I'm not sure why I always start with how I slept, but I guess because I feel better when I sleep well. I went to bed at 9:30 last night and woke up at 5:25, right before my alarm. I felt good and rested. It started out a little warm, but cooled down nicely overnight.
I'm getting pretty efficient at packing my tent. Today I put on sunscreen, got dressed in my bike clothes (shorts, short-sleeve jersey with sun sleeves and buff, which are all placed in a stuff sack the night before), put my sleeping clothes into a stuff sack or the laundry as appropriate), stuff my inflatable pillow into its stuff sack, stuff my sleeping bag and bag liner into their sack, deflate the air mattress and roll it up, and roll up the yoga mat. I have two big duffle bags, one with clothes in the tent and one that goes in the vestibule. I have a small bag that stores my camping stuff that is also in the vestibule. Those are mostly packed the night before except the things I need in the morning. Before getting out of the tent I put in the things I am done with in those. I then went to the bathroom to do my morning hygiene. I then came back, took the duffle bags out of the tent and packed the tent. I put on my bike shoes and put my camp shoes away. After they are charged, I store my electronics (front and rear light plus Karoo) in the duffle bag I put in the van. When I come back from the bathroom I put them on my bike and then pump up the tires. I have been using 67.5 in the front and 70 in the rear since the roads are a little better than they were in West Texas. Then, one duffle bag and the camping duffle bag then go to the trailer. It was light, so I put on my sunglasses and put my regular glasses away. Everything goes in its place or I will spend a lot of time looking for it. I put the glasses in an outer pouch of the backpack that has my laptop. The only thing that is out of the last duffle bag is my morning kit that has wipes and chamois cream. It seems that breakfast stimulates a 2nd trip to the bathroom, so I keep those out. I then made my oatmeal and a cup of herbal tea and set those aside while I pack my lunch. I had a half of a PBJ left from yesterday, so I made a new half. I put some bars and a clementine in my jersey pocket and the rest in the stuff sack I put in the van. I then eat my breakfast, wash my dishes, put them in the trailer, and make a final trip to the bathroom. At that point I put on my helmet (stored overnight on my bike) and my safety triangle (which has been misplaced again) and am ready to got. This morning I left camp at 7:17, which may be a record.
The temperature at departure time was 62 and felt really nice. The route was on CA 78 basically all day. At first it was flat and then a gradual (1-2% gradient) starting at mile 8. What I didn't expect was the there started to be a lot of punchy climbs. They were probably only 50-60 feet of elevation gain, but I was feeling good and sprinting up them. So, I was burning a lot of matches. They also slowed me down. The van was schedule to meet us at Glamis, about 40 miles away. I had 2 water bottles, which is only barely enough for that distance. It really started to heat up about 9:00. By the time I reached the van at Glamis, it was 92 and I had only a swig of water left. I ate half a PBJ, an orange, drank 2/3 of a bottle of water (nice and cool water thanks to BD), renewed my sunscreen and left. I think I was at the van about 25 minutes. The last 30 miles were mostly a slow downhill. The last 10 miles there was a headwind. Overall the wind was a bit of a headwind. What really made the last part hard was the heat. My GPS said the air temperature was 100 near the end. I think that was an overestimate, but it sure felt hot. At mile 56 the route had us turn off 78. After a half mile it wanted me to turn down a dirt road. I decided to go back to 78 and followed that into town. In town I rode to the church, but the van wasn't there. BW had texted that he was in a restaurant, so I went to that. Unfortunately, it was about a mile away. At the restaurant I ate a folded taco (fried tortillas) dinner (2 tacos with rice and beans) and drank a large lemonade and a glass of water. As we were eating we saw the van go by. When I was done we rode back to the church.
The ride itself was through some beautiful country. The sand dunes could be seen from far and looked very impressive. The hilly terrain before that was also quite scenic, though the heat made it a little hard to appreciate.
The church facility is really nice. We are in their fellowship hall. It seems it is in a former church/school combination. There is a swimming pool and some showers. I took a quick plunge in the pool, which was surprisingly cool given how hot it was. I have my stuff set up to sleep inside, but I may sleep outside depending on the number of security lights and how hot it is.
Tomorrow we ride 50 miles to Ocotillo. The winds will be light early and the temperature will be high in the afternoon. So, I will try to get an early start. The day after is the big ride to Alpine. It is 60 miles with 7000 feet of ascent. The good news is that it won't be as hot. I hope to take it relatively easy tomorrow and be fresh for Sunday.
Today's ride: 72 miles (116 km) Total: 2,916 miles (4,693 km)
