Five Tacos (David, Garth, Brian, Bryce, and Adam) and 3 friends (Karen, Jack, and Darrel) made a trip to Borrego Springs, CA last week for a spring training camp. I was the youngest and racked up the fewest total miles – 175 (and 12K feet of climbing) in 4 days. Others had way over 300 miles (and some stayed longer). There wasn’t a single flat tire in the 12 hours of group riding that I joined.
Anza Borrego state park is the largest state park in California. It is a desert canyon about 1.5 hours south of Palm Springs (and 2 hrs from San Diego).
Other than bike touring, this was the first time I’ve taken a trip just to ride. It was nice to be with a group that just wanted to log as many miles as possible, then eat, sleep and do it again.
Around the block. This was a 3,500ft climb to a yeti statue, and a tiny store that is only open sporadically. Luckily it was open that day, because it was freezing at the top.
Other rides incorporated Yaqui Pass and the “Texas Triangle.” a vicious headwind (gusting to 50mph earlier in the trip) meant for fun tailwind sections which felt more like motorcycle touring than bike riding.
Other highlights included trying just about every local restaurant to find the best burgers and blueberry pancakes in town.
You can find more photos from the desert over on my blog.