"The Girl Friday Rides Again" is now in the books and I'm home and back to life as usual. The ride was not as "memorable" as the my summer or Pacific Coast ride, but I like these little interlude trips to break up "real life." It also helps keep me in shape at a time when I'm not thrilled at jumping on my bike for the usual 30-40 mile loop around town--in fact today it was 28 degrees when I woke up.

Route: I was a little reluctant about the route since it is not ACA and I had to do some research on it beforehand. But it seems, from talking to the locals I met along the way, that a lot of people tour there. There were some horrendous stretches of pavement, worse than dirt/gravel roads by far in fact, but you can bypass most of that by riding through Calexico instead of El Centro (see route information on day 2). That was my original plan, actually, but when I met that group who was riding to El Centro I decided to stay with them a while.

Riding on the freeway was fine in most places. After Gordon Wells it was a little rough but not excessively so. Traffic was fine, and I was riding through what is likely the busiest time of year. I talked to several CHP along the way and they were friendly and helpful, advising me to take the freeway when I might have taken a longer side road. "It's the quickest and fastest way," one said. "There is a nice shoulder and a smooth surface." Then he told me what exit to take. In fact I got similar advice from a border patrol agent.

I'm a little disappointed about missing one day of riding but in the end, I guess, what does it matter?

Traveling with the Bike Friday: I always like handing the bike off to the Southwest Airlines agent as if it were just another suitcase for no extra charge. :-)

I'm already concocting a summer ride. So, until then...

Thanks for reading!

Karen