California was at Yosemite today.

I can see why they'd be here though - it's an incredibly beautiful place. The view from up high are great, and things are just as impressive from the ground. Traffic was pretty busy, and the day hadn't got any cooler - it didn't feel like there was a breath of wind either.

I've got a new bike helmet intercom thingo that I'm still coming to grips with. I've worked out how to stream music via bluetooth OK. However, I found out today that is has voice commands. How did I find that out? Well, traffic is bumper to bumper, I'm about 30 mins away from becoming a well done pot roast in a slow cooker and this idiot decides to stop, turn, and then indicate. I go off my nut at the clown in front of me and the music stopped and the FM radio started searching for channels. I think this happened 3 times today - I need to work out how to turn it off I think.

I was incredibly jealous of the group of people who were floating down the river on inner tubes. I nearly jumped into the river fully clothed. The campgrounds were very full - tents were nearly stacked on top of each other - so much for getting away from it all.

Once again, the National Parks are incredibly well patronised and, ideally, you'd have more than half a day to check it out. A week would be good.

After exiting Yosemite, I head towards Tioga Pass. At one stage I had to wait 30 mins for some roadworks. The car in front of me popped his tailgate and grabbed a can out of his esky. He was decent enough to offer me one. Had I known how long I'd be waiting, I would've taken him up on his offer.

Tioga Pass was stunning. My mood had improved as the roads were free from idiots and much emptier. After that, I had about 30 miles on the interstate to get to Mammoth Lakes.