90% of what I worry about...

4127 feet of climbing, 2444 feet of descent. 32 miles.

Our average halfway through the ride was 6 miles an hour. After the halfway point we picked it up to about 8 mph. That was after two very long descents which I took at about 24 mph (Dave did about them at about 30 mph). I'm not that brave. Plus he has wider tires that can absorb bumps better. We spent most of the 5 hours of actual riding time using our "granny" (lowest) gear. We were actually out and biking for 7 hours. 

I did much better at keeping myself hydrated. We took quite a few little breaks and I was able to bike up the hills by just letting my mind wander and not getting too anxious about the hill itself. I spent most of the day in an anaerobic state since my heart rate was clearly going so fast that I couldn't speak easily (or at all) but I really felt ok about it all. 

I saw a sign in a restaurant where I stopped for a bathroom break. It said "Worrying works. 90% of what I worry about never comes to pass". Well I've been worried about these two climbing days for the last six months and I did ok! They were tough days to be sure, but I did it!

This sign was early in the morning. We climbed to about 4000 feet several times. We were at 3871 feet in Live Oak Springs. Our overnight tomorrow will be 45 feet below sea level in Calexico.

Beautiful country. Lots of rock perched upon other rock.

Lots of Border Patrol presence. We biked by one checkpoint and in the car ride back to our overnight spot in the same campground as last night, they had another checkpoint.

Our rest stop was out in the middle of nowhere. Much appreciated!

A beautiful broad view of a valley and mountain ranges in the distance on one of our stops.

Dave was doing a lot of waiting for me on climbs and took this picture. Tomorrow there will be lots of descent and then we will be in the desert. We will see the border fence in our first 10 miles. My bike is well suited for flatter terrain and my skinnier tires may make Dave work harder to stay with me. We'll see though. Heat affects me more strongly than Dave and it will be hot (hotter)when we get into the desert.

Our overnight spot will be in a Seventh Day Adventist school that is right on the border. Many of the kids that attend school there are Mexican who come through the fence for school.