Riding in the Desert

An update from Greg about his first race shift:

It was HOT. Easily 90 degrees, and we were riding at night! Thankfully, we had the arm coolers - those things are great! The first three hours of the ride, the terrain was nondescript. We were just focusing on going as fast as we could. Our heart rates were pinned at 170+ for the entire ride. There were really deceptive parts of the road. At one point, I couldn't figure out why I was only going 18 miles per hour, until I realized that the road was gradually climbing - a 4% grade. After Mt. Baldy, going into Palo Verde, the terrain improved, with some really great rollers. We were averaging 30 - 35 miles per hour. At this point, we were actually swapping 2nd place with Team Type 1.

Miscellaneous observations: At hour 3, my left calf muscle started to seize up, so I increased my fluid intake. I think a field mouse committed suicide under my tri bike wheels. [Marna: Awww, that's sad!]