San Diego Training Camp: Day Two Borrego Springs

This day had the potential of being a complete disaster.. We mapped out a 60 mile route- one which rides down into and then out of, Borrego Springs California. Little did we know that there was about 4000 feet of elevation change, and that the climb out of Borrego Springs was 10 miles long.. And that the temperature would vary by 40 degrees, and that the winds would gust up to 50 mph.. At any rate, here is the chart of our aborted ride.. it ended up being a 10 mile death march into the wind and uphill, followed by a 30+ mph return, seen below.

Here's a short clip of our ride in Borrego Springs. Picture above shows you our rest stop at the turn-around. We were tired, shivering and demoralized after covering this first 10 miles in exactly one hour. Had we continued on our route, we would have continued to climb for another 5 miles, and then descend in to Borrego Springs on some suicidal switchback roads.. Mission failed..

After returning to the car, we ended up driving DOWWWWWN into town, (no wonder we were freezing- we were still up at 2000 feet) parking the car and spinning in the little ring for two hours, until dark. The drive home was humbling. Our ears popped along the way.. Rumor has it, some die hard roadies in San Diego get together for an annual ride to Borrego Springs, where they stay the night.. and then return the following morning. That's about 80 miles each way, 1/2 of which is climbing up into sub-30 degree mountain tops. There's snow beside the road and all over the cars up in Julian, which is the high point.. Picture below taken from Borrego Springs.

Next: My leg-breaking 50 mile "A" ride with the infamous San Diego Bicycle Club...