Elevation Gain: 3500 ft
First I have to say the bike gods were with us today...cool weather and a tailwind.
It was overcast and cool when we left this morning. 1.4 miles into the ride we had a 3 mile climb. I started out with the tandem but they lost me and waited at the top. The terrain after that was really good for a tandem. They started to fly. I tried to keep with them and then heard Coach T's voice in my head telling me to ride at my own pace or I would not be riding the next day. So I backed off. At 30 miles there was a 5.4 mile climb up a canyon. That was tough and I sure appreciated the granny gear. I made it up and didn't walk any of it. Boy were we glad there was a cloud cover.
After the climb the ride was amazing for the next 30 miles with the tailwind. Before getting to Palm Springs we went through an area with huge wind turbine farms. For at least 15 miles I was going down the road at 30 mph and was exerting no effort pedaling. I just soft pedaled a bit to keep the legs from getting stiff. That was amazing. I have never experienced that before.
The sun did come out and the temp on my computer showed 99. But it wasn't too bad. I got to the hotel about 2:30. Tomorrow is the Mohave desert. 100 miles of it. For safety purposes no one is to ride alone. So I will be riding with the tandem, LaVern and Janie, and the priest, Kevin. I should be in good hands.
My apologies for the picture. I was trying to get a photo of the wind turbines when a long train went by. You might see them in the background. At least the snow-capped mountain is pretty. If you want to see some better pictures, you can go to Janie's blog www.takes2totandem.blogspot.com
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
good job getting up that hill. it is a personal victory not having to walk anything.
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