This morning after we went through our routines, we made it to our starting point. We were 50 feet below sea level when we started riding. We had to climb back up to sea level and then into Alpine today!
Our route took of on I-8 and the Old US80 today which basically mirrors the I-8
We spent the majority of the day climbing hills, our total ascent for the day was 7,000'. That factors in all the times we climbed to 4000' and then dropped back down and climbed back up.
We stopped for lunch at noon. We were only at 36 miles on the day, that is how intense the climb was. We are normally around 50-60 miles by noon. At this point it was looking like we may have to split this ride up I into two days. Non of us wanted to do this, not sure why. It would be easier to get up with fresh legs on our rest day and ride 20 miles or so? I think it is a mental thing, we don't like not completing something. Since we have hit all the rest of our date and miles we didn't want to end the last full day with not completing our miles. We pressed on!
The afternoon was long, the hills were still there but the grades were not as intense. We pedaled along the US/Mexico border for a while. We saw the fence over in the distance, went through another inspection checkpoint. By 4:30pm we new were about 18 miles out and by this point we knew we were going to complete this ride tonight! and not have to come back out tomorrow. We had one last climb and then according to our logs it was all downhill into Alpine. We climbed up to 4100' again, and then we had a choice to make. We could take the interstate again, or take a smaller highway. We decided that we would take the interstate to save some time.
I tell you the best sight I saw all day was when we started heading down that interstate and saw a sign for a down grade the next 16 miles of 6%. What that means for Kyle is, I can go very fast without pedaling! What that also equates to is I do not have to put out a lot energy and the miles still go by quickly. My energy level was down pretty low by this time, so this situation was perfect.
We finished the ride just after 6pm, another 11 hours day. But we didn't care because we were only 35 miles away from the beach and the completion of this journey. In a way it almost feels like we are complete. Think about it 30 miles away from the end. We have riden 3065 miles in 40 days with rest days mixed into those days. That is something to be excited about!
My family was here yesterday to cheer us on! We have more family and friends coming in tonight. We are planning a dinner for anyone that is around tonight in Alpine! Should be a good time to reflect on the trip!
This past 5 days we have also had the my wife's parents along to drive the RV and cook us meals. It has been fun spending time with them on this adventure.
Thank you again to all of you that have helped along the way and all the encouraging words that you have given. What a blessing this adventure has been!!!
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