Day 1, San Diego California to El Centro California
Sunday, September 11, 2011 Category: Bike Ride
Today was an epic sub-ride of the epic journey. 127 miles with 7000 feet of climbing! A good test for my long riding ability. And yes, I did make it, although fairly spent when I arrived at the Holiday Inn Express in El Centro, California.
We left San Diego at around 7:00 am, and it took a while to leave the big city. Climbing started early and almost ended at Tecate Divide, but had a little more climbing after that, before screaming down 10 miles on Interstate 8 in to Ocotillo, California. Quite a drop and what a rush! We went from around 4000 feet elevation at the top of the pass to 377 feet elevation in Ocotillo. It was like dropping into a furnace. The heat was pretty intense. Lon showed us how to use an ice sock by filling the sock with ice, closing the end with a rubber band, and putting that around the neck under the cycling jersey. What a bomb! Worked well. Once leaving Ocotillo, we hit flats for the rest of the way into El Centro. Most of the ride was out in the desert, with a nice head wind. Thank goodness that the sun hide most of the time behind clouds. Eventually, near El Centro, we hit farming areas and eventually rolled into El Centro. Boy, was I glad to see the Holiday Inn Express!
As far as the ride went, I cramped a lot going up hills and sometimes on the straight aways. I certainly need to get this dialed in and soon! Also, the balls of my feet are really sore! Talked to Lon about this, and he advises moving the cleats back, and keeping the shoe loose. Tomorrow is essentially a recovery ride, with very little climbing (about 1700 feet). So, we will see if I can get this all working. More tomorrow.....
Click here for today’s pictures
We left San Diego at around 7:00 am, and it took a while to leave the big city. Climbing started early and almost ended at Tecate Divide, but had a little more climbing after that, before screaming down 10 miles on Interstate 8 in to Ocotillo, California. Quite a drop and what a rush! We went from around 4000 feet elevation at the top of the pass to 377 feet elevation in Ocotillo. It was like dropping into a furnace. The heat was pretty intense. Lon showed us how to use an ice sock by filling the sock with ice, closing the end with a rubber band, and putting that around the neck under the cycling jersey. What a bomb! Worked well. Once leaving Ocotillo, we hit flats for the rest of the way into El Centro. Most of the ride was out in the desert, with a nice head wind. Thank goodness that the sun hide most of the time behind clouds. Eventually, near El Centro, we hit farming areas and eventually rolled into El Centro. Boy, was I glad to see the Holiday Inn Express!
As far as the ride went, I cramped a lot going up hills and sometimes on the straight aways. I certainly need to get this dialed in and soon! Also, the balls of my feet are really sore! Talked to Lon about this, and he advises moving the cleats back, and keeping the shoe loose. Tomorrow is essentially a recovery ride, with very little climbing (about 1700 feet). So, we will see if I can get this all working. More tomorrow.....
Click here for today’s pictures
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