Day 2: April 1, 2009

First off - let me back track one day because we were so tired last night it's actually early morning before we felt like updating.

On March 31, 2009 we started Day 1 - The First Big Climb!!!: San Diego, CA to Pine Valley, CA
We went 51 miles (82 km) - Total so far: 51 miles (82 km)

Temps 56-68, clear skies and NW wind at 10-15. Perfect day for a bike ride! The great adventure started today with one of the hardest days of the trip. Although only 51 miles, we climbed over 5000 feet, most of it coming in the last 25 miles. Six of the riders - Neil, Curt, Anna, Will, Vern, and Tom - went to the beach to dip their wheels in the ocean and take the obligatory pictures. Those of us who already did that a day earlier left from the motel. I rode with Bobby and Larry. We enjoyed a good ride, got lost several times, and had a nice lunch at a sidewalk cafe in Alpine, CA. After about 5 miles of riding this morning, we started climbing and we climbed all day. The further east we went, the steeper the climbs became. Eventually we even rode 3 miles on I-8 in one of the steepest sections. The higher we climbed in the mountains, the more spectacular the scenery became. The final destination was the small community of Pine Valley, CA. All the riders made it safely in. There were no flat tires, no incidents, and only a half dozen wrong turns! The lone motel in town is very nice, but all the restaurants were closed on Tuesday night. We managed to get some food at a local sports grill. All told, we are off to a great start!!!!











Barry and Bobby Rone at Dog Park dipping their bikes into the Pacific Ocean.











Let's start to climb!











This is some one's backyard pet.
Hey kids - what do you think people name their pets in California?











Desert flora - very pretty and all over the place.

Entering the desert - on Day 2.


So that brings us up to today - April 1, 2009. We just finished our bike ride for the day.
Pine Valley to Brawley: A day of contrasts
86 miles (138 km) - Total so far: 137 miles (220 km)

Temperatures started out at 36 degrees in the morning, by the time we finished we were near 90. Hey are we back in Alabama??? The sky was clear and the winds were light mostly. We all had a decent breakfast at the ONLY place to get breakfast in Pine Valley - hey Flat Stanley is beginning to look a little thin with no restaurants in this town - hope the eggs he ate helps him a bit! Most of us were on the road by 8:30. We started out climbing and descending and climbing again before descending near the Mexican border at Jacumba, CA. After Jacumba, we entered I-8 for a hairy downhill ride straight into the desert. Once at the "bottom" we rode through the desert to Brawley, CA, in the Imperial Valley one of the great agricultural areas of the US. The whole area is in the desert, but all the fields are irrigated from extensive network of aqueduct's and canals.

Again - all it all it's been a great day.

Well until later....
Barry, Flat Stanley, and Share Bear