Skip to main content

Day 1- Ocean Beach to Alpine



 Day 1 is in the books! Great day that started at Dog  Beach and a back wheel dip in the Pacific. Tad, Kathy, and Charlotte met me down there. It was great to see them as we headed out.




The ride was flat for the first 25 miles or so, but hot! Temps were in the 90s with blazing sun and clear blue skies. We separated out early into smaller groups. I found good peddling with Sue and Ann. We also crossed paths with Adam and Kelly, the tandem riders.


Our route took us to through Mission Gorge regional park which was absolutely gorgeous. A nice pass that cut through the mountains and made it possible for us to miss an incredible climb. No worries; there are plenty more ahead of us.




At 30 miles we made sure we were fully loaded with water and electrolytes. I’m not sure if I’ve ever consumed this much fluid in a single day. Then the climb began. On the map it looked evil, almost straight up. In reality it was less steep than it was long. It was 6 miles at about three or 4% grade. It did require me to adjust expectations in order to be successful, so I slowed the pace, looked for shade in order to rest when needed and listened carefully to my body. The result? I rolled into camp around 3 o’clock still with gas in the tank. A shower has never felt so good and I’m sure I’ll sleep well tonight

Comments

  1. EllenSeptember 25, 2022 at 5:30 PM

    So glad that you’re finally on your way!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 25, 2022 at 5:46 PM

    This is awesome Lydia !! Looking forward to following your journey ! Pickle juice and Pickles will help along the way for sure !! -Keep pedaling ! Lynn Dreher ❤️

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 25, 2022 at 9:14 PM

    Love reading your adventure, and will be sure to follow it, even as my own journey begins (Oct 2). I am guessing your new mantra is rise eat drink pedal, shower eat drink sleep, repeat! You are in my prayers for a wonderful and safe trip!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 26, 2022 at 5:30 AM

    What a great start. Keep listening to your body. So proud of you. Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousSeptember 26, 2022 at 6:12 AM

    And here I am proud that I did 5 miles on the indoor recumbent yesterday! Hahaha I am excited for you Lydia, Pauline

    ReplyDelete
  6. Morning GlorySeptember 26, 2022 at 1:58 PM

    Absolutely wonderful!!! Enjoy the ride! Prayers for safety and exhilarating joy :-D

    ReplyDelete
  7. GariSeptember 26, 2022 at 6:05 PM

    Love reading about your travels & the landscape. Sounds wonderful!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 57- Palatka FL

 We are at the Quality Inn in Palatka on the last night of our tour. Dinner was at the Azalea brewery and awards were given out to all participants — tongue-in-cheek, of course. They were as follows, and as memory serves: Most likely to deliver an impromptu dissertation: Carl Most likely to speak up and be right: Kelly Most likely to build a bike on the side of the road: Adam Most likely to cry at the ceremony: Jack  Most likely to bribe her way to being the favorite: in  Most likely to bribe her way to being the favorite: in Most likely to use shit in a sentence: Terry Most likely to ask or something is when it’s right in front of them: Sue Most likely to ask or some thing is when it’s right in front of them: Sue Most likely to burn the house down if coffee is not ready: met Most likely to stop a stranger and ask questions: me It was not the raucous affair I think we all had hoped for, mostly because we are all a bit introspective and conflicted as the tour comes to an e...
1 comment
Read more

Day 33 Smithville Texas 53 miles

 If you had asked me at the beginning of the trip which state would have had the steepest climbs, I would not have guessed Texas; however, that seems to be the case. Today I felt right at home. We had our map meeting this morning at breakfast and all seemed doable. I did one last check with the front desk to see if my absentee ballot had caught up with me. It had not. Greg, your vote will not be canceled by me this year! We headed out through sidestreets to leave Austin, a city I can highly recommend. We traveled bike lanes and bike paths  out to some rural roads.  Of course we had to stop for second breakfast burritos! We were riding in a group of about six when we came up on a stretch of road that had house after house with loose dogs. All of them ran at us. We must’ve made a crazy sounding group. Some of us hollered. Some blasted air horns. Several of us have “dog dazers“ which is a little clicker device that is supposed to repel dogs. I’m not sure how well it really w...
6 comments
Read more

Day 53- Perry FL

 We had a very windy night which made for a great sleeping. I set an alarm for 1:00 AM so I could see the Artemis unmanned moon rocket launch, but when I got up I found it had been pushed back and well, 70 miles, so I chose sleep over history. It was gray when we got up, and gray as we headed out. And chilly! I wished I’d opted for leggings over my shorts but was happy to have gloves. Small victories.The temp said it was almost 60 – my body threw the BS flag. I was cold all day. Not much to say about this ride. We had a 20 mile bike path that took us off route 98 for a while. We met another Bike traveler named Tony who had been on the road since June 26.  He started in Connecticut and rode to Indianapolis, then back towards Pittsburgh where he rode the trails to DC. He then went to Key West and is now on his way to New Orleans. We asked questions about his gear (there wasn’t much!) and traded a few stories and wished each other well. We got off the trail and crossed the St Mar...
3 comments
Read more