Twice a year (January and October), the TCSD crew heads out to the Anza-Borrego desert for a weekend of camping, eating, relaxing, biking, and marshmallow fights.Pat and I headed to camp on Friday evening, set up our tents, chatted around the campfire a bit, and then headed to bed.
On Saturday morning, we got our bike gear together, and got fueled up for a 60 mil
e ride out to the Salton Sea and back. I had never done this ride, so I really didn't know what to expect. I do recall Brian Long warning us about the wind on the way back....but for some stupid reason I decided to ignore his comment. 60 miles. I can do this in my sleep....
e ride out to the Salton Sea and back. I had never done this ride, so I really didn't know what to expect. I do recall Brian Long warning us about the wind on the way back....but for some stupid reason I decided to ignore his comment. 60 miles. I can do this in my sleep....The ride out to the Salton Sea was HOT! In the first 5 miles I had my doubts, but then kept pushing on. The ride is through the desert, and although pretty barren of civilization, it is actually quite beautiful with the mountains in the background, and the canyons along the road. When you think desert, you think flat.....not in this desert. There were actually quite a few rollers! The ride out was actually not that bad once the winds started helping us along. At one point, I actually rode for 5 miles straight at 30+ mph. The entire time I was thinking that the ride back was going to really suck.
We made it down to Salton City, refueled on water, and then started heading back to camp. Wow! What a difference! The wind was coming out of the west at what had to be 20+ mph. And 
it was a hot wind. It was about 100 degrees out and so riding into the desert wind felt like riding into a hot hair dryer. It was MISERABLE! With about 20 miles left, I started hurting pretty bad. My heart rate was escalated because of the heat, and although I could've dumped an entire water bottle over my head to stay cool, I knew I had to conserve every drop b/c 20 miles is a long way. With about 8 miles left, I saw my friend Kevin driving SAG. I stopped, and said take my bike, I'm done. I'm not one to give up, but I know when my body has had too much. I was done! We kept driving towards the Salton Sea to see if any others needed to be picked up. The carnage was pretty unbelievable. Along with another SAG wagon, we picked up about 8 others and then headed back to Borrego.
it was a hot wind. It was about 100 degrees out and so riding into the desert wind felt like riding into a hot hair dryer. It was MISERABLE! With about 20 miles left, I started hurting pretty bad. My heart rate was escalated because of the heat, and although I could've dumped an entire water bottle over my head to stay cool, I knew I had to conserve every drop b/c 20 miles is a long way. With about 8 miles left, I saw my friend Kevin driving SAG. I stopped, and said take my bike, I'm done. I'm not one to give up, but I know when my body has had too much. I was done! We kept driving towards the Salton Sea to see if any others needed to be picked up. The carnage was pretty unbelievable. Along with another SAG wagon, we picked up about 8 others and then headed back to Borrego.
Once I was showered and fed, life was good again. Lots of good meat and beer, and even our own version of ER to end the night....no worries, he was ok after a couple stitches.
2 comments:
Cool ride, I wish I was back on the west coast with the endless no-traffic riding options.
I'm glad you played it safe. I would have SAGged it back too! I heard about that heat and the wind. Then, you had to race back to escape the fires! Glad you are okay.
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