We had it all today...bike path, city streets, hills, bumpy frontage road, and interstate highways...not bad for the first day.  After leaving Newport Beach, our route took us along the Santa Anna River Trail to Anaheim.  It was a nice gentle departure from a busy city, but the traffic was fairly light even when we used the highways until later in the day when the traffic seemed to get a little heavier.  After the first SAG, we set out for our first real terrain challenges as we had to cross a couple mountain passes to leave the metropolis.  We were really lucky today as it is usually over 100 degrees as we top the second climb of the day, but it's unseasonably cool for this time of year and the temp only got to about 85...we'll take it for sure.  Even with the cool temps, it was a tough climb, but the riders were rewarded with a kick of a tailwind as we screamed down the backside of the mountain to 22 feet below sea level at our motel.  The wind turbines were definitely pointed in the right direction today and as the terrain dropped the riders were moving in excess of 30 miles an hour for the last 20 miles of the day.  We popped on and off I-10 twice today which gave everyone a taste of the high speed highways.

As good as the job of Bicycle Ride Leader may look, it would be boring if it weren't for the free entertainment factor.  There are things that happen everyday that keep me coming back.  Besides Jeff's Daily Duh, there were several other things that just didn't make the cut for THE Duh, but were pretty Duh themselves.  We have two signals for the riders to use when signaling the vans...one that means OK and one that means STOP.  All day people were giving me the wrong signal...I didn't know what to do most of the day.  Some were so confused, they'd just do both of them to see what I'd do.  Some would just give me this weak little wave...which meant absolutely nothing to the van driver.  They'll get it straight soon hopefully...but they only have until Savannah.  At the first SAG, everyone was leaving and I found two abandoned water bottles on the SAG table.  Now who would ride off into the desert without their water bottles???  I just walked around looking for a bike that was sans bottles and viola...Will was the culprit.  But to his credit, they were full.  At least he filled them when he stopped.  Now we just have to teach him what to do with them after he has filled them.  I need to hit my boss up for a few more staff members to cover these areas.  And the best one of the day was when a pack of about twenty riders were led down the wrong path by Jonathan who's ridden this portion before.  I won't mention that I was standing at the turn wildly waving my arms to get them to turn...Jonathan was definitely enjoying the moment and missed me...and the turn...entirely.

This day is always a long day with all the ceremonies of wheel dipping and delays with picture taking...today was no exception but we did get in relatively early compared to some rides in the past.  I was really pleased with the way the riders handled themselves today in the traffic.  It seems everyone is pretty comfortable with the cross country environment.  Even with the tailwinds at the end of the day, the last rider didn't get in until almost 5:00.  Tomorrow is a shorter day and we should be able to get on the road sooner and they don't have quite as much climbing...and if the weather forecast is right, we'll have another mild day as we cross into the high desert of eastern California.  It also should get better as everyone starts to get into their routines.  From the looks of this group, we are looking forward to a great ride. Stay with us as we journey to Georgia!