El Centro, California to Blythe, California
105 miles
1,600 ft. of climbing
Today’s route would continue through the desert, but with much less climbing than yesterday. Started bright and early so that we would ride in the coolest part of the day. Although it was starting to warm up at 6:45 a.m., there was still significant cloud cover, which helped keep the temperature cooler. But the clouds cleared as the morning progressed and it started getting really hot. I’m guessing it was close to 100 degrees by 10:00. Groups of us rode in pace lines, so we were able to cover the first 30 miles of the ride to the first rest stop in very good time. This early part of the day's route was as flat as a pancake (which, incidentally, is what I had for breakfast). After the first rest stop, we started to encounter some rollers. There were a few steep ones, but most were a lot of fun - sort of like an over-sized rollercoaster. With the dips and the rollers, the road sort of resembled a ribbon. Every once in a while, we’d encounter a road sign that simply said “DIP” (I was unable to convince Art to let me take a picture of him standing under that sign). The scenery was pretty barren - not much to look at except for a short side trip we took to an overlook to see the Imperial Sand Dunes. It's actually called the "Imperial Sand Dunes Recreational Area." OK, I'll admit the sand dunes were pretty cool to look at, but, c'mon - a "recreation area"? Really? In the middle of the desert? That's just plain false advertising. I was looking for a swing set or monkey bars or something fun do there besides just look at some sand. Oh, well - at least it was free. : )
I think yesterday's ride acclimated us to the heat, because I didn't feel as beat up by it as I did yesterday. The heat can certainly sap your energy, especially if you get behind the 8-ball in terms of hydrating and fueling. But we are dealing with it and starting to figure out what we need to do to maintain our energy. Most importantly, we have learned we need to take it easy in the heat and not push ourselves too much - after all, we have many more miles to go.
Despite the heat, we had a good ride and a great day.
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| Art & me at the sand dunes |
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| What? No Starbucks? |
Thanks for Blogging! Brings back good memories. I thought about you most especially this week as we drove from Yuma to El Centro to San Diego. I rode in Yuma after the sand/dust storm quieted; we lunched in El Centro; and I rode from Mission Beach in San Diego up the CA coast via 101 to the north end of Camp Pendleton. Keep the posts comin.
ReplyDeleteRose, my solo southern tour started in late March of 1999, and the weather was pleasant. I too started in San Diego, but I took a different route that took me through Yuma and Casa Grande south of Phoenix, and then up to Globe. On another occasion, however, I rode from near Pomona through Palm Desert to Brawley and then on what must be the same road you took to Blythe. Again, the temperatures were moderate. Thanks for posting reports. I'm glad to miss the heat. I've climbed Yarnell Hill repeatedly and done Jerome. It's a great little town. Say a good word for me to Art.
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