We started out with a little frost around but warmed up as we climbed a bit away from Warner Springs during the first few miles. The sky was blue and the day promised to be just awesome as we set out on a full century ride to Palm Desert.
After almost 20 miles we reached the top of Montezuma Grade, the "Glass Elevator" of Race Across America fame. We zipped up jackets and started down this fun run. Unbeknown to me, Tom saw me drop over the edge and started to pursue me. My mirror had blown out of adjustment as I descended so I didn't know he was behind me. I didn't know he was there until his shadow appeared next to me after many miles of descending! I sat up to catch a bit of wind and slow down. I use the full lane on fast descents and didn't want to tangle with a crossed wheel.
For the first time in my life, I had been passed on a downhill run. I did save face though, my big 56x11 gearing made sure that while he may have passed me, he would not beat me to the bottom. ;-)
The downhill speed was kept to around 35-38 mph by a moderate headwind. I maxed out at 42 as I pedaled around Tom near the bottom of the hill.
At the bottom of the descent lies Borrego Springs. We made a brief stop there in Christmas Circle to drop jackets and other cold weather gear in our support van. We wouldn't be needing any of that now that we were 5000 feet lower and in the Anza-Borrego Desert.
We resumed our pedaling, heading toward the Salton Sea.
The chaparral of the mountains was replaced by...... well, replaced by not much, as we pedaled across the Anza-Borrego Desert. The stark desert scenery is beautiful in it's own way though.
Just prior to reaching the Salton Sea we had to navigate about a mile of road that can only be described as "challenging". It is very reminiscent of the section of road out of Baker on the Furnace Creek 508 course, the difference being that this section isn't as rough, and it's only a mile long. It was rough enough though that several of our riders went down. I used up 5 of the bandaids that I carry on one of the casualties.
Shortly after the rough section we arrive at the Salton Sea. Most of us stop at a convenience store here to refill fluids and calories.
We turned northward along the shores of the Salton Sea and headed toward Palm Springs. As luck would have it, I ran into Lee, the same gal I had ridden this section with last year. It was nice to pedal with her and catch up a bit.
Lee is a strong rider, but hasn't been doing much long distance recently. Today's century was challenging her a bit. I tried to offer what support I could (nagging!) as we pedaled along.
As we crossed into Riverside County and left the Salton Sea behind we entered an area with citrus and date palm ...orchards?.....groves?. In the interest of finishing while the sun was still high in the sky, we did not stop to sample anything, but kept the pedals spinning. Soon we left agriculture behind and began to see the irrigated and manicured signs of suburban living.
We weren't the first to arrive at the Lutheran Church in Palm Desert, our overnight facilities, but we were far from the last. A surprising number of people had to be sagged in. This was very surprising to me given that we had a relatively early start, the route had a 5000 ft net elevation loss, and we had a decent tailwind for the last 40 miles. I guess late December is the "off season" for many riders.
The organizers of this event (who are NOT bike riders, and don't attend) arranged for two rooms at a local motel to serve as our shower facilities tonight. While two showers might have been reasonable for the 60 or so riders of past years, they were woefully inadequate for the 128 riders we had this time. Many of us either took sponge baths, or found other options (the shower at poolside got it's share of use).
The weather today was perfect for bike riding. A cool morning made climbing the hill out of Warner Springs comfortable, while the mid 60's of Palm Springs was not too hot. We normally have upper 70's to low 80's in Palm Springs, but we couldn't complain about cloudless skies no wind.
The official ride today was right at 100 miles.
I rode 4 additional miles around town, to showers, to store, etc.
...........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total Today............104..............0.............0..........0.............104 Jan..............105.............34............0..........0............139 Feb.............428............108...........0.........24...........536 March.........809..............0.............0.........22...........831 April.........1010..............0.............0...........0..........1010 May..........1000..............0............20........0............1020 June.........1500..............0.............0..........0............1500 July..........1558..............0.............0..........0............1558 Aug...........531..............0.............0...........0..............531 Sept..........730..............0.............0...........0..............730 Oct............844.............0.............0............0.............844 Nov...........835..............0.............0...........0.............835
Dec...........664..............0............0...........0.............664 YTD.........10,011.........142............20..........46..........10,218
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