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Ahhhhhh!

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The only way to cool off after pedaling thru the Imperial Dunes.

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Bob at the dunes.Basil at the dunes.

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Day 3 CA into AZ (or so we thought!) 80 miles

Ended up camping just 3 or 4 miles from the Arizona border. Camp in El Centro was next to the Colorado River Canal. Karlie went paddle boarding with Knobby & Shasta (Tito had to stay in the van).

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It's a bathroom.

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Leading En Centre CA...

Shootn for AZ state line today!

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Chillin Hotdogs

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Tito and Shasta have found their afternoon cool spot. Knobby is laid out on the grass in the shade. The three of them went hiking with Karlie this morning on the PCT. Something like 6 miles of chasing critters.

Maintenance for the day: Cindy had yet another flat this morning...caused by pebbles that were not gotten out from the last tube change....and the boys took off their racks. Bob took off his fenders as well. One side of his fenders rattled loose anyway from the roads...

Near the end of the beater 71 mile day. our first day in the desert after coming out of th CA mtns. It was around 100 degrees with a surprising humidity of nearly 50%. What s up with that?

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Finally some down hill! Coming out of the California mtns into the California desert!

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It's getting hot early! A regroup here before a big down hill.

Day 2 70

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Old Hwy 80 was a main route for us this morning.

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Map check!

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it's a head wind today...ick!

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Cindy and I waiting on the boys...the only shade we could find! Do you see her?

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And I though the roads in WI sucked! These roads were by far the worst I've ever seen. Was almost wishing for dirt! These roads really took their toll on us. They were so rough we had to slow down considerably which kept us out there in the hot sun that much longer!

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Oh no! Cindy got two flats at once! Just a couple miles from camp at the end of the day too! We did 63 miles today from the coast to just past the town of Pine Valley up in the mtns. Like all but 10 miles of it was up hill!

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Hello California mtns!

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Here We Go!

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The Start of our adventure! Ocean Beach CA.

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Ocean Beach CA

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CA Dog Heaven

The sun finally comes out at noon. This the the view from out hotel. It looks out over one of the few dog beaches and off to the right (not seen in this pic) is the San Diego River and a harbor which are perfect for teaching SUP.

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Bob Above, and Basil below...trying out the SUPs for the first time.

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Knobby the swimmer.

Knobby will chase the ball into the water now that she is confident about her swimming abilities.

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It's about 6:00 pm here in SD, and Bob & I have been awake for a couple of hours, waiting for the sun to pop up. We're still on EST. We are getting acquaintted and playing on our laptops. I was very excited to see my old friend Taz and meet my new companions ,Cindi, Bob & Karlie, on the beach last evening. I am stoked and anxious to start riding on Thursday!

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The Gang all together for the first time at sundown on the Beach in Ocean Beach. Literally 25 yards from where we will start our ride from CA to FL. From Left to right: Taz, Bob, Basil, Cindy, and Karlie.

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Cindy and Karlie with their toes in the sand.

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Bob getting his first look at the Pacific Ocean...ever!

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Bikes gear and dogs.

The SAG has arrived in Vegas to pick me up. In it are all the bikes, most of the gear and three dogs. I talked to Bob as he was getting ready to catch his flight out of DC this morning. He will arrive in San Diego around lunch time and Basil is due in this evening. Woohoo!

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Well, after two road events (The 19th Shenandoah Valley Century & an Aids Fund Raiser), and a couple of hours on my mountain bike with four of my buds(Bobby,Danny,Chip,& Karl) this weekend, I have put away all my gear and I am making a few last minute arrangements to be away until November 1st. Looking forward to meeting Bob,Cindy & Karlie and getting on the road......BIG TIME!

Don t hit me helmet.

I just purchased a new helmet for this 3100 mile journey...it was outrageously priced...and my one big purchase for this event. :)

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ANTICIPATORY EXCITEMENT ANXIETY!

The van is in my driveway full of bikes, most last minute tasks are completed. Finished packing, dogs are sleeping in my bags so I wont forget them. Karlie checked in and is on schedule. One more day of work...

The Van

So I dropped off the van full of our xc stuff at Cindy's house this morning on my way out of town. I caught my ride to Vegas for my last week of work. This time next week we will be in California, all gathered in one spot and ready to head up into the hills to start our ride!

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the start

Yep...Ur bikes are here boys...just getting ready to assemble them and go over them!

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I hope my bike made it to Carbondale yesterday!

My touring bike will ship today from SBC and should arrive in Carbondale before the end of next week! Wow, this is all so surreal for me. 19 days and counting until I fly to SD.

Basil has a copy of the Maps and I asked him to find us a place close to the start of the ride:

Taz,
Done! This Inn is “with sight of the bike trail” and right on the Ocean. It’s getting so close, I can taste it. I trust the place and price will suit everyone. I’m sure could have gotten a Motel 6 type of place further inland for $60 or $70 bucks, but figured this is going to be the last bed we sleep in for 6 or 7 weeks, so I thought we might like to enjoy a bit of “upscale” living.
Basil

THANKS BASIL!

One month to go! Basil is going to send his bike to me here in Colorado...Bob do you want to do the same? That way I can go over it before the trip. Otherwise you can send it to Vegas and I'll go over it before leaving work there.

Who is ready to rock this!?!