Sunday, September 16, 2012

A HAPPY ENDING


Day 2:  We departed Mar-Tar-Awa at 7 am and were greeted first thing by a 7 percent climb up to the highway that pitched up to 17 percent  the last 200 yards.  That got things rolling!  “Bongo” our new two-wheel trailer performed well; it was like having another 100 pound person along for the ride (without them pedaling).  This made the 4100’ of climbing today a bit of an effort (!!) but the good thing was, it was cooler than yesterday; only peaking about 88 degrees in the afternoon.

Dennis and Lyndsay reported that the Xterra was safely delivered to Buzz and Pam Comer’s house in Brenda (where the RV and sailboat are stored – thank you Buzz and Pam!)  Dennis and Lyndsay have been so great during our preparation for this trip, and continuing their support with logistics and encouragement.

We walkedI into DeAnza Springs Resort in Jacumba, CA about 2 p.m. today.  I say walked, because it turned out there was a 2 mile dirt road into the resort, the last 400 yards too soft to ride with our skinny road tires.  They’d had a lot of rain this past week and it washed a lot of gravel and sand into their otherwise nicely packed dirt road.

The folks at DeAnza, Dave and Helen and Kay, were so welcoming.  Again, it just about brings tears to my eyes after a long hard day riding to be greeted so warmly.  DeAnza Springs is a great resort nestled in the hills adjacent to the Anza Borrego Desert.  And, it is clothing optional!!  Wonderful to strip off the hot, sweaty bike clothes and take a dip au natural in the crystal  clear swimming pool and soak in the hot tub.   We also met a few people here at DeAnza that we see down at the Magic Circle in Quartzsite:  John, and Eric and Teresa.    (We twisted the arm of the restaurant staff and found out that John bought our dinners; this really puts pressure on us now to finish this trek!)   This is definitely a place to come back to and stay a  longer when our ride is over.   One nudist resort down, just 10 to go.  Too bad there’s not one for every night!!!

So today’s happy endng  is we made it through the first two days of major climbing and are safe, well-fed, and comfortable for the night.

Total miles today:  48.9
Total time:  5:13  (This was under 10 mph; that's really hard on us!!)

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