84.5 Miles, 2493 Feet Climbed, Weather: Low 60’s, overcast to start, sunny after Anaheim, low 70’s at finish.
Today’s ride took us through old haunts and areas I still visit yearly; tomorrow’s will be a little more of the same. First off, some stats from yesterday’s orientation. We have about 25 riders and 7 staffers. They include folks from the Brighton, UK, Israel, and Vancouver, Canada. Two of the riders are apprenticing part time as staffers. There were a few scratches before the ride, whose places were given to a few riders who were registered for this year’s cancelled America by Bicycle tours.
Breakfast began at 5:30 at the hotel. We delivered our luggage to the truck at 6:30, received a safety briefing and then rode as a group to the Manhattan Beach pier for our wheel dip and group photo.
On the beachfront bike path, we passed the El Segundo Energy Center. I remember walking on that path back in August, 2013 when I conducted a site visit and public informational hearing for an amendment to the Center’s Energy Commission permit.
After the wheel dip, we headed east, vectoring to the south of Compton and east toward Buena Park then dropping onto the Santa Ana River bike trail on the north side of Anaheim. We exited the trail on the west side of Corona and then transited Riverside toward our major climb of the day, finally dropping into Moreno Valley. On that last climb a small shard that I picked up somewhere along the way worked its way into my tube, developing a slow leak. I tried to put enough air into it to limp to the hotel, but that didn’t work; the wheel was too squirelly. So I fixed my first flat of the tour. Given the amount of debris on the roads, it is unlikely to be the last.
