People, it's time to Re-Group...

   I write this entry from Hemet California. We are 2 days in, we've ridden for 9 hours 18 minutes total,  traveled  just over 73 miles, and climbed 5168 ft in elevation. We have stopped here for a much needed rest and to take the opportunity to re-pack, lighten our load, and most importantly, let's get a map people. Yes, we left Oceanside with a very active (super annoying) GPS unit which has been preset during our ride. Not always reliable she (the unit- I've decided she is a bit of a nag and due to the higher pitch I've made her feminine, she will be named soon, prolly not the nasty one I called her yesterday) So, not having a physical map we found ourselves at a loss when it came to a big decision of which way to turn yesterday. After speaking with the locals (all two of them) we decided to avoid the road (harrowing was how it was described) straight up and into Joshua Tree and will instead be skirting the edges of the park. That left us with a bit of a back track in that we ended up circling back over a massive pass and as it turns out just 10 miles ahead of Temecula where we had been at noon the day before. Lesson: carry a map, save your legs!

  Departing San Diego was an excellent ride, I think 8:00AM on Sunday was a choice time to depart as the traffic increased continually throughout the day. We enjoyed mission architecture, avocado and orange trees, and the numerous flora that are ever so prevalent in this so called desert climate. Once through Temecula that all changed as we took the 79 east for what would eventually be 25 miles of the scariest road I have EVER ridden. The cars passed one foot to the left of us, no shoulder, at a rate of about one per I don't know 2 seconds maybe. On that ride all we could do was look at the white line and hope to stay as close to the left of it as possible. Wondering all the while if it is entirely necessary for the vast majority of Californians to drive so fast? (Where are they going, saving a life perhaps, come on folks, heard of global warming...)

  Bike touring is a lesson in patience and one in pain. I am grateful that somehow (magically) I forget the pain because otherwise no way would I have done to myself what we did yesterday, would have never even showed up for the ride. I did have a meltdown at the top of a pass, supported by my team mates I sat in the dirt with my head between my legs and sobbed for a bit, second guessing my ability to continue, and then like magic, it too passed and I was again on my bike and facing a beautiful descent. All part of of the ever present highs and lows we will experience on our epic journey.

   Shogan and Dave are holding together. Dave is dealing with some sore spots and Shogan of course appears to be able to ride forever. We enjoy each others company and so far the mood has been light and supportive and even when we had no map and no idea where we would end up, we trust each other implicitly.
 
   Third day and we are off to Twenty-Nine palms via Joshua Tree and then to the Grand Canyon, 418 miles, giving ourselves a week to get there. Thank you all for your continued love and support as we continue our Great American Bike Ride.    FYI, reviews coming soon, Amtrak- Train Travel Yes!, San
Diego Zoo- Everybody poops! and more...

Team Awesome Loves You! (Michelle)

Camping our first night in front of a forest service station.