Day 1: Whooohoooo!!!

Here are the stats

Started: Glendale – 1300 ft
Finished: Superior – 2800 ft
Day 1 –
Travled 80.5 miles
Climbed over 2000 ft in all – most of which were in the last 10 miles

I started at 5:30am from my house. I got 500 ft from the house and had to turn around — I forgot my shades! Then it was all business – I was averaging 13-15 miles an hour for the first few hours – there was no traffic, it was cool (only 70 degrees) and I was excited.

I told Stephanie last night that I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve – I hardly slept. We were able to get the bike tuned up before I left and Stephanie and I both picked up new cell phones. My new phone is also an MP3 player, so I can listen to my tunes and still hear when Stephanie calls me. I also purchased a new pannier for the handle bars, so I have a place to put the map, extra water, my phone, my wallet, and anything else I needed. Between the phone and the pannier, I was riding in luxury.

Meanwhile at the home front – Stephanie was stuck packing the car and making sure we had everything we need for the trip. At the same time, she was dealing with Zander and running last minute errands. I think I had the better deal. It wasn’t all roses for me however. I was on the bike for a total of 7 hours 45 minutes today. While I averaged almost 13 miles an hour for the first 5 1/2 hours covering 70 miles of road, the last 10 miles took the other 2 hours and 45 minutes!!! I had steep climbs for the last ten miles and although there were a few downhills in the middle, I was so tired from the climbing that I could barely move my legs to pick up any speed on the downhills.

Anyway, today was different than the rest of the trip in that I had a lot of climbing at the end of a long day. This put the tough part of my days ride after I had already gone 70 miles and during the hottest part of the day. Anyway, I really enjoyed Day One. We are likely staying at camp sites for the next couple of nights, so until next time…