Time: 4h17m57s
Distance: 125.83km
Avg Spd: 29.3km/hr
Climbing: 768m
Welcome to the desert! Holy, moly did we get cooked today. After the heat today, everyone is freaking out about the next four days as we face hotter, less windy days as we enter the deeper desert. Temperatures were around 95 F by 10am. While we were on Highway 111, the wind kept us cool. But when we entered Palm Springs, it felt like the temperature sky-rocketed. Stopping at stoplights was the worst, as the heat would radiate from the pavement.
Hydration was crucial. I probably consumed 5L of water in a 4-hour period of riding, alternating bottles of water with bottles of electrolyte supplements. Don't think I got too sunburn - maybe a little on the nose.
Aside from the heat, today's ride was gorgeous - a climb out of Redlands, followed by a lengthy downhill run into camp.
Tonight we stay at Jordon's Outreach Center - a beautiful facility (with a pool!) The staff there offered to open up their gymnasium to us to help escape the heat, and in the afternoon it was a welcome promise of cooler temperatures by evening. But by the time the sun went down, the gym was hotter than it was outside. We all quickly set up our tents without the flies, and are camping out on the baseball diamond behind the main building. The breeze is brisk, and provides a marginal cooling effect. I got cooked last night, and we got hit with heavy dew, and woke up with a soaking wet tent. Tonight the fly is off, and I'm trying to balance the delicate line between comfort and modesty with the mesh windows to my tent.
I'm kicking myself and nursing a sore wrist tonight as I took a slight tumble in Palm Springs when we pulled over to get some stuff from Target. I entered a parking lot via a sloped concrete ramp and ironically slipped on the only water in all of Palm Springs that had collected at the base of the ramp. The water on the polished concrete was like ice, and my front wheel shot out from under me. I wasn't going very fast, so the damage wasn't too bad. I've got a bit of a shiner on my hip (can I call it a shiner if it's not on my eye?), and my wrist is quite sore. I had our 'in house' doctor, Ava, take a quick look at it and it does not appear to be broken. I've been taking ibuprofin and icing it, so I'm hoping it will be well enough to ride on tomorrow. I was able to make it the 20km to camp without too much discomfort, so it is looking good. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it, and would really appreciate your prayers for quick recovery.
Riding buddies were Brandon and Karel again. Dave joined for a bit, but had some knee trouble, so peeled off to ride with a slower rider needing a buddy.
Flat count at peloton meeting tonight was 21! Brandon flatted at 2.85km in - we had barely gotten rolling and he picked up some glass rolling out of Redlands. We got directed onto a terrible "bike path" that ran parallel to the I-10 for maybe a kilometer. But it was a downhill stretch, and the road was in terrible condition, with giant cracks spanning the width of the road every 20m. Karel hit one hard at 30km/h and pinch flatted bad. Likely half of the flats today occurred on this short stretch of road. I'd call it the "Road from hell", but it took us away from Redlands which was actually a gorgeous valley full of fruit orchards (oranges and grapes). I'd call this road the "Road to hell", but this stretch led us to a great segment of brand new pavement, where we were able to cruise at 50km/h with barely any effort.
We went through Palm Springs, which is ridiculously hot, with minimal respite. We stopped at the visitor center, and were overwhelmed by the heat after the fast cruising.
Tomorrow we're expecting more heat as we venture further into the desert, so we're getting up early. The alarm clock is set for 4:30am, and we hope to be riding by 5:30, and in camp by noon to beat the heat of the day. We're staying at a golf course with a community center (pool) nearby, so I am already looking forward to the next chance to swim.
So, at 9:09pm of day 2, it's time to say 'goodnight.'
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