Indio, CA, to Blythe, CA, 97 miles and 1577 feet of climbing

We did 97 hot miles today, mostly on Interstate 10. There was a nice climb to start the day at 7:30 before the heat set in. I did some of the climb with Barbara from Englewood, New Jersey. She is a lawyer by training but now works for Reuters, still using her legal expertise. I would say she is in her forties, but don't quote me. She says she's always had this crazy notion of riding her bike across the country. About 5 or 6 years ago, she decided to work to make it happen. Covid intervened, and so now here we are in 2023. Having grown up on the east coast, I enjoy conversing with people from New England, New York, and New Jersey.  It reminds me of home, I suppose. It also reminds me of why I love the West Coast.  

After the initial climb of the day, Interstate 10 is a flat road through the desert. The ride reminded me of riding on Interstate 80 from Reno, Nevada, to Salt Lake City 4 years ago, only hotter and drier. There were 3 SAG stops, well positioned along the route so riders could replenish their water bottles and partake of an assortment of energy bars and gels as well as fresh fruit, sweets, and pastries. I swear the little cherry pies and donuts they featured were all I needed to power through this long day. In 2019 I ate some Hostess Twinkies about 40 miles from Salt Lake City, and they powered me to the hotel with no problem. Who knew Hostess Twinkies and powdered donuts were legitimate sports energy foods? Somebody call the marketing department at Hostess.

Speaking of food, we were instructed in our pre-ride "Tour Talk" emails from Paula, the tour director, to make sure we ate immediately after completing the day's ride. So, following instructions, I went to Mcdonald's in Blythe and had a bad hamburger and fries. That was at about 3:45 PM. Dinner at 5:00 PM was catered at the hotel and consisted of Barbequed pork, beef, and chicken sandwiches with salad and mac and cheese. All in all, not bad. 

There are 22 riders on this tour across America. Seventeen men and five women. Five riders are from the UK. Everyone else is from here in the US: Texas, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Oregon, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, and, of course, me from California. 

There are six support staff. No, wait, make that five support staff. Howie Cohen from Paramus, New Jersey, exited the tour on day two. I had two brief conversations with him that were interesting. More on that later.  The tour director and tour company owner is Paula. 

She actually yelled at me today before the ride; I'm not kidding. I guess I had it all wrong; I thought I was the paying client here—silly me. 

Her husband, Dana, who is part of the support staff, and a very soft-spoken, nice guy, was right there and apologized to me, saying, "Yesterday was a hard day." 

The reason for the dust-up was that yesterday from the beginning of the ride at 7:30 in the morning, the front derailleur on my bike would not push the chain into the big chain ring; this rendered 1/2 the gears on my bike useable. All the high gears, the ones you use on long flat roads to go fast. It made for a frustrating day of riding. 

My bike has what's known as electronic shifting. Di2. Rather than shifting gears using traditional cables and springs, little electric motors in the front and rear derailleurs change the gears on the bike with the push of buttons in the brake levers on the handlebars. Typically it works nicely and without problems. I've had the bike for three years, and I have never had a problem. 

Since Director Paula mentioned electronic shifting in her pre-tour literature and the need for us to bring extra batteries and chargers, I assumed that Crossroads Cycling Tours could fix any shifting issues if they arose, just as they can with traditional mechanical bike shifting. But alas, I was mistaken. Numerous staff members looked, poked, and prodded and said things like, "Well, I'm no expert with this Di2 stuff." OK. 

So they said bringing your electronic shifting bike was fine, but they failed to mention that they might be unable to fix it if it messes up. 

Oh, one other thing, the head mechanic on this tour, Payton, who introduced himself to us on Sunday in LA, is away for the first week of the tour doing some tests to be an EMT. 

Remember my frantic phone calls to find a bike shop before they closed on a Monday in Palm Desert yesterday? Bingo. 

Today I rode a used bike made by Giant Bicycles. I purchased the bike for $3000 at a bike shop in Palm Desert at 5:30 PM yesterday. The owner was kind enough to stay late and help a desperate cyclist in need. 

On a positive note, the bike performed wonderfully, and it felt like it fit me correctly, a crucial thing on a 97-mile ride. So I am very thankful for that and for Don, the bike shop manager who set up and sold me the bike at a moment's notice. He drinks Makers Mark. I will be sending him some. 

Tomorrow it's 117 miles of hot desert riding. And to think, the fun is just beginning!