Day 2 Alpine to Boulevard CA

Well it wasn't a very long ride today but it was brutal. We had LONG climbs and descents of up to 10% grade AND headwinds of 20 to 30 miles per hour with higher gusts! We even rode a few uphill miles on I-8 today.

The great news is that I rode with  a couple of guys who helped me find my climbing "rhythm" and I felt much better today than yesterday during the climbs and at the end. I was pushing too hard yesterday and today, even though most of the riders were complaining that it was much worse than yesterday, I actually felt much better about the ride. Don't get me wrong. It was a pretty brutal day but I never felt like it was too much. Many thanks to Roland, RO and PW! I'd have been a lot worse for wear without their help and advice!!!

And I had my massage at the end which made any stiff or sore muscles all go away!

I also hit 36 mph on descent. I discovered that not having hills in Florida to learn climbing on also means we don't learn descending skills either! I thought I was going pretty good, guardedly flying down hills at 33-35 mph in stiff, very gusty headwinds when my two companions passed me like I had got off to check the tires, easily clocking somewhere over 40 on the descents. Never before on a bike was I ever happy to see my speed drop below 25!

Tomorrow after a few hilly miles we hop on I-8 for a 13-15 mile descent into the desert then on to Calexico for 62 miles on the day. And a slight tailwind is expected too!

cruising along on Interstate 8

our first tumbleweed sighting