Go East Young Man!

And away we go! Day 1 went about as well as I could have possibly hoped.

The morning started bright and early with a 5:30 a.m. wake-up, although truth be told we were both awake well before then. Laurie got to meet a few of the riders at breakfast, including our oldest member who celebrated his 80th birthday yesterday! He's doing the ride with a friend and with his grandson. How cool is that?

We lined up 2 by 2 out in the parking lot, with everyone wearing their team jerseys. The tension was just as thick as at any race I've ever done. We couldn't wait to get started. Finally the pace car took off and we did a slow-roll to the ocean, followed by a couple of miles along The Strand until we got to the Manhattan Beach Pier.

Laurie was waiting for me as I got to the pier, and Jennifer and Stephanie showed up just minutes later. I hoisted my bike on my shoulder and we all walked down to the ocean. I managed to soak the rear tire in the Pacific a couple of times as waves came unexpectedly crashing in. Good thing I took off the bike shoes. After a few pictures we headed back up to the pier. It was departure time for real now.

After a group photo and a big group cheer of "BOSTON!", it was time to really begin this adventure. My girls gathered around for a final good-bye. We made it quick. I could feel a first-class blubber-fest about to break out. As it was it still took me a couple of miles to fight back the emotions.

Finally, after all the months of planning and preparation, we were underway. The group sorted itself out pretty quickly. I rode with a couple of different groups during the day, but spent most of my time with Don and Patty, a really nice couple from Boulder, Co.

We had a fabulous first day. We had a tailwind for much of the day, and reasonable temps. It got up to the high 80's in Riverside, which wasn't too bad. I felt great all day long. The bike is riding beautifully. 80 miles went by in a blur. We were at the hotel at 2:20, and never really pushed the pace. All in all it was a great start to the trip.

A couple of notables from today's ride:

I mostly followed the group early in the day. I took my first turn at the front right before the first rest stop, and within 400 yards promptly took a wrong turn and got the entire group lost. We added an extra 2 miles to the day's riding before we got it all sorted out. The good news though is that now no one will want me to lead. I can draft all the way to Boston.

I took a picture at the 50 mile mark. What was notable about this spot? Well, it was the first time I saw actual "dirt" since we left the hotel. It took 50 miles of riding before we saw something other than strip malls and office parks.

After 80 miles of riding we're STIIL in L.A. OK, I realize the locals might take offense to calling Riverside "L.A.", but it's close enough for me.

We're encouraged to eat something immediately after we finish the day's ride. That didn't take much convincing. I wandered down the street from the hotel and found a little pizza joint. After finishing the entire pizza I found a Starbucks and had a Venti Frappuchino. Hey, I have to keep up my strength, right?