June 3, 2010
Start: Huntington Beach, Ca
Finish: Ramona, Ca
Distance: 98.5 miles
Ascent: 2300 ft
Our first day was pretty good leaving our house in Huntington Beach, Ca and arriving at the pier with more than enough friends and family greeting us to see us dip our tires in the Pacific Ocean. We made our way down PCH heading south, stopped at Pedros Tacos in San Clemente, Ca for lunch and met a great pair of cyclists, dad and son that rode with us all the way to the freeway entrance. As we got down to Carlsbad we took Palomar Airport Rd inland towards our first night at Ramona, Ca. We got to the bottom of the mountain around 4 and made the 2000ft climb up in the evening, it was a very small road with no shoulder but great scenery! As we got to Ramona we stayed in a nice little hotel called the Ramona Valley Inn and thank god next door they had a Sizzler! Our first day was complete.
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Day 2
June 4, 2010
Start: Ramona, Ca
Finish: Brawley, Ca
Distance: 90 miles
Ascent: 2900 ft
Leaving Ramona, Ca for Brawley on day too took us right up he mountain to Julian, Ca. The view and scenery were pretty awesome, farms with everything from horses, llamas, pigs, and even camels! The 20 mile uphill took us about 3 and a half hours by the time we reached the top we had lunch at the Candied Apple Deli. After that we got a 10 mile down hill down the backside of Julian, with some amazing scenery and no pedaling for 20 minutes it was a great reward to the climbing done earlier in the day. Once we got to the bottom we had to cross 40 miles of desert through the Anza-Borrego state park. Which by then was around 100 degrees. When we were just about done and out of water we ran into a little RV park in the middle of nowhere called Ironwood RV Park and Motel! The owner Bob was a very nice guy that provided us with cold water and soaking towels as we walked up beat red. To us it was heaven, as we left we ran into a young man named Anthony, you though we were crazy, well him and his friend Rob are walking from San Diego to New Jersey for Breast Cancer! Please check out there website and support them! Coast to Coast For a Cure
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Day 3
June 5, 2010
Rest day in Brawley, Ca
The day befores heat took it out of us and we needed a much deserved rest day to jus lay down drink lots of water and get more supplies. We stopped by a rite aid for more sunscreen and a small cooler, and also at VONS to get some supplies for the next long day ahead.
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Day 4
June 6, 2010
Start: Brawley, Ca
Finish: Blythe, Ca
Distance: 84 miles
Ascent: 1200 ft
Our nice rest day in Brawley really helped us recover from the heat, sun, and leg cramps. So we left at 4am on Sunday heading to Blythe, Ca about 85 miles away. The first 40 miles were heading through farms and then into Glamis Sand Dunes for 15 miles. After the dunes there was another 20 miles of just desert, we had lunch with some friend lizards under one of the only shady spots we could find. From there we came close to the Colorado River and some small inlets of water that looked very refreshing. But we were heading for the small town of Palo Verde, when finally arriving we found a small liquor store called Lagoon Liquor with a nice lady that let us keep our bikes in the back while we jumped into the river to cool off and wait from the bar and grill next door to open. The owner of the bar grill was a super nice man named Ted that had dropped everything he had going in Southern California (right near us in Long Beach) and moved out to this little town to help his grandmother run this business. We got some refreshing drinks and food in our stomachs to make it the next 20 miles to Blythe, Ca.
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Day 5
June 7, 2010
Start: Blythe, Ca
Finish: Salome, Az
Distance: 62 miles
Ascent: 1700 ft
We left Blythe, Ca around 6am for Salome, Az which is about 60 miles. Two miles east of our hotel was the Colorado river and as we crossed over we were through our first state and in Arizona! Then we had to take interstate 10 for about 20 miles to Quartsite, Az where we got some Carl's Jr. breakfast burgers. As we were leaving and getting back on the 10 some people pulled out in front of us on the side of the road on the on ramp. They ended up being a very nice couple from Ohio that were on there way to San Diego, Ca. They are doing our same trip starting in a few days on a tandem! So we talked to them for a bit and gave them some tips but they had it pretty down. From there we got onto highway 60 towards Salome, Az and after getting on the highway for a few miles we stopped at a little Country mart in the town of Brenda. The owner is a very nice guy from orange county as well who's parents live right on the wedge! They were all very nice and helped us fill up our drinks with ice as we ate an ice cream. But from there it was 22 miles of nothingness all the way to the little town of Salome where we stayed at the Shefflers motel off highway 60 and Salome road.
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Day 6
June 8, 2010
Start: Salome, Az
Finish: Goodyear, Az
Distance: 91.5 miles
Ascent: 200 ft
We left Salome at 3:15am to try and beat the heat, we took Salome Road for 30 miles with nothing around, except we saw our first roadrunner this morning. As we got to the 10 we took the 10 for another 12 miles or so to the town of Tonopah and stopped for some breakfast. From there we took the Salome hwy all the way into the town of Buckeye. It was a pretty long but rather easy day since we got out before the heat set in and there was no climbing. As we got past Buckeye and into the south side of Goodyear we stopped for some smoothies, and then finally made it to our relatives on the other side of the 10. The day was accomplished, now we are taking a day off in Goodyear, Az to get our bikes cleaned up and get some open toed shoes, because our feet have been swelling up in the heat.
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Day 7
June 9, 2010
Rest day in Goodyear, Az
Today we took the day off in Goodyear, Az which is in the outskirts of Phoenix. We took our bikes to AZ Cyclery bike shop to get the chains cleaned and my derailer straightened. We also stopped by REI and got some Keen Commuter biking sandals, they will help when our feet start to swell and will give them some air and much more comfortable. Also stopped by CVS to get some vitamins to help sore throats because the heat really gets your throats dry. Other than that we just relaxed and ate good food!
Check out Week 2!
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