http://connect.garmin.com/activity/33554149
Great day today! This was the shortest day of the tour but was challenging nonetheless. We departed San Diego at 6:30 am under cloudy skies with a gentle mist falling. Temps were just right at about 60 degrees. The whole group headed out together.
See ya San Diego!
Lots of otherwise busy streets traveled this morning heading out of San Diego. The fact that it was Sunday morning meant we had all the roads to ourselves.
A small group of six of us leaving town early morning.
By mile 20, the climbing began in earnest, from near sea level to about 4,000 feet over the next 20 miles. Once on top, the views were spectacular. We rode on Old Highway 80 which flanked Interstate 8 for a good part of the day. At times, we would ride for short stretches on the Interstate because there were no other roads available. While I dont belive this would be advisable, let alone legal in the area where I live, this was not too big a deal. The shoulder was wide and the pavement was in excellent shape and free of debris.
Looking back toward SanDiego from 4,000 ft.
Our elevation profile for the day plateaued at 4,000 feet by mile 40. We would have some intermediate climbs and descents at this altitude until about mile 80, at which point we would drop again to below sea level for the last 40 miles or so of the day. Once in the Laguna Mountains, our route turned to the south as we enjoyed a fast descent into the town of Jacumba which sits right on the Mexican boarder. At mile 75, this was our lunch stop for the day, so we took a break in the shade at a roadside park.
Rode old US80 south following the boarder a ways.
The cool morning temps from sea level were now a thing of the past. By the time we took our lunch break in Jacumba, I would say temps were warm but still pleasant in the mid 80s. A dry heat, so no worries, right?! Proper hydration is critically important when riding in this type of climate. As it is very dry, you hardly even perspire even though your heart rate is in the 140s or higher. The proof of electrolyte loss comes in the crusty layer of salt that forms on your skin and leeches through your clothes. Don't know if you can make it out in the pic below, but my forehead and eyes are caked with salt after several hours of riding.
Mr. Pretzel a/k/a "Salty Dog" at lunch in Jacumba
Following lunch, I pretty much stuck with just one other rider for the rest of the day. Tim ("Foon"), as he is nicknamed, hails from Colorado and is an incredibly strong and experienced cyclist. I found myself gasping for breath chasing him up and down the hills leading up to lunch. We pedaled out back onto Old Hwy 80 flanking the boarder fence for another 7 miles or so and then back onto Interstate 8 for a thrilling 3,000 ft descent to the desert floor. This was an amazing experience! Having never been in this area of the country before the scenery was simply breathtaking. It was incredibly barren and rocky, almost lunar in appearance, with barely any vegetation to be found.
Descending 3,000 ft. to below sea level. A total scream!
As Tim and I descended, I took a look at my route card looking for the location of our turnoff (don't want to miss those exits, especially off of the Interstate!) and noticed the words "dangerous cross winds ... increasing heat". Sure enough, even though the 10 mile descent was fast and effortless, as we twisted and turned down off the mountain, we needed to stay on our toes to keep control of the bikes. I was also amazed at how quickly the temperatures began to rise as we reached the desert floor. Hard to estimate, but it seemed like over the course of 3 to 5 miles, the temps increased from mid 80s to 100 degrees.
Shortly after we exited the Interstate onto Rte 98 (the Yuha Cutoff) we had another SAG stop at mile 93. It was interesting that there was another scheduled break less than 20 miles after our lunch stop, considering there were 10 miles of descending included in that. The reason for this stop was very evident however, the heat was already getting to me. We pulled off, filled our bottles with plenty of ice and threw a bunch more ice water over ourselves to cool down. Our crew had "ice socks" for any interested takers (tube socks filled with ice and tied off at the end). I went with the ice-water dowsed towel instead and slung it over my shoulder as we pulled out for the balance of the ride through the Yuha Desert.
How you feeling? HOT! HOT! HOT!
Entering the Yuha Desert. It's a dry heat. :)
As someone who regularly enjoys riding in hot weather, and even boasts about it, I was quickly beginning to wilt. Only a few miles after our stop, my ice towel was now a hot towel and provided no cooling relief. I was starting to lose power to the pedals rapidly and even at a moderate pace, Tim was pulling away from me.
I had now begun to realize that although I was probably OK on fluids, my electorlytes were way too low. It was too late. I started to bonk seriously and my pace slowed to 10-11 mph. I popped 5-6 electroylte tablets and kept sipping my gatorade which was by now hot, and extremely unpleasant to force down. I implored Tim to go on without me as it would take me some time to recover. He would have none of it and hung in there with me, leading the way. He tried to keep me on his wheel but I would invariably fall back and he would slow up and wait for me. We yo-yoed like this for about 10 miles, which, based on how I was feeling, might as well have been 100. Fortunately, there was one final stop planned for the day at mile 115, about 11 miles from the hotel in ElCentro.
Tim and I took an extended break at the next stop, where I topped off my fluids and took a breather in the shade for a moment. By the time we got back on the road again, I was starting to feel a bit better as I could tell I was getting some power back in the legs. As we rode into the outskirts of ElCentro, there was a distinct demarcation line where the desert ended and irrigated farmland began. Like night and day, we went from dust bowl to green fields. Wasn't sure what they were growing but in certain sections you could distinctly smell onions in the ground. We rode along some of the irrigation channels which I had never seen before. These were pretty cool, you could see water moving quickly through these cement troughs which parallelled the road. It was moving our way so I was half tempted to see if I could "luge" my way to the hotel.
As we rolled into the hotel, spirits were once again high. I felt pretty much fully recovered from my earlier melt-down in the desert. A big thank-you to Tim for gettinng me through today! It felt great to get a cool shower in and go back outside to clean-up the bike and dip the toes in the hotel pool before dinner at Dennys.
Tomorrow is our longest day of the tour at 220 miles and is all desert. We will be up at 2:30 and on the road by 3:30 am to avoid some of the heat. I hope I have aclimatized suffucuently to the heat by now because I can't afford a repeat of today on such a long trek tomorrow. So it's off to bed to get some more recovery rest!
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