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I've Got Something to Say
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| Ride Stats |
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Time: 08:07:45
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Distance:
128.41 miles
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Max Speed:
52.60 mph
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Avg Speed:
15.70 mph
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Route:
PAC Tour Central Transcontinental
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Weight:
0
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Category: training: general -
solo
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Terrain: Road: Steep
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Bike: Fuji Newest Road
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| Club: Commuter Cycling Century |
| Weather Conditions: |
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It is widely believed that if two people from St Louis meet anywhere in the world, it won’t be very long into the conversation before one of the asks the other, "Where did you go to high school?" I don’t know if this holds true for other regions, but sure is a popular question in St Louis. Having lived there for 19 years now, there have been several times I have been asked that question and my reply has always been, "A private school in the eastern part of San Diego County." A more precise answer would be Christian High School in El Cajon, CA.
The prescribed route to get from our hotel in San Diego and into Imperial County, where you find El Centro, the 18 mile mark puts me within one to two miles of good ol’ CHS. When I first signed up for this trip, I anticipated seeing how close the route would get me the corner of Madison & Greenfield and consider the possibility of riding my own little course to get there and get a couple of pictures. That is exactly what I did.
To get from the hotel to that point took us past Qualcomm Stadium, home of the San Diego Charges. At a little after 7:00 A.M. things there were already hopping, as the tail-gaters were getting ready of the season opener. Sorry no picture. I thought about making a brief photo stop as I rolled down Friars Rd, but I had already left later than I hoped and still had my personal detour ahead. The first photo I took, though, was as I was about ready to descend from Fletcher Hills into the El Cajon valley; soon to be followed by the detour by CHS.
Now it was time to climb out of the valley, going up to almost 4,000 above sea level, before descending into Imperial Valley on the other side. I did not get to the lunch stop (mile 75) until almost 2:00 P.M., because of all the climbing (and not much descending) needed to get there. In the photo album, the picture that shows Tecate Divide at 3,890 feet, it wasn’t just one climbing. Stats show that total climbing to that point was around 6,000. I was feeling slow and lethargic all morning, but we were told that day one was a hard day. Compared to day 2 which is just over 100 miles and only 1,500 of climbing. Having said all that – when I checked my bike’s computer before I left the lunch stop, my average speed was 13.5 MPH – slower than even I am used to – but that’s when the fun began. Less than 15 miles later I was at another rest stop in the heat of the desert of the Imperial Valley (with a constant 15-20 MPH wind out of the west), and my average speed was now sitting at 14.5 MPH. I don’t know for sure, but I believe my average speed for just that segment would be over 30 MPH, as a good majority of it was an 8 mile descent down a 6% grade. A couple of interesting events during the descent:
1) for the descent we had to ride on the shoulder of I-8 (yes, that is Interstate Highway 8)
2) there were a few curves along the way with sub-freeway speed warning signs posted. The first one suggested a speed of 50 MPH. I looked down at my computer, and I was doing 52 MPH at the time (that was my max for the day – as well as ever in my life).
3) doing 45+ MPH was not as bad as I thought it would be (I’ve been in the low 40’s a couple times, but on most of my normal training rides, I only get up to 36-37 MPH for less than a quarter mile).
4) the scary thing about the descent was the cross winds that would push the bike left & right as I tried to keep a straight line.
Most of the last 30 miles, went by fairly fast, primarily because it was flat terrain and there was a tailwind help push my cruising speed to 23-25 MPH. In the photos album you will see a few photos I took from the bike as I was cruising down this stretch of road. In one of the you will see a blue flag atop a 8-12 foot fiberglass pole (flexing in the wind) with half a blue barrel at its base. It took me a little while figure what their purpose is and why they would be a third of a mile apart (my roommate Howard determined their spread to help him pass the time). They are humanitarian relief – water supply – for people wandering through the area (i.e. illegal aliens – we were just a few miles from the US-Mexico border).
My over all summary of the day – a great day for riding (I didn’t even mention how mild the weather was) and I really enjoyed the ride once all of the climbing was out of the way.
Also, in closing, I need to say thanks to Catherine for riding with me between the second rest stop & the lunch stop – even stopping half way up a looong ascent so I could get my heart rate & breathing back in order. ‘Cat’ was the only entry (and therefore the winner) in the women’s solo division of the Race Across America back in June.
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