Day 4

An awesome ride through the desert - averaging 21 mph for 90 miles. Our two "engines" - J & J - performed very well, with Joseph leading me into 29 Palms with a gigantic high speed pull. Lots of sand, hills and Joshua Trees - a desolate beauty that never got old. People actually live in the middle of all of this!

I felt great all day. It certainly helps to ride with so many strong cyclists, but it felt as if I was holding my own really well today. The ride flew by and we were at our hotel by 12:30 - felt more like a 50 mile ride than 90 - thanks guys! Only potential issue so far is a sore butt (TMI?). The lunches have been fantastic, so there's very little need to eat on the bike (partly because our little group keeps reaching the lunch spot around 10:00).

Tomorrow will be hard - 110 miles from 29 Palms to Parker, AZ and the forecast is for 106 degree heat. Think the plan is to start as early as possible and get as many miles under the wheels as possible before the real heat sets in. That said, our guides are great and the van always seems to pop up just when you need more water.

More importantly, Andy just won defensive player of the week for 3 consecutive shut outs and Sydney sounds like she's already working hard - the parents are content. I speak to Sara every day and she does a great job of sounding both interested and enthusiastic about my daily adventure.