Day 2 - May 11th - Pacific Ocean to Riverside, CA - 78 Miles - 3600 feet climbing

Note: Please left-click on photos to enlarge.

Today was our first day of riding. We first had a parade escort by our tour vans to the Manhattan Beach Pier. We carried our bikes down to the water and dipped our rear wheels. We will dip our front wheels in the Atlantic Ocean when we reach Boston. Next we took group pictures. I am in the back row, fifth from the right. We then left for Riverside. The entire day was along city streets with dozens of stoplights and stop signs. The heavily traveled streets had marked bike lines so we did not feel threatened by the cars. In fact the drivers were very courteous in letting us pass through intersections as groups. The tour company staff was excellent about monitoring our progress. One of the staff rides his bike at the tail end and serves as a mechanic. We had two sag stops (food) and my smaller group also stopped at a restaurant for a noon lunch. The last ten miles into Riverside was a beautiful ride up a tree lined street with very little traffic. It was very relaxing and we took our time to enjoy the scenery.

At route rap this evening we were told that tomorrow would be our introduction to the desert and would be a practice run for the following two full days of desert of over 100 miles each.

I am finding that I don't have much time to spare. By the time that I shower, cleanup the bike a little, and do some grocery shopping, it is time for route rap and supper. After supper, I do a little preparation for the next day and it is almost time for bed. It is recommended that we try to get nine hours of sleep a night for the miles we are riding. I've been getting up about 5am.

So long until tomorrow.