two days down

Day 1: Idyllic conditions. Stellar day. Dipped the rear wheel in the pacific!!! Then rode 78 miles -most of it with a group of 5 others: Harry from the U.K., Chris and Willie from the Washington D.C. area, Mike from "everywhere", and Charlie from Vermont. Nice flat warm-up day. Feels good to get out of L.A. after riding through a zillion stoplights (clip-in, clip-out, repeat....). Went thru Long beach and Anaheim...Made it to Riverside.
The group had the first little crash before we left the pier (we think it is the record for the earliest crash - and no, I was nowhere near the scene). Just a slow speed thing due to one of the riders prioritizing and trying to avoid a small child seeing us off. Ended up with someone's front derailleur needing help, and a wheel out of true for the day.. New wheel on the way for him.
Day 2:Today I was in a group of 4, (Harry, Alec from Nevada, and Champ from Illinois) and we are now known as the group of "one flat tire each - rear wheels of course". So the first 34 miles took forever - just when we would get our rhythm, someone would call for another flat tire party. Great group, though - we all stuck together and had a good day overall. Coming into Palm Springs, we had "wind in a favorable direction", so we could coast on the flats without pedaling and see 30 mph!!! Of course, things got interesting with that wind when our path took a 90 degree turn .Very "interesting" crosswinds with random gusts. I got better at reading the geography to predict the gusts. (Yep, lots of time to think on the bike....) Anyhow, it is clear why they have all the wind turbines there!
Temp of 102 degrees in Palm Springs, and Indio doesn't seem any cooler. Made it to Indio - we are below sea level!
All for now - getting ready for 100 miles to cross the Mojave desert tomorrow.