Day 2 - Across the Desert

Today started a little too early. 5 AM wake up breakfast at 5:30 and on the road by 6:15. The sore muscles we earned yesterday were there to remind us of yesterday and warn us about what was to come. The first 25 miles were flat to downhill. Starting from a few feet below sea level this would seem to be hard to do, but our first rest stop in Mecca (California) appeared to be 180 feet below sea level according to my GPS. There is no reason to make a pilgrimage to this Mecca, it is a poor farming town and as far from Palm Springs in life style and wealth as you can imagine. The difference is as striking as that between the Upper East Side of Manhattan and the worst sections of the Bronx.

After leaving Mecca we climbed into Box Canyon; this is a wonderful road. It climbs 1500 feet in about 15 miles and for much of the time you ride through these scenic mounds. It is one of the places where our leader always takes too many pictures,

Once we got to the end of box Canyon we were on I10 for the rest of the day, a 70 mile ride across the desert to Blyth. Last year it was 80 in the shade at Blyth and we had a tailwind to get us there. This year it was 90 and there was no tailwind. Also like last year, there was no shade! We worked to get in this year, and if you didn’t drink your water you suffered greatly. I carried two water bottles and a small Camelback; I didn’t run out of water, but I was glad to see the rest stops every 25 to 30 miles. I don’t know how the riders with only two water bottles did it. Since 110 is a common temperature for Blyth in the summer don’t try this ride on your own.

After we got into the motel, we met to discuss the tomorrow’s route. While sitting in a shady corner of the parking lot, one rider passed out from dehydration and was rushed to the local emergency room. We hope that she, a twenty year old woman, will be OK. However, there could be no better way to make the point about taking care of yourself on this ride. We will see if the rest of us get the message. I also ant to point out that Mike who was describing tomorrows rout stopped in mid sentence and directed the staff to get her to the local ER. She and the van were off in less than three minutes. I was impressive.