Welcome to the Desert

Today was a day of contrasts. We had a delightful ride for the first 60 miles, and a trip through Dante's Inferno for the last 24.

I spent most of the day with a delightful lady named Lisa from Indianapolis. We were warned in advance that today would see the first serious hill, along with a warm-up for the desert riding of the next couple of days. Lisa had never done a serious hill ride. Being from Indianapolis, what they call "hills", we call "an overpass".

She followed me up a 5.4 mile long climb that had about 1200 feet of climbing. The max grade was 9%, but the steep stuff was short. It was a moderately interesting hill by bay area standards, but she was really nervous about it. So she followed my lead, and I got to pass on some of the tricks I've learned by riding hills for the last 10 years. We ground it out without serious incident, and she's feeling much better about the hills that are yet to come.

From there we had a dream-like ride. The descent from Beaumont to near Palm Springs was about as perfect a ride as you'd ever see. We had a nice gentle 2-3% downgrade, with a moderate tailwind. We were riding anywhere from 20-25 MPH and basically not pedaling. I was joking about how easy it would be to get to Boston if the road was always like. that. We rode by the Windmills on the way into town, saw Mt. San Jacinto, and rode on the interstate (I 10) for the first time ever. I was figuring we'd have a tailwind all the way to Indio. We were in biking heaven.

Unfortunately once we got to the outskirts of Palm Springs that all changed. We were going East and the wind decided to go West. The temperatures soared. The temperature gage on one of the rider's bike computer registered 110 degrees. That's not air temperature, but reflects the "real feel" on the bike.

The last 20 miles was a little like riding through hell. We were only able to hold 12-13 mph while riding a gentle downhill road. The wind howled and the heat roasted. I think the temps hit. oh, about 160 freakin' degrees, although my judgement may be a little off. It was a real eye-opener for what's coming up the next two days.

Lisa and I finished without any major issues, other than being pooped out and dehydrated. But our eyes are now wide open about the challenges the desert offers.