The ride from the Point Loma hostel near Ocean Beach (see group photo taken by a life guard during our shake down ride the previous day) through San Diego was nice. It followed the San Diego River and the Interstate. I was reasonably familiar with the area since Susi and I had been there a few years ago on vacation. Though this was urban riding, there were no issues with traffic. The climbing started on the east side of Santee and lasted to Alpine; 2,000 ft. total. Once clear of San Diego the scenery was canyon-like and included a bicycle trail through a very pretty area. We stayed at the Mar-tar-awa Viejas RV park and had our choice of dirt patches for pitching a tent - amongst the cows no less. There was a shuttle between the RV campground and a local Indian casino where we had dinner at an all you can eat buffet.
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| Group photo at Dog Beach; Vicky, Ray, Kat, Fred, Dan, Adrian, RJ and Gary |
Today's ride started with climbing immediately; another 2,000 ft. to the pass just before Pine Valley. There was a total of just over 4,000 ft. of climbing for the day; after Pine Valley it was up 500 ft. then down 500 ft. The road had very little traffic and was nice and wide. Once we cleared the Tecate Divide, I could feel the temperature rise and it just got hotter as the day went on. We passed through the town of Jacumba which is right on the US/Mexican border. The border fence was probably only 100 yards away from the road. (see photo below). There were US border patrol SUVs, ATVs and helicopters everywhere. There really appears to be a significant effort to enforce the border but the area is so wide open that I'm sure this is a difficult task. About half way through the ride I met a couple from Iceland touring the other direction but with their accent I didn't get their names. They started in St. Augustine, FL in early August and were only one more day from reaching San Diego. They sure picked the hottest time to make the trip - and being from Iceland no less. Very nice couple and if I can remember their blog address I'll include that in a later e-mail. The ride ended with a long rapid decent from 4,000 feet to 200 feet above sea level on I-8. My max speed was 41 mph - I had to break at that point. I was riding behing Gary on the descent when he flatted. I helped him fix it then left. I waited at the off ramp to Ocotillo but he never showed up. It turned out he flatted several more times and in the heat ended up hitching a ride to Ocotillo. Several others flatted on the interstate. The emergency lane was full of tire remnants, glass and various other pieces of junk. I was lucky I did not flat myself. We stayed at another RV park in Ocotillo where the owner let us sleep in the air conditioned recreation room. With the heat it would have been very difficult to get any sleep in a tent outside. We had pizza for dinner as it was too late by the time the last few arrived and everyone was too tired to cook. The owner took one person to get the pizza. He also gave us beer! What a great host, eh?
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| US/Mexico borker fence near Jacumba, CA |
September 22 - Thursday; Ocotillo to Brawley, CA; 44 miles.
Today's ride was very flat. We got off to an early start to get to Brawley (113 feet below sea level) before the hottest part of the day. Several riders had flat tires yesterday and used up most of their supply of tubes so we all rode to a bicycle shop in El Centro. I was the second one there at just past 9:00 am but they didn't open until 10:00 am. Dan and I went to a 60's diner across the street while waiting for the other riders and for the shop to open. I had a chocolate shake. I only needed another bottle holder from the bike shop so I could carry a camp stove fuel container and both water bottles which I quickly got and went on my way. The ride north from El Centro to Brawley was HOT-HOT-HOT. A photo of the desert and of the agriculture around El Centro follow.
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| Desert landscape in southern California |
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| Agriculture near El Centro, CA |
Tomorrow's ride is almost 70 miles with about 1,500 feet of moderate climbing later in the ride though nothing as steep as the first two days. It'll be a bear with the heat but there are a number of places along the way to get inside and cool off/rehydrate.
I'll update again next time I can get to a library.
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