DAY 2 - Sun March 6 - First Ride to Sierra Vista Mileage: 86 miles

Breakfast was continental. Unfortunately, it was raining and it was obvious by looking at the droplets on the pool surface. No one really wanted to start early but most did leave by 7 a.m. It was lightly raining when we rolled out. Karl, Ski's roommate from Bristol, Vermont, was with us. Everyday we rode together. Karl had not trained as much either. This day would prove for me that my commuting paid off and there was nothing really to worry about .... well, it appeared that way.

The impression I had of the roads were that it would be fairly flat mostly. There were rollers and a few longer climbs. Eventually I lost Ski - he thought he'd be my "hare" but I wasn't going for it. At one point along the route (when I was alone), two foxes (they were really desert wolves or coyotes) came onto the road and started to walk toward me. Luckily a truck came down the other lane scaring them back into the field. I also yelled "Ski" thinking he was just ahead - he wasn't. If you know me, I really don't like "dogs" and this was even worse. The mace my mom bought didn't make this trip. Overall, there wasn't much wildlife during the week.

The cactus was out - looking like little bushes. I didn't mind riding alone. Oh, there was a "big pig" - fogot the official name - which was road kill along the way. How Ski didn't see it is beyond me. Everyone else did.

I caught up with Ski at the snack van. Because I told him I was leaving immediately, he stayed with me to the lunch vehicle. This is a good tactic if you need someone to ride with you who is stronger. They think you are more fit if you keep moving. One thing that kept me going (besides Ski) was passing other cyclists. This meant I was more fit that I thought.

Just before the lunch truck it began to hail - really bad. Here we found riders inside the truck looking for warmth. Food was delicious ... turkey, broccoli, chips, sodas, etc... You can get Sustained Energy as well.

I heard a woman say the girl's were leaving and I was invited to join. I was honored and happy to ride with some women finally - too many guys out there. It was Joyce, Michelle (Austalia), Caroline Block (Chris Block's wife) and another woman. Of course, Ski was very happy. I was happy to be holding on. It was becoming warm but I declined to take layers off. It did start to rain and Ski and I (away from the group) decided to stop at a gas station (the only one for miles) and take a bathroom break. During the week, I learned to look for a "real bathroom." We saw a cowboy, spurs and all. Ski got a Red Bull, of course.

Arriving at the hotel was GREAT! I even felt like adding more miles but didn't. It was really windy at different points of the ride - especially from lunch to the end. We caught up with Daniel Aaron and Michelle caught us.

Everyone was washing their bikes at the end because Lon provides this - the hotel provides old rags as well. I never washed mine - just showered myself and relaxed - oh, I took Recoverite from E-Caps. This is important - within the hour after your ride you need to replenish.

There was a coaching session at 3:30 until 5 p.m. A group decided to eat dinner together. Daniel found Applebees. He ordered a van but it was a little tight fitting us all in. When everyone was meeting in the lobby for the van, one rider had just fainted. Caroline Block was there and took care of him. Ski and I got some apple juice from the hotel.

There was going to be a 45 minute wait for a table for all of us. So I told the hostesses to just give us tables as they came up and we'll split ourselves. I noticed they were giving the tables to others who arrived after us. I immediately asked for the manager. This was smart because although the hostesses seemed to be working on our tables, it's always good to let the head guy know what's going on. We were all seated. Lesson learned: don't make your group too big and call in a reservation. Bigger groups take longer - 5 min per person according to Pat Carter.

After dinner, everyone went to Dairy Queen (walking distance). I didn't because I don't like ice cream. I went to sleep at 8 p.m.

End of Day 2