L.A. to Boston - May 10 to June 28 - 3415 Miles

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Day 4 - May 13th - Indio, CA to Blythe, CA - 100 miles - 3100 feet climbing

Hello everyone,

No pictures today as I didn't carry my camera. My goal was to survive the day. I did make it to Blythe, though. We traveled on I-10 for most of the day with a 11 mile climb out of Indio. The weather was cooler than normal but the CrossRoads staff said that the crosswinds and blowing sand were the worse that they had seen in the 12 years that they have been running the tour. DOT trucks were even out with snowplows - plowing the sand drifts off the highway. The crosswinds were very gusty and tricky, not knowing when they were coming. Some riders were blown off the road. Two were taken to the hospital. Another rider was picked up by the wind, turned around, and left heading in the opposite direction leaning against a shrub but was otherwise unharmed. We did have partial tail winds which were a big help. Riding on I-10 was not as bad as I thought it would be. The shoulders were smooth although we had to dodge shredded truck tires. Some had flats from the tire wire. Tomorrow will be an even longer day at 115 miles and more climbing. It's past bedtime.

Bye for now,
Bob

4 comments:

kaz said...

hi. just got hold of your blogs...
i will be following from now on. keepup the good work
my dad is george garner. say hi for me.
love from karen

Anonymous said...

Bob,

Been monitoring your progress. From the sounds of the few other riders (their blogs) Indio to Blythe was a tough ride. I have also heard that multiple sags. on that day as well. I have noticed that some who were updating their blogs daily before the ride haven't left a comment since day one. Hope they are OK

JOHN OSBORNE (cold in Grinnell)

Craig Cooper said...

Bob it is fun to read your blog I will share it with the bike shop crowd. are you taking alot of pictures? Hope all continues to go well! Craig

Anonymous said...

Bob:

Great work! This day is and the next are the two toughest days of the trip. Although there are lots of centuries on this ride. These two are the toughest.

Terry