| DAY ONE - Chasing Lance 01/14/02 More about Lance later. Today started off relatively problem free. Except for a mishap with Jim's trailer. The bracket that attaches the trailer to the bike bent when Jim's bike fell over. But with Rob's help and a big hammer Jim was soon on his way. Thanks Rob!!! We left the offices of Rancho Santa Fe Security at 9:21 am after a photo session with about 10 to 15 well-wishers. We are now officially on our trip. We road a short 4 miles to " second breakfast" courtesy of the Encinitas Cafe, a hang out of Myron's. Second breakfast was a tradition that was started on our last trip across the United States. After breakfast we continued a comfortable pace until we hit the Torrey Pines hill. Chris and Jim we're hesitant at first but once we started it wasn't as bad as we thought. We stopped for lunch (a peanut butter sandwich) on the boardwalk in San Diego. It was turning out to be a beautiful day as we sat and watched the boats go by. Now about Lance! We have been chasing Lance Armstrong for several days now. He has been in the area carrying the Olympic Torch. Word on the streets was that he was going to be in Chula Vista, Ca. This is where we planned to stop for the night. We had big plans of meeting up with Lance and inviting him to join us for a macaroni and cheese dinner. But once again Lance eluded us. He was in town earlier today and was well on his way to LA. As it turns out Myron's daughter is driving out and taking us to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner. Too bad Lance, maybe next time. MCJ DAY TWO - Highway Hero's 01/15/02 Day two started off with a shot ride to a local cafe, (of course) it always starts with a ride to the local cafe. After a nice meal we went back to the motel to pack for the first real day of touring. We say the first real day because it has hills and camping involved, as well as cooking your own meals. Footnote: you should know that Myron is not a cook. He makes no bones about the fact that he hates to cook. He intended on eating canned beans and spinach, that is until he discovered dehydrated meals at REI. At about 9:00 we began cycling. It was overcast and looked like it could rain at any minute. Soon we hit the hills. We climbed and we climbed it was a great day for climbing. We were soon out of the city, (finally). We were really looking forward to quiet country road that wind thru the hills. We found the hills but the quiet road never appeared. We were on a two lane state road that ran along the boarder. We had no shoulder and a lot of truck traffic. We rode like this the better part of the day. At the end of the day we were still in the hills and quickly loosing light. Myron and I decided to pull of the road and make camp. Chris wanted to continue on to our intended campsite. This is when our HIGHWAY HERO arrived. His name is John Francois. John is a Fire Captain for the California Department of Forestry. Chris had told him that we were camping of the road and John offered to come pick us up. We were right on the Mexican border and camping was not safe. John picked up Myron and I with all our gear and drove us to a state campground. Myron and I went back to the spot the next day and road what we didn't the day before. Not that we are purists about riding, it was more to satisfy our broken egos. We rode 48.91 miles and climbed 6,590 feet (ouch) Myron and I weighed our bikes and gear we each are carrying 138 pounds. WOW, that is a lot of stuff. We finally made camp at Potrero State campgrounds where we stayed an extra day. DAY THREE - Simple Pleasures 01/16/02 Day three we took a rest day. Yesterday was a bit too much. We all have new gear that we are not used to yet. So, we decided to rest and work with our gear so that we become familiar with it. We had breakfast, yah you guessed it, at a CAFE. John, the HIGHWAY HERO walked in and was telling us about Tecate. So Myron and I decided to take a few hours and ride to Tecate, a good-sized town in Mexico. As it happens this is where Tecate beer is made. This is too much to pass up so at 10:00 in the morning Myron and I are sipping Tecate beer at the brewery. There was a beautiful Mexican style courtyard and friendly people to share these (SIMPLE PLEASURES). As we were relaxing enjoying good beer and good conversation we met Hank De Groat. Hank was a friendly talkative sort who had some great suggestions on where to get lunch and where to travel if we ever decide to travel Mexico. Hank is also the author of: A Simple Yes, A Simple No! Hank left and returned with a copy for each of us. While we were playing in Mexico Chris was wisely making good use of his time off organizing and cleaning. Myron and I rode back to camp just as Chris was finishing. Now he can relax while we clean and organize. Well the sun is setting and it is time to get ready for dinner. DAY 4 - 1/17/02 From: Potrero To: Jacumba 33.36 miles 3,890' climbed today Desert Dreams When you dream of the perfect riding day, it would be today. Today was a cool, clear day with the wind at your back. Not to mention the beautiful scenery. (Desert Dreams) A Myron moment: we were riding along on a 1% incline and Myron yells back " there must be something wrong, I'm working to hard for such a small hill." a moment later he says" oh no I've been riding with my hand on the brake". Chris and I had a big laugh, Myron too. Myron said I can only write you this if I explain that he was riding with his bandana over the break lever. We had a wonderful down hill in to Jacumba where we met two kids on there bikes. They were curious about what we were doing and how we are doing it. I like spending a little extra time with kids, answering there questions and telling them about the joys and adventure of traveling. We are at a motel in town where we had a dinner. At the hotel they have a Jacuzzi and a sauna, we took full advantage of both. Chris's knee has been bothering him and the Jacuzzi helped. Chris is now looking over the map and Myron is resting. I have laundry to do in the sink. |
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