Road Trip to SoCal
In mid-February 2023, a friend and I drove to southern California to do some biking. It was going to be a whirlwind trip of five days round trip, so a total of four days of driving. The ride south had us spending a night in Redding, CA, before arriving late in the evening of the second day in Palm Springs.
That night, I tossed and turned, resulting in very little sleep. My excitement about a bike event typically causes this insomnia and it’s quite annoying. Even worse was not having an appetite the next morning when I really need to fuel up for a long ride. I sucked down some GU energy gel and we rode to the start of the event in the chilly dawn.
The event was Tour de Palm Springs which honors the military and first responders. When we arrived, there was a marching band playing and hundreds of locals cheering us on. After the 100-mile riders left, it was our turn – we were riding the 80-mile route.
The first 15 miles of the route had us on rough rode, making it tough for me to peddle as fast as I usually do. At the first rest stop, I grabbed a banana to give me more energy.
The next segment was better road surface, but it was a steady slog up an incline over the next 20 miles or so.
When we arrived at that rest stop, more food was available, along with another high school band playing to cheer us. The best part was the chicken tamales, which was perfect for my actual breakfast and getting some war food into my belly.
We continued to steadily climb the slight incline to the next rest stop where I filled up my water bottle. I was glad I was drinking more water than usual (a bad habit of mine is not drinking enough on a ride).
After the fill-up, the next section was all down hill, which was exhilarating. It was also getting warmer, so I shed my jacket and long-sleeved shirt to ride in short sleeves.
Another stop at a casino resort where indigenous teens were playing drums and competing to hold our bikes while we got lunch. I wasn’t very hungry, but did drink a small bottle of pickle juice I had brought with me. It was perfect!
The rest of the route was a bit of a blur as I rode through Coachella and back to Palm Springs. I only remember lots of locals cheering us on and all the stop lights that made us stop every time we got a good rhythm going.
At the split for the 100-mile ride, my friend decided to go for it and said she’d see me at the finish. I pressed on for the 80-mile ride.
At the finish, another band plus cheerleaders enthusiastically welcoming us back. I was tired, but thrilled. Counting my trip from the hotel and then back, I had ridden a total of 90 miles in 5.5 hours! It made me feel much better about riding in the STP in July.
I loved this event so much and highly recommend it for others who find themselves in SoCal.
On the way north the next day, we spent the night in Anderson, CA. We also made a quick stop in Joshua Tree National Park (just to say we’ve been there).
Getting up the next morning, we made the short drive to Redding where I had mapped out another ride for us to do.
It was very chilly when we started riding the Sacramento River Trail and I wasn’t too sure I wanted to do ride more than 20 miles. I changed my mind, though, after about 10 miles when it started warming up and the scenery changed from city to barren, rolling hills. We rode up Heart Attack Hill and continued on a paved, but curvy bike path that went up and down and all around….I felt like I was mountain biking, but on a better surface! We ended up riding around 38 miles before getting back on the road.
We arrived home around 9pm after driving through a snow storm about 20 miles outside of Seattle. I sure wished I was back in sunny SoCal instead of the below freezing weather!
