Today was our first real test on the road. After the first of what will be way too many hotel breakfasts (at least the eggs were fresh as we were the first ones in, as soon as they turned on the lights), we loaded the GPS files into the laptop, fiddled with the new version of Microsoft Streets & Trips, and hit the road, climbing from Goleta to Ojai. It was cool (jacket and long sleeve weather) when we set out about 7:15. Early on in the ride, Peter and Jody were checking mileage on the bikes' Garmins. Peter: "Five miles down, 3,995 to go!" Ha! Good to have a sense of humor when the mountains rise ahead of you.
It's also good to have a sense of adventures. Twenty minutes short of where the guys finally decided to make a pit stop, I couldn't wait any longer. Pulled up on the side of the road next to a solid fence, opened both right side car doors (front and back seats), and peed on the roadside. Scofflaw? Who, me?
As the sun rose, so did the temperature. By the time we reached Ojai about four hours later, it was somewhere in the 90's, sunny and hot.
The ride itself was challenging for Jody, the hills plus the dry desert heat combining for a kick ass day on the bike. Jody was a champ, hard up the hills and fast down them. Job well done!
As for me, turns out that driving the sag wagon wasn't what we had expected. As we left Goleta, I drove with the right hand wheels of The Little Darkness well over into the bike lane, flashers on, trailing the riders. I drove a lot of miles that way. Very light traffic, which was good. What little there was tended to be patient drivers, passing first me and then the bikes with room to spare. A few were impatient, a couple honked their horns (nope, that didn't get them anywhere), one wanted to know what the f&*k I was doing. Yeah, well. There were a few moments when I wondered that myself, but the more I drove, the easier it got.
Once we were on the last long climb of the day, I leap-frogged ahead, one to two miles at a time, found a turnout (I was constantly looking for shade - for myself and for the riders), and waited for them to either stop for drinks and snacks or ride by me again.
Lots of fluids today, not so much food, during the ride. Jody doesn't like to drink on the bike, but is beginning to see the wisdom of hydrating in the desert. The wind is harsh in a way not seen at home in the heartland. The wind in the Midwest can cut to the bone, driving chill up sleeves, down collars and crushing mittened fingers in its frigid grip. Here in the desert west, the wind is insidious. In the guise of a gentle breeze, it drinks the waters from the body, wicking away sweat, drying the eyes, stealing away saliva from the unwary, panting hard up the pass. One cannot drink enough. The smart ones try.
The connectivity here at Casa Ojai is not the best (even with the Hotspot), so I can't upload the photos tonight. Here is what you will see tomorrow or the next day, when the reception is better:
Buzzards circling overhead, hoping for a meal. To no avail - just a rest stop.
Jody and Peter climbing Casitas Pass
Lake Casitas
I also shot my first video of the bikes going by. I turned the camera sideways for a vertical shot, but I can't figure out how to save it horizontally. Gives one vertigo to view it, so I'll reshoot it tomorrow. And . . . connectivity permitting, it'll be coming soon to a post near you.
After we checked into the hotel, and the riders showered, it was time for lunch. Turns out the vegan restaurant featured food and drink but no air conditioning. So Thai food it was, then Jody and Peter both napped. I spent about an hour walking around in Ojai, which is part charming little town (a great shout out to the Ojai Village Pharmacy and Agave Maria, where the Mexican food is as good as the name) and part trendy, upscale tourist destination. A little bit of split personality in a town of 7,500. Around 4:30, with the temperature still high but not quite so unbearable, I went out on my bike for about 45 minutes on the local bike path. Jody accompanied me, patiently riding what was a slow pace for him. I know I'll get stronger every day I ride, but the fact remains: getting back in shape at any age sucks. Getting back in shape in one's fifties sucks a lot. Getting back to shape on a ride across the USA . . . let's not even go there, at least not tonight. Four bottles of water and one Corona Light later, I'm feeling rehydrated and ready for my own sleep. No nap for the sag wagoneer, at least not today. We leave tomorrow around six, at the temperatures are expected to be over 100.
Tomorrow we ride Ojai to Santa Clarita. Today, we're 45 miles down, 3955 to go.
"Where I come from, we spell it O-H-I-O."
~Unidentified ignoramus, in response to being told Jody was from Iowa. No kidding.
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