Day 3
Day 3: October 1, 2021 (Brawley CA to Blythe CA)
Getting into a better rhythm with the ride and its routine. Logan is the getting the bikes prepped as I change from bike to bike. We started riding at 5 AM. That helped a lot. It was much cooler, less traffic, and allowed us to finish around 1 PM; thus, avoiding riding in the hottest part of the day. The high in Blythe was 93.
I also made the decision to avoid riding sections of road that did not feel safe. We drove around a construction area, and we drove through a 2-lane twisting & hilly road with no shoulder, limited visibility, and a 65 MPH speed limit. It was too scary for me.
We also limited the breaks to 15-20 minutes. Enough time to eat a little bit, re-fill the water bottles and change clothes if needed. I’m finding puffins cereal with almond milk is easy on my digestive system and provides plenty of fuel.
As the sun rose and the day progressed, the head winds picked up. The last 20 miles of the ride was into pretty strong head winds. I rode by a lot of hay farms, dairy farms, and pig farms. Also rode through the sand dunes of the Imperial Valley. Many stretches of the ride, there was no traffic, no noise, just me on my bike. It was pretty cool. All-in-all, I rode about 70 miles in just under 7 hours. Not a bad day’s work.
On the mental side, when I started, I was tired, I had 86 miles to go, and began questioning my decision to do this ride. I was able to turn my thinking around. I am doing this because I chose to and because of my mission of drawing more attention to child abuse prevention. With this mind set, my energy picked up and I focused on riding and my mission.
With respect to the mental health issue I discussed yesterday, it should also include hope. No matter how bad today may be, there will be better days. As such, mental health entails feeling better about oneself and instilling hope.
On the physical side, I feel pretty good. I have a little ache in my right leg behind my knee. I only feel it when I’m seating on my bikes; I don’t feel it on the recumbent trike or when I’m standing on the bikes. No other body aches. I’m a bit tired but had a good night sleep and I’m ready to take on day 4.