Friday March 6 ...And Then.....

ladies of the tour group photo

The first words that sprang into my brain this morning after a restless, still adjusting to the time change, pre-ride jitters, strange dreams night were ....And then? so here goes.

And then I got up with way too much time to spend second guessing myself before breakfast and changing outfits twice.

breakfast at the trailer

And then I joined the other ladies packing up a days worth of snacks and chowing down breakfast and generally pacing and anticipating.

And then I returned to my room to close up the duffel and suitcase, hit the bathroom yet again (pre performance anxiety syndrome), and haul it out to the van and trailer for weigh in and loading.

And then I stepped on the scale and was delighted to learn that not only had I apparently lost 5 pounds between Houston and California (generous scale on uneven paving no doubt) but that I was well under the weight allowance. Yay for a body size duffel bag and a tiny hard suitcase to protect the computer instead of two suitcases.

And then back to the room for a final potty break and a quick return to check to see if my tires needed pumping up.

And then, finally, marshalled onto the road by Michelle to go to the dog beach to dip our rear wheels in the Pacific Ocean. Bike lanes are nice but there was still a lot of traffic.

at the dog beach, ready to dip my wheel
hauling and dipping

And then, removing shoes, trudging across sand to the the water, a group photo op that went on and on, then a dip of the tire in the cold water and back up to the bike path along the San Diego River, which unlike the LA river, actually has running water and normal banks instead of a concrete canal. Shoes on, a final good bye hug from my sister Kris and off up the bike path along the San Diego River.

And then,came leaving the bike path and riding along a major highway with a bike lane that swerved in towards the center across the right hand lane to allow cars to come up the access ramps on the right and then back to the right to allow cars wanting to make a right turn to pass and turn ahead of us. Tense shoulders, swivel necks and barely contained hysteria from the lady from the little farm in South Dakota but we all got onto smaller more rural roads safely except for one lady who took a 20 mile scenic and didn't show up until just before dinner.

And then, waving at Janet Bee's friends Patty and Ladonne who kept leap frogging us every few miles, parking, waving, cheering us on and declaring we were all crazy.

And then, there was the first SAG stop of the tour, checking in with Anne Smith, the day's SAG driver, remembering to remove our gloves, sanitize our hands and use scoops and tongs before approaching any of the food. Chocolate biscotti and half a banana later back onto a bike path through the Mission Trails Park to the bike shop Wheels on Wheels where one of the local riders had a contact. One of the riders had lost function in her rear derailleur and two others had clacking, jumping chains. The rear derailleur problem was solved by the removal of a handlebar bag pressing aginst the cable (new rider, inexperienced in shifting) and a lesson in firmer handlebar shifting. The two clacking chains were adjusted and riders were given a brief lesson in how not to cross gear.

And then, we did the first long climb of the day, although we had been gradually gaining altitude in a series of gentle rollers. This one was about a mile and a half on a 4-5% grade, along a highway, but with a smooth and generous shoulder. I was able to motor up it without running through al the gears or being staggeringly out of breath at the top. First reassuring incident of the day.

And then, we rode some more, stopped for some photo options, passed an ostritch farm, but I couldn't get a decent photo, admired the hills around us and the vistas into the steeper hills and mountains, enjoyed the sun and shadow of the cloud dance, appreciated the cooler temperatures as we did a series of short gentle climbs, and another SAG stop with biscotti and bananas.

And then, the SAG passed us, coming back to help a rider with a flat tire. We all waved and did our best thumbs up.

And then, we saw the sign for our destination, Alpine, California along with a sign for the historic route 80 which is what we will be following for a day or two.


And then, we climbed steadily at 6-8% for three miles, again at a steady pace and without being seriously winded.

And then, 4 miles to dog beach and 34.63 miles and approximately 2,200 vertical feet later, there we were at the Ayres Alpine Inn, the van with our luggage was there and our rooms, all on the ground floor (yay no hauling the bike up the stairs on weary legs) were ready for us.

And then, we formed a bucket brigade to unload the van so we could get our bags, retire to our rooms, rehydrate, eat something and spend a pleasant afternoon napping, blogging, visiting, or reveling in the victory of having done the first day, being on the way, and survived.

Today's stats
distance- 38.63 miles
mph 10.3 in spite of dodging traffic and climbing a lot
1 malfunctioning derailleur, 2 chain adjustments and 1 flat tire- non of which were mine.
1 temporarily lost rider who has been found and is safely in