The Best Downhill EVER!!

The highlight of my day, without a doubt! 10 miles of 6% grade on a 10 foot wide freshly paved shoulder with hardly any debris or traffic. Life just can't get any better!! Today's route took us from the tiny town of Boulevard CA at almost 4000 feet of elevation to the substantial town of Brawley CA which is pretty close to sea level. In fact we passed a silo which had "sea level" marked halfway up it which I guess makes the road somewhat below sea level (see photo below). The stats for the day - 79 miles, 1600 feet up, 5000 feet down. Oh - and my first dog encounter. I have to say that I was a tad knackered by the end of the day. In addition to the wonderful downhill we also had 7.5 miles of undoubtedly the worst road I have ever ridden on and about 20 miles of substantial headwinds. But - we found sunshine and summer temps. After starting the day all bundled up we were down to summer riding gear by mid-day. And that weather is forecasted to continue for a while - yeah! We went from desert hills and rocky/sandy/scrub brush terrain that reminded me of trips to Utah to the flat, fertile Imperial Valley rather suddenly. Of course the Imperial Valley is so productive because of water drawn from the Colorado River - but that's a whole other discussion. I found it to be a tough day, but pretty satisfying. We have a wonderful group of ladies and sure enjoy lots of good laughs.