George: Monday, 4SEP’17 – San Diego, CA to Alpine, CA

All of us were up at 4:00am in spite of the exceptional sleeping quarters. It was the internal reveille that made it seem like 7:00am. A little quiet chat made the clock roll around to 5:30. We were up and active as ants in a sugar bowl managing to fit in a 6:30 breakfast amidst all the turmoil. At 8:00am we were at Hospitality Point, the start of the ride.

Unloading the bikes and reloading the bags took half hour. By then there were cyclist and walkers using the bike trail. Sara and I took to the trail leading out of the park as Susan drove to our first rendezvous some 20 miles down the road. After three miles of poorly maintained trail we entered the city streets of San Diego. For the next 30 miles we were rarely without a bike lane. It was comforting even though the Labor Day traffic was rather light.

Up and up we went passing by the Fashion Valley Mall and Mission Valley East. Up and up we went passing by San Diego State University. It must have been a hard drinking Saturday night that kept the campus pathways still. Up and up we trudged through the neighborhoods of Grantville and San Carlos. It was a steady grind climbing to the prearranged rest stop. Finally, we arrived tired at the Chase Bank in El Cajon. Susan was a welcoming sight waiting patiently for us. We were about half hour behind schedule. The route was hillier than I expected. You know, Google maps gives you the elevation profiles that on the screen are millimeters high. It is quite another thing to ride a bicycle over the actual terrain. We had gone 22 miles and gone up 1000 feet. We had ten miles left and 1500 feet more to go.

Susan helped us immeasurably. I did bike repair, nothing that would disable the bike. Darn! Sara’s handlebar tape began to unravel. It was a quick fix. We ate a bite, filled our water bottles and it was back in the saddle. Understandably, the last ten miles were harder than the first 20. The hills were longer and steeper. It was a treat to see Susan in the driveway of the hotel as we made the final left turn onto Tavern Rd. Tonight we will be looking for the tavern to numb some of the aches.