Today was our rest day. We spent a couple of hours receiving instruction in bicycle care and how to change a tire. It was actually fun to spend the time together getting all our bikes shiny clean. Other than that I spent a little time by the pool, went through emails and tried (unsuccessfully) to get pictures loaded to the blog. I have asked others, so I think that I will be able to get that done shortly. Dinner was at a restaurant...fun, fun...
Tomorrow we ride to Salome, AZ. A good bit will be on I-10...just no other way around it. Come back tomorrow and see how the approx 65 miles go.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Day 4 of the ride across America
Today we got up at 5:30ＡＭ to get ready for our longest day thus far. We all wanted to be on the road as soon as the sun was up. We headed out at 7 AM after a hotel breakfast,quick bike check and loading our luggage in the trailer. The ride out of Brawley was great. The sun was rising and we were quickly out of the city, riding along farmland.
We made our first turn for a 22 mile distance on one road. There were sheep on one side of the road and cattle on the other. The road continued until we got to dunes. Huge, huge dunes (now these are not so unfamiliar, with the Indiana Dunes a favorite day destination for my family). At Glamis there is a park for ATV's.being a Monday, we didn't see any, but the tracks from the weekend had not yet been covered with blowing sands. One the other side of the road there was a protected area. It was amazing and behind were the Chocolate mountains. That view was very unfamiliar. Along this way we saw more and more blossoms in the dessert. The prickly pear was the most vibrant. A small purple flower gave color to the desert floor. Most of the colors are subtle variations, with light making sand shimmer like gold and the shade giving a soft khaki color. The flora adds to this with either subtle color or a bright burst, like the prickly pear.
Shortly after Glamis our Chef had stopped by a monument. Now I am on who has lived in Richmond VA and to me a monument is what you see on Monument Ave...large statues of bygone heroes from wars. This was a simple small stack of brick, or was it some type of stone, that had been cemented together...more like what I would imagine like the monuments erected by the Israelites as they had crossed the Jordan and entered into Israel. At any rate all that surrounded us was the beauty of the desert, soft colors and undulations of the sand, and the surrounding majesty of the mountains formed so long ago by volcanoes.
Our lunch was sandwiches and Five bean salad (the best I have ever had) and then after we had eaten Linda broughht out Tilapia curry salad, which was incredibly good. It was one our chef just made up to finish up the leftover fish from the first day.
After lunch I learned about rollers, swells in the land. The signs called them dips for the vehicular traffic, but in cycling lingo, they are rollers. Cycling friends had spoken about rollers, and this was the first time I had experienced them....What a blast! I was zipping down gaining as much speed as I could to get as far up the next rise (some with steep grades 10-11 percent) as far as I could, then up out of the saddle to get to the top and down again. This went on for a full 13 miles and at the end it flattened out. We had a TAILWIND through out all of this...how great was that!!! and at points we were holding 25+ miles per hour through the rollers and then 20-22 mph on the flat . There was another SAG stop with water...thankfully, because it is so dry we were just sucking it down.
After many, many miles, we got to Palo Verde, a town with a few buildings and a little tiny store...like a mini seven eleven. We got some pictures and talked with a few folks. My Cat in the Hat jersey was met with approval by all, and we got some water, ice cream and had a real toilet. From there it was twenty miles to the hotel, with wind at our back, we just flew. The roads were good, the traffic was minimal. We got close made a couple of turns and got into Blythe, CA. This is a larger town a few miles from the border with Arizona. Wow we had cycled 91 miles!!!! by my odometer (still need to double check that with someone who has a GPS) and the ride was fun all the way!
Dinner was in a restaurant...Sizzler...it was OK, but I am being spoiled by Linda's cooking...Tues is a day off. At first I thought this would be too soon, but in getting used to riding on sequential days I think it is well timed.
Stats:91 miles, left 7 AM arrived 2 PM with a stop for lunch, the various SAGS, and pictures. Max speed 37mph...must have been the rollers!
We made our first turn for a 22 mile distance on one road. There were sheep on one side of the road and cattle on the other. The road continued until we got to dunes. Huge, huge dunes (now these are not so unfamiliar, with the Indiana Dunes a favorite day destination for my family). At Glamis there is a park for ATV's.being a Monday, we didn't see any, but the tracks from the weekend had not yet been covered with blowing sands. One the other side of the road there was a protected area. It was amazing and behind were the Chocolate mountains. That view was very unfamiliar. Along this way we saw more and more blossoms in the dessert. The prickly pear was the most vibrant. A small purple flower gave color to the desert floor. Most of the colors are subtle variations, with light making sand shimmer like gold and the shade giving a soft khaki color. The flora adds to this with either subtle color or a bright burst, like the prickly pear.
Shortly after Glamis our Chef had stopped by a monument. Now I am on who has lived in Richmond VA and to me a monument is what you see on Monument Ave...large statues of bygone heroes from wars. This was a simple small stack of brick, or was it some type of stone, that had been cemented together...more like what I would imagine like the monuments erected by the Israelites as they had crossed the Jordan and entered into Israel. At any rate all that surrounded us was the beauty of the desert, soft colors and undulations of the sand, and the surrounding majesty of the mountains formed so long ago by volcanoes.
Our lunch was sandwiches and Five bean salad (the best I have ever had) and then after we had eaten Linda broughht out Tilapia curry salad, which was incredibly good. It was one our chef just made up to finish up the leftover fish from the first day.
After lunch I learned about rollers, swells in the land. The signs called them dips for the vehicular traffic, but in cycling lingo, they are rollers. Cycling friends had spoken about rollers, and this was the first time I had experienced them....What a blast! I was zipping down gaining as much speed as I could to get as far up the next rise (some with steep grades 10-11 percent) as far as I could, then up out of the saddle to get to the top and down again. This went on for a full 13 miles and at the end it flattened out. We had a TAILWIND through out all of this...how great was that!!! and at points we were holding 25+ miles per hour through the rollers and then 20-22 mph on the flat . There was another SAG stop with water...thankfully, because it is so dry we were just sucking it down.
After many, many miles, we got to Palo Verde, a town with a few buildings and a little tiny store...like a mini seven eleven. We got some pictures and talked with a few folks. My Cat in the Hat jersey was met with approval by all, and we got some water, ice cream and had a real toilet. From there it was twenty miles to the hotel, with wind at our back, we just flew. The roads were good, the traffic was minimal. We got close made a couple of turns and got into Blythe, CA. This is a larger town a few miles from the border with Arizona. Wow we had cycled 91 miles!!!! by my odometer (still need to double check that with someone who has a GPS) and the ride was fun all the way!
Dinner was in a restaurant...Sizzler...it was OK, but I am being spoiled by Linda's cooking...Tues is a day off. At first I thought this would be too soon, but in getting used to riding on sequential days I think it is well timed.
Stats:91 miles, left 7 AM arrived 2 PM with a stop for lunch, the various SAGS, and pictures. Max speed 37mph...must have been the rollers!
Day 3 of the ride across America
Our day started with a temperature of 30...not Celsius, and it was cold. Our chef Linda had oatmeal (she has the absolute best oatmeal) for us and hot chocolate, so we would, as my mom would say start out our day with something hot in our stomachs. We started out with a 5.5 mile stretch that again took us up. The border patrol was out en masse and were flying down the road. Later, after our dinner we found out just why. One of our group saw some people at the side of the road, pointing a gun telling someone to lay down flat. She and some other riders let the border patrol know and that is why I, who started late because I was warming my hands by the propane stove say them flying down the road.
Well, after we did our 5.5 mile climb (750 feet), we exited onto...Interstate 8 once again. The night before we had been warned about the possibility of gusting winds and this with a 10 mile downhill ....ok... 10MILES DOWNHILL!!!!!...now as many of you know...I now live in Indiana...and have lived in Virginia (think Blue Ridge)....there are NO 10 mile descents to be found, central Indiana barely has bumps in the road....so I was just a little bit anxious. Well, I rode on the shoulder ...all the 10 miles down...WOW I was actually tired of being in the drops by the end! After exiting we had a SAG stop, and off came the cold weather clothes and off we went. I went with one of the other women, and learned how to do a pace line...(basically drafting). This made the miles fly by and we kept a great pace through the desert Yuha national parkland). I kept looking at the mountains on my right, just amazed that I had been way up there only an hour before. The desert had some flowers...the octatillos (sp?) were blooming as well as some ground cover with a purple flower. After we left the National forest, we were truly in the Imperial Valley. We crossed over a canal, on one side of the canal was desert and on the other side it was lush and green fields. There was plenty of hay baled between fields and stacked HIGH. There were birds singing from palm trees, and we could just keep riding and looking ahead for miles.
Eventually, we had a turn off and then...the bumpiest road...not only that but as soon as we started on it a dog got out of his poorly fenced in yard, hackles up and barking. I was off my bike in a flash and had it between me and him.....he tried to circle around me and so...I of course circled...thankfully as I raised my bike in a menacing way, he ran back to his yard and I hopped back on the bike to get jostled for 14.5 more miles. Although the road was rough, the farms and fields were great to ride by and al the other dogs were well contained in their yards.
We passed through Seeley and then on to El Centro and finally a 14 mile home stretch to Brawley. En route we passed a sugar factory that showed us where sea level is...we were below it. Now I HAVE been below sea level...but usually that would indicate that I am UNDERWATER. Getting into the hotel was a relief. I had felt pretty worn out those last miles and the wind had turned and been a head wind....not too bad, but it was hard at the end.
Linda had a wonderful dinner, beef stroganoff with egg noodles, a great variation on a waldorf salad, a reguar salad and angel food cake with peaches and raspberries.
Stats 67 miles 5.5 uphill and 10 down the rest pretty flat. Max speed was 34...I was cautious on the downhill...wary of the crosswinds. Time: started 8:15 and finished at 1PM with quite a few stops for food, water, and pictures!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Day 2 of the ride across America
Up early again! We had breakfast in the hotel with some added protein. We headed out as quickly so we could get some of the climb behind us. We immediately headed uphill about 750 feet. From there we headed onto I8 (yes the interstate...there was no way around it). It was only two miles and halfway we had a great rest stop with beautiful vista. The scenery is breathtaking!!! After coming off the highway we continued on our way ....UPHILL....and then more UPHILL...there were some downhills as well (OK...they are fun, but really if you have to climb again...I wish that you could just do the climb and be done with it. About halfway we stopped at a diner and had PIE...at 10 in the morning...It was great! From there it was a beautiful ride the mountains all around us as we rode up and up some more. Some of the uphills looked as if you would reach the summit and then you realized, no....more to climb. One interesting thing was the number of border patrol who were on the road. They were just everywhere! Now I need to be honest...there were also some great downhills...and I am learning to relax a little with them, but still go slowly.
Jacumba is a tiny town with one hotel. It has a lot of character...
Dinner was again fantastic. Our chef is Linda Baldwin and she is creative and very healthy in all she prepares and her meals are outstanding.
Again I fell into bed weary.
Stats:Distance 47.2 in 4 hours 38 minutes.
First day on the road
Wow we finally began. I got up at 5 AM as excited as could be. I had a radio interview and then got everything together getting ready to get going.
At the ocean, I was met by a local veteran who was so kind and wished me well, for the trip. It was great to have him there. fWe dipped our bikes in the Pacific took lots of pics and we started off along the San Diego River. There were lots of water birds and beauty all around. We headed out of the city past the Padres stadium and to a park and then UPHILL. Now I live in Central Indiana...there are a few bumps in the road, but nothing like this. The classes I had taken, paid off and I slogged my way up and got to Alpine. We had a fantastic dinner and I headed to bed tired from the first big day. We had covered over 34 miles in 3 hours 20 minutes. The traffic and climbs kept the speed down. Tomorrow will hold more big climbs as we go another 2000 feet to Jacumba.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The Journey has begun. So I have packed and repacked, checked and rechecked. The boys have been hugged and hugged (that includes hubby). The dog was pet, My mom and our very dear friend Barbara who are staying with the boys while Ralph is also out of town this week were also hugged and thanked...Ralph set off for work, and Linda picked me up and brought me to the beautiful sunny Indy airport. OK it is sunny today. I am a little nervous and a lot excited. The flights are on time, storms in the East no longer effecting us.
The first leg out is to Phoenix. I will be back here in just a week and a half, and seeing it from a vastly different perspective. I will have made it through the California mountains, and will see just what my gearing is like.l
I have to go back a little to some of what has gone on up o this point.
After Ralph told ne he wanted to give me this trip (actually he asked if it was something I still wanted to do), I researched different touring groups and decided on WomanTours. They had the right distance, they stay in hotels (I value a warm bath and a soft bed), built in rest days and what looks to be great staff. Right before school started in August I signed up. Then I had to find a new appropriate bicycle. I went shop to shop and everyone gave me a similar list of what to look at and no body had models in that I coud try. They talked about waiting until the new year, and I began to panic. My old bike was over 16 years old...in good shape, but was never a great fit and was a less expensive road bike. A friend, who is an avid mountain biker gave me the namee of a shop, Nebo Ridge. I went there and was excited to find they had someone who himself had ridden across country and was extremely knowlegable. He had me try the bikes they had, recommended I look around and try a few others and he also brought in a friends personal bike for me to try. I took all his suggestions, but his friends bike was the perfect fit and felt so much better than anything I had ever ridden. He speced it all out with one of his co-workers, got it ordered and then I waited as patiently as I could until it came in. By the time it arrived the beautiful fall weather had passed and we have had consistently frigid temperatures since. I have only ridden a few times outside. This takes us to training.
While I was waiting for my new bike I started out with my old one. One wheel was out of true, so then switched to either one of the kids mountain bikes or Ralph's road bike (sweet). I logged in the recommended hours and got several longer rides (up to about 5 hours) in. In October I read about a class that Nebo Ridge had, not spinning, but cycling,with certified cycling coaches, core conditioning, and using your own bike on a trainer. Hmmm. The location was not as convenient as I would have liked, but the staff had been sotry it for the first session. November came and I started the class. We did a time trial and got our lactate threshhold. Now this class was not made up of people like me, recreational cyclist, but folks who like to race. After the time trial, I was great, so I decided to EXHAUSTED and had a wattage of 125. These guys were at 200+ (ok even higher...but I am in denial) Wow!!! Way out of my league, but as we had introduced ourselves and told them that I was planning to ride across the country, they were so excited for me...I thought it would work out. I got to ride all winter with people I could NEVER keep up with on the road. Each class I learned something new about my bike, techique or equipment. Each class everyone encouraged the others, and there was cheerful conversation and fantastic coaching. The coaches, Steve, Bob and Tom were experienced and knowlegable. The first eight weeks few by. We did a follow up time trial and I had improved by 30 Watts during that brief tiime. You can guess that I came back for the second session. The classes were consistently challenging. I continued to learn. Two weeks ago I had my bike shipped to San Diego, watt meter came off and I switched back to Ralph's bike. I didn't do the second time trial for this session, but am certain that I again improved. As far as training on my own at home, I did get on the trainer some, but not as much as I should have. I like the cameraderie of the class and at home I let the busyness interfere with my exercise. I am VERY thankful for the class and Ralph holding down the fort with the kids the evenings I was gone.
Saturday I did my last class. It was fun, and it was great to have made new friends and I look forward to seeing them I return and go on club rides.
As I have gotten ready for this trip, my sons and husband have been constant encouragers. They have altered schedules so I could train, taken an interest getting equipment and just been there joining in the fun of the process with me. The boys helped picyed cap and scorpion cycling cap. They have helped meuff I had misplaced, and today they gave me many hugs, big one armed strong s pack and repack and repack again. They have run around the house looking for stuff even the stqueezes from Peter the 16 year old injured gymnast. Tight one with a tickle from John, and snuggly ones from Walter. Michael called yesterday to tell me he thinks doing this trip is way cool. Ralph has been the constant quiet strength. He has been ever encok out some of the clothing. They pushed me to get the Cat in the Hat jersey, the tye duraging. He has ridden outside with me last fall. Me on his bike, him riding his mountain bike, and still able to stay ahead of me. As I moved inside he rearranged his schedule and always made sure that kids were where they needed to be. I will miss all my men over the next nine weeks. It will be rather strange to be around women....most of my tiy household, to my work to even the cycling classes. Even my dog is male!!!!!
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