Day 3

Today, all that I could think about was the word "downhill". After the previous day's numbing effort, it was imperative that "descent" be the main theme for this day. And it was a beautiful one. The weather was perfect and after our first breakfast at camp, Don, Bill, Bill* and I biked to Julian and stopped to sample some of their famous apple pie with coffee. Fame-worthy it was! After our leisurely "second breakfast", we took the steep, winding downhill to Banner with soaring spirits. The views were incredible, but the downhill was so addictive that it was hard to stop and enjoy the view. The thrill of the 40 mph screaming downhill is not to be underestimated! :D



After our first big mountain descent, we travelled along San Felipe Rd. with more RV's than I have ever imagined passing us slowly. At one brief lull in the traffic, I caught this picture of our road stretching before us as we ride towards the Tegfiolo Summit. Alongside us on the right is the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail. It's a beautiful ride despite the noise and dust of the "poor mileage club" grinding along beside us.



At the town of Ranchita, just across from the Abominable Snowman, Bill had his second flat tire of the day. You might wonder how many cyclists it takes to change a tire...but we'll never tell! We tried the "dollar-bill" method of tire patching, and it held up for a while.


lots of time to make friends with my buddy the A.S.


Don and Bill relaxing by the roadside...

Finally on our way again, we began our descent into the Anza Borrego Desert. Extraordinary views all the way made riding slightly hazardous, as we sped 30 mph down the steep switchbacks while trying to watch all the changes in the awesome landscape all around us.


Anza Borrego Desert Valley



Although the day was a pretty easy one on the whole, 46 miles and only 3207 ft of climbing, we enjoyed the journey enough that we were again the last ones into camp...just in time for dinner and map meeting. At the end of the day, back at the camp, we enjoyed the sounds of the desert around a campfire. An almost perfect day.



*there were 4-5 "Bill's" on our trip... but only two are featured here!