Day 6 - 44.0 miles

Today was another good day. I wore double shorts and used chamois cream and it helped my butt a lot. Most of the time I wasn't too sore. We had two long uphills that were not bad.  Most of the time we were in the middle ring on the front.  We were on I-10 again, but it really isn't bad on the tandem. Lots more desert of course, but it was green in some places.  Brenda was a cool little town, with one general store and nice people.  Tonight's campsite is a county park that is a lot better than last night's field.  It's nice to have these short days. Annie and I got in at 1:00 pm and sat in the shade until the van arrived. It is nice having a short day with lots of afternoon time to relax, take a shower, and do laundry.

 

 

 

Day 5 - 44.3 miles

Today was nice. We left early and rode thru flat GREEN agricultural land for the first 20 miles.  We stopped in Blythe, then on th Ehrenberg and across the Colorado into Arizona.  We hopped onto I-10 and climbed for about 12 miles, but it wasn't steep. Most of the time we were in the middle ring and moving along.  It got pretty hot.  There are lots of flowers blooming, and that's good.  The last ten miles were downhill. Yea!!

 

 

 

At the Colorado River. On into Arizona!

Day 4 - 70.9 miles

 This was a hot day, so we all left early.  The first part was flat, agricultural country.  They literally make a lot of hay around here.  After the agricultural land came desert, then Imperial Sand Dunes.  We climbed about 15 miles, and T the top was a great rest stop with the van.  Then "it's all downhill from here." Not quite!  It was basically downhill with great rollers.  We got the bike going fast on the downhills and could just about make it up the next hill.  The last few miles into Palo Verde were flat and long, but we finally made it.  One interesting site on the way was a big sand thing that stretched for miles and turned out to be a gold mine.  

 

 

 

Day 3. 71.9 miles

Annie tried a special breakfast that Jarrod uses and we did fine The ride had one very long downhill and I was scared in anticipation but it was ok. It was hot and for a long stretch the road surface was horrible. Lots of the ride was thru desert with sand and cactus. We were on dinner duty and made sausage and broccoli pasta. Went to Walmart to get Annie supplies after dinner.

We road 70 miles today and tomorrow there's another 70.  It's gets really hot around noon, .making the final 25 miles hard and being in the desert there is very little shade.  The beauty of the ride is breathtaking.  

 

Day 2 - 0 miles

Annie wasn't feeling well, so we rode in the van. Everyone said we made a good choice. Apparently it was a really tough day, with lots more uphill.  Tomorrow we will ride.

 

This is Jarod, one of our fantastic leaders.

Day 1 - 44.8 miles

We started at Ocean Beach in San Diego, full of energy and excitement.  The first few miles were flat and fun, riding along the San Diego River and watching all the egrets in the water.  Then the climbing started and never stopped.  We climbed for at least 20 -30 miles.  Along the way we enjoyed Mission Vielo Park, but soon the joy disappeared and grim reality set in.  We finally made it to our camp and figured out how to put up the tent.  Life is looking up, but tomorrow will have lots of climbing too.

 

San Diego

We (and all our luggage) made it to San Diego.  We enjoyed two wonderful days with Loring and Janet, 

and now are at the Youth Hostel ready to start the big ride tomorrow. We have met our fellow riders and 

discussed such burning issues as type of sweetener for coffee, milk versus half and half, and who likes 

what type of snacks.  We are ready to roll!