In San Diego and Day One

I'll try and update quickly but I have been having trouble with the computer especially with word processing and importing pictures and graphics. On Wednesday morning, I was one of 12 women who received their bikes from the mechanic. Six of us decided to go on a short warm-up ride to make sure everything was working correctly. We journeyed out of the hotel parking lot, toward the ocean, down bike paths and across reams of traffic. We did see several birds in the water such as blue herons, pelicans, and sand pipers. Our short little warm up ride turned out to be 21 miles, but the area was flat, and the sun was out. Another day in paradise. Later in the afternoon, Carol from NH, and I took a city bus to Old Town San Diego to see some shops and historical sections. That night we celebrated Carol's 60th birthday.

The next day Ann from NJ and I went for a walk down by the water and found a wonderful little jogging path that was away from the hustle and bustle of the busy streets. At 1 o'clock we had our first orientation group, meeting everyone, finding out a little about ourselves, and discovering how the trip was organized. This is Woman Tours 12th tour across the Southern Tier. 275 other woman have completed this trip in that time. 21 more women are planning to complete this tour that I am on.

That night, a friend, Angela, drove down from Laguna Hills to meet me and go to the send off banquet with me. That night I think everyone was very excited about our next day.
Breakfast was at 7:00 in the parking lot. I chose some hot steel cut oatmeal with yogurt and almonds. I didn't want to eat too much on the morning of our BIG DAY! By 8:00 we were off on a 3 mile trip to the Pacific Ocean to dip our tires into the water and begin our trip eastward to the waters of the Atlantic. The feeling while in the first few moments of that ride was overwhelming. I started welling up, of course, or had this huge bug catching ear to ear grin on. It was just wonderfully strange.

We all took off our bike shoes and socks, and carried our bikes down to the ocean's edge of Dog Beach, carefully watching foot placement in the sand along the way, if you get my drift at DOG beach. Then we headed off eastward by 9 o'clock to begin our ride out to Alpine, California for a total ride of 37.3 miles in all. I have the honor of having the FIRST FLAT TIRE of the trip! At about mile 21, something didn't feel right, so I pulled over and discovered my flat. I really don't know how to take the back tire off the chain, so we called for BACK-UP, and Ann, the SAG(Support and Gear) happened to be driving along just as we were placing the call. LUCKY FOR ME! She changed my flat for me and things were fine. I was off again, by myself now, and then my gears started to slip when I shifted. LUCKY FOR ME, Michelle, the guide/mechanic pulled up behind me and was able to adjust it. Now I was pretty far behind everyone else now, but began a steady climb up 2,000 feet to our destination. It was a gradual steady climb and I made it!!! One more incident I forgot to mention is that as I was trying to reset the time that was off by 20 minutes on my bike computer, I messed up the odometer so that was useless for me for the whole ride. No Worries though as I arrived safely at our destination. I am very tired and though it is only 8:15, we have a long day tomorrow with a lot more climbing to 4,000 feet to reach Jacumba in 45 miles.
Love to All,
Robin