San Diego, CA to El Centro, CA - 129 miles

Today in a word - hot. We started the day at 6am with breakfast. After woofing down some Golden Grahams and a piece of cheese danish, we hit the road. It was extremely foggy. Water dripped off my brake levers, helmet, glasses. We went by Qualcomm stadium. After around twenty miles we crested a hill, the fog was behind us. I was riding with a group that included my roommate Brian. At the top of a nice downhill, my cue sheet flew off. Bye everyone. Back up the hill to get the sheet. I continued to climb. We were making our way slowly but surely to the top of the mountains before the desert. Lunch appeared, I ate. Lots of salty stuff - olives, cold cuts, Lay's, anchovies, salt pills. We were encouraged to fill up a tube sock with ice and put over our neck to keep cool for the upcoming desert. We left - Brian (the biologist), Carol (the physical therapist), Nigel (the orthopedic surgeon). A few of us stopped to get a good shot of the ten-mile descent ahead of us framed by the ominous desert. The descent began, and there were signs warning of high winds (there were, and the felt like blasts from an oven door opening), rumble strips, a runaway truck ramp (nice!), and large overhanging rocks everywhere. We were truly descending into hell.

We had about fifty miles ahead of us in this heat. Very flat, but hot. We stopped to fix Nigel's second flat, and more riders stopped to join in. Brian noted the temperature was 113 degrees. We got a pace line going for bit, but it degenerated as heat exhaustion set in for a few riders. They stopped to fix flats, I continued. There was one more water stop 11 miles from the end. It was needed. Nigel and I picked it up a bit as we rode through some somewhat cooler area that had irrigation ditches and green fields.

We saw the Border Patrol quite a few times whizzing by in their Broncos. Supposedly this group of bicyclists, which has come through in years past, is one of their favorites. We are about ten miles or so from the Mexican border right now. I am going to try and get my picture taken with them tomorrow.

We go tomorrow to Blythe, CA, which the Denny's staff tonight at dinner assured us there was nothing there. There won't be near as much climbing, which will make things easier (only 1900 ft. vs. 7500 ft. today). But the infernal heat will be with us for the next four days.