Bike route question

[AlanK]

Some regulars on this board know my son Eric from hiking in our region. Eric is starting his second year as a geology grad student at a place that would make FIGHTON happy. Recently, Eric decided to ride his bike to visit his girlfriend. He lives in LA and she lives in Longmont, CO. It made for a nice trip.

Working up to my question: Eric did a great job with planning logistics, route, etc. The weirdest part came early on. On Day 1, he rode from LA to Yucca Valley. To get to Morongo Valley, he went up Indian Canyon Road in Palm Springs. Getting from Redlands to Palm Springs, he rode up and down San Timoteo Canyon because he did not come up with a flatter route that was close to I-10. From Ramsey Road in Beaumont, he had to go under a fence to cross under I-10. The question is whether or not there is a better way to get from Redlands to Palm Springs on a bike.

By the way, the trip was great -- a couple of hours over 11 days. Those of you who know Eric understand that going up and down San Timoteo Canyon was just a nice warmup for the Morongo grade to Yucca Valley. Oh, and he was wise enough to do the thing at a time that did not feature excessive heat warnings.

Added note: I have not been hiking lately because I am suffering from a heel spur and bursitis. I do have some good professional help and I think I will be hitting the trails again soon, but the past couple of months have been a low point for getting into the mountains.

[Florian]

There is a frontage road on the south side of I10 that should get you to the Haugen-Lehmann on ramp then ride 1/4 mile on I10 to the hwy 111 exit to Palm Springs. Now you should be able to ride the I10 to hwy 62 to get to Morongo Valley but i believe it's signed no-bikes. Also the I10 on-ramps at Whitewater are also signed no-bikes. I have ridden south from Desert Hot Springs on hwy 62 to the Whitewater exit and saw no no-bike signs. It's going north that seems to be the problem. The simplest and quickest thing to do might be to stay on the I10 from Haugen-Lehmann and then ride like hell the 5 miles or so to hwy 62 and hope the CHP doesn't see you or will accept your explanation why you're there. Otherwise is a very long detour south on hwy 111 to PS and back north on Indian Ave as your son did.

Maybe HikerBlatt will see this and reply. He bikes around Whitewater more than i do.

-Florian

[AlanK]

Eric crossed I-10 from N to S in Banning and from S to N by the Morongo Casino. So, he was then on the access road south of the freeway that you mentioned until Haugen-Lehmann, where he crossed I-10 from S to N. He stayed north of the freeway to Whitewater Canyon, then crossed from N to S and backtracked along I-10 to Tipton, which he until he got on 111, which took him to Indian Canyon. All in all, the stretch along I-10 from Beaumont to Whitewater was the weirdest routing of the entire trip. Everything else actually made sense.

Added note: Eric did not know that bikes were an issue on 62, except that he could not find a way to get onto the south portion of the highway without traveling on I-10. He hit 62 from North Indian Canyon. He saw several CHP cars on 62 and they ignored him.

Still more: Cycle on I-10?