WE HAVE BEGUN!

At 8:06 am today we started THE RIDE.  Dennis and Lyndsay Morris were there to see us dip the rear wheel in the Pacific Ocean (see photo below; the shadow is Dennis). 

Last night we had a great get together and dinner with Dennis and Lyndsay, and four of the folks who will be starting two days after us with the Adventure Cycling group:  Ed from North Carolina, John from Michigan, Cathy from Victoria, B.C., and Olaf from Hamburg, Germany.   It was interesting and fun to hear their stories and good to know some of the others who will be out on the road around the same time as us. 

So THE RIDE today….uphill as advertised, but nobody said anything about 100 degree heat and the 20 mph headwind!  There was a lot of steady 7percent grade as we started up to Alpine, with an occasional 10-12 grade.  Maybe this wouldn’t have been so bad on a cooler day, but today it was hard.  Our heart rates were up pretty high trying to cool our bodies off. 

At Alpine, we stopped for a break and had a cold one at the first beer stop of our tour (photo below).

  It really helped cool us down and give us the final push to do the last 5 miles uphill to our campground.  We rolled into the Mar-Tar-Awa at 2 p.m.  Rene at the reception desk was really nice, let us pick our campsite, and told us there was a free shuttle to the nearby Casino so we wouldn’t have to ride our bike to get dinner (I almost cried with joy). 

Total miles today:  43.5

Total time:  4 hours

Miles to go:   DON’T WANT TO THINK ABOUT THAT!!!!!!