May 14 Day 2 Riverside to Indio

Day two got tougher as we went from Riverside to Indio (next to Palm Springs). I rode with a group of six and when we were not visiting, we were working a pace line. That made the time fly and helped with the effort.

We had several long climbs out of the LA valley that were grueling, but temps were moderate. We flew down the back side into the Imperial Valley, until we hit the outskirts of Palm Springs. Then it got hot and the winds blew in our face. I drank four bottles of water, but they were not enough. The lesson tomorrow is to drink more and replace the electrolites. The sun is really birght and we are learning to use lots of sun block and keep covered. I am not used to riding in hot weather mid-day.

85 miles, 16.5 mph avg, 5 1/3 hours in the saddle, 3700' climbing, 60 - 100 deg temps, 20 mph head wind.

May 13 Day 1 LA to Riverside

May 13 Day 1 LA to Riverside

We're off and running! This morning 43 of us biked as a group down to Manhattan Beach, where we took our bikes out to water's edge and had a tire dipping ceremony. After that was the group picture, and we were off. Next stop was Riverside, which was 79 miles down the road.

Los Angeles was a tough ride because of all the stop lights (stop signs are optional). We must have gone through 100, which is hard to get a rhythm going. After several miles, Terry and I naturally formed up with a group of eight that were about the same speed and we took turns reading the cue sheet and leading the group. Early Sunday morning the traffic was light, but the restaurants were packed because of Mother's Day.

We finished averaging 15.1 mph in light winds were in the saddle 5 1/4 hours, and climbed 2500'. I finished feeling strong and in the top third. Everyone finished and there were few problems.

Tomorrow we climb out of the valley and go to Palm Springs where it will be about 100 deg.

May 12 Los Angeles

This morning Sandra and I had a farewell breakfast, and she was off to Las Vegas with her handy GPS.

Terry invited me out to a second breakfast with his friend, Ken and his wife Judy, a fellow petroleum engineer he had worked with in Alberta. It was interesting listening to stories of how to get rich in the oil business.

Terry and I then did a bike ride out to the beach, where we rode down the bike path to Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach. The weather was beautiful and there were lots of surfers, beach volley ball games, and bikers. We had to be vigilant with so many bikers on the trail.

This afternoon we had a two hour briefing by the Cross Roads owner and tour director, Tracy, who is a high energy young woman from Connecticut. Our group consists of 42 bikers, of which 12 are women, four are foreign (Canada, UK, Germany, and Guatemala) and six veterans from previous rides. Looks like a great, compatible group.

Tomorrow we are up at 5:30 am and off on a 79 mile ride to Riverside, after a Pacific Ocean tire dipping ceremony.

May 11 Day -1

Sandra drove Terry and I from Las Vegas to Los Angeles for the start of the cross country ride. We checked in and went out to Venice Beach for an early Mother's Day dinner, where we watched the colorful people stroll by and saw the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. A great evening!

May 9 Day - 3

Terry, my friend from last summer's three week Pacific Cost ride, and room mate for this summer's cross country, arrived in Las Vegas from Calgary last night. We went for a 50 mile ride through Red Rock Canyon with the biking club. Terry had not been on his bike since we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge together in Sept, last year. He did well, after a winter of running, spinning, and lifting weights. He did look a little white.

We'll do one more club ride and Sandra will take us to Los Angeles to start the cross country ride.

May 4 Day - 7

The Las Vegas Tour de Fire. This was a double century at Lake Mead, from Boulder Beach to Valley of Fire - a total of 124 miles, 9500' elevation gain, and a windy day. This was a grueling ride that started out with several hundred riders, but only 40 who went the long distance. Since this was an especially challenging course, most riders were teams of young hammer heads, so I wound up riding back alone at the back of the pack. Many of the hills were rolling, but all turned out to be a grind going into a head wind.

I was eight hours in the saddle and averaged 15 mph. I felt good, but was tired at the end.

196 miles for the week and two spinning classes. I am ready for the cross country ride next week!