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 50- Mexico Beach FL

 We worried about the cool temps predicted for this morning, but the truth was, 46° in the sunshine was pretty pleasant with the right layers. I had a chance to work out some navigation because ride with GPS gave me an old route that didn’t start at the La Quinta, but at a point 7 miles away. I would’ve done better with a paper map, but struggled enough with the phone to figure it out. Even a little win feels good. We rode the 18 mile Timpoochee trail. It went past several lakes and state parks and through some rather fancy planned neighborhoods.  Ankur made a statement yesterday about how much of what we’ve seen has been man-made or planned by men, often as a result of hurricane damage. I found this to be a great contrast to parts of the southwest where nature seems to be taking back the land, growing up over abandoned houses. When I turned onto 98 E. I noticed beach access and headed down to look at the water. There was a kiosk there about artificial fish reefs that caught m...
1 comment
Read more

Day 37- Silsbee Texas

 It’s Halloween and I’m sorry I could not pull together any sort of costume. I did take a stab at it in Austin, but Target let me down. Ann, however, managed to get her friends to take her somewhere where she got pieces to make a very patriotic character. It was fun to ride with her as the drivers honked their approval. As we prepare to leave Texas tomorrow we are beginning to see more water. This morning we crossed the Trinity river right off the bat.  We made a stop after lunch at the Honey Island General Store and met Chuck, the owner. I asked him how the town got its name, and he said “here’s the story I believe…” The people of the town did not own slaves during the Civil War, and as such, did not want to fight for slaveowners rights. The powers that be didn’t approve and decided to set fire to the area they thought the resistors were hiding in. This area was known as the big thicket, a Jungle-y type area with such thick underbrush that it still has not been developed. The...
2 comments
Read more

Day 35- New Waverly, Texas

 Today’s ride was more of the same — farm fields, horses, cattle, even some cows with floppy ears that made them look like they had been mixed with sheep. My day’s regret was not getting a picture. It’s too bad the weather was still gray when we left because the lake and the beach in Somerville would be great in the sun, but with 71 miles ahead of us we were up and out early. Our first stop was Independence, home of the original Baylor University. It started as a girls school, then Baylor Academy (coed- you go, progressive Texas!) and finally the University before it moved to Waco. Locals told us that the current dean has freshman and seniors come to the site each year; freshmen to learn the history, and seniors to say goodbye. The site also included some early Texas homes from the 1820s. One was called a dog- trot house, called that because it has a breezeway in the middle. The center area was often used as a dog kennel. They also had examples of other homes from the 1820s which i...
1 comment
Read more