The best laid plans, but they didn't turn out the way everyone wanted. We got off to a fine start, if you consider a mad scramble to pack up soaking wet gear and ride out in the rain a fine start.
The rain started in the middle of the night. I wish I could convey the sound of nearly 3,000 people scrambling to get riding shoes and other gear left outside the tents out of the rain. By morning, many of us were lying in puddles. My sleeping pad was soaked, riding gloves were completely under water and I was kicking myself for tossing my rain gear out of my bag right before I left home. We just kept laughing at how much fun we were having and how disgusting our gear would be when we got to Ventura.
The ride can't stop for rain, so of course I got on the road by 7 a.m., which is about when I've been leaving every day. I was wet and had to see the world through mud-splattered glasses, but I felt good. I knew today's 85-mile ride would have some challenges but I felt strong. The first part of the route took us mostly up. A few downhills provided relief. Our first rest stop was at mile 15. Shortly before I got there, I started noticing riders going in the opposite direction. With the first one, I thought, hmm, maybe he decided he didn't want to ride in the rain. Then I saw a couple more. Well, maybe they're hot shot riders who decided to add extra miles and climb the hills again. (This is not unheard of, especially on some of the more difficult hills, where strong riders come back up to encourage people who are struggling.)
I heard the rest stop before I saw it. A roadie was on her bullhorn yelling for everyone to pull off the road. As I got closer I realized she also said, "you are being held here." Okay. maybe there's a bad thunderstorm coming through and we're being held while it passes. The sight was surreal. There must've been nearly 1,000 people jammed into a long, narrow field at the side of the highway. Almost every rider was wrapped in a shiny silver foil blanket. After parking my bike it was apparent why.
We were soaking wet and going nowhere fast. The highway patrol closed the route due to a major car accident. It was on a part of the road where they were going to have to close a lane for us to ride and there was a limited window for that. But because of the accident, we lost the window. That meant either taking buses to Santa Barbara for lunch or all the way to our next camp in Ventura. Turns out, we went to Ventura.
In order to do that, I joined almost 2,000 other people in riding back to Lompoc. That way I got another 15 miles in, making today's ride only 30 miles. That was difficult to digest and maybe in a few days I'll feel terribly disappointed that I didn't get to ride every last mile planned. But today, it ended up being just fine. I was so impressed with people's spirits. By the time we were in the camp, the sun was out and we could hang out in the park. We laid out our foil blankets like it was Dolores Park and soaked up the sun. We ate lunch and waited for buses. The funny thing was no one told us to line up, but about half an hour after lunch, a line formed. Two thousand people just spontaneously got in line starting at the parking area and extending all the way across the park to where lunch had been served.
The amazing roadies continued to come around with jugs of water and food while we waited. I lucked out because I'd been eating with friends near bike parking, so we saw the line start. We waited almost two hours in the line and got out on about the sixth bus. I say about because I was having so much fun, I didn't really pay attention until we were at the front. People kept their good humor and since most of us didn't have anything with us to do, we socialized. Got to know more people.
I have to say, I'm so impressed with this community. I'm impressed with the degree of organization and support provided for the riders and it's unbelievable to me how smoothly the staff and volunteer roadies pulled together what must've been a logistical nightmare. I think the fact that it has gone so well has overshadowed my disappointment in not getting to ride these 70 miles. At least we got to see most of the route from the bus.
Tomorrow we ride into L.A.
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