Now in Riverside

Wow the ride has begun. It was a beautiful morning for riding to the beach. The sun was shining and there were a lot of waves coming in. The waves meant wind but more on that later. So the riders dipped their wheels in the ocean, lined up for the picture, and headed to Boston.

This day is a slow one because of at least 100 traffic lights along the way. And I am sure we stopped at half of them. But there is only one way out of a town like LA. It was interesting because for at least 20 miles most of the group stuck together. It was not the usual see how fast you can get to Riverside. They were enjoying getting to know each other. Of course eventually the group spread out and of course I was with the last group to come in. I was with two of the Brits (Tim and Geoffrey) and the mechanic Rik who was riding sweep. They were all very nice to help me in. I was pretty tired by the last 15 miles.

Well, I got the first and only flat of the day. I picked up the biggest staple I have ever seen. It didn't take any tweezers to pull that out. At orientation Geoffrey said he could change a flat on a back tire in less than 3 minutes. And he proved he could. Boy was I glad he was there. I could have changed it but it would have taken more than three minutes for sure.

Now for the wind. Headwinds going into Riverside. And they were strong. That was not fun.

"I do not bring back from a journey the same self that I took." W. Somerset Maugham