Day 1: Life Begins at the Edge of Your Comfort Zone

Our journey began …we were all up early with nervous energy. Most all riders were milling around the designated meeting spot well before the 9:00 AM ride to Dog Beach for the ceremonial dipping of rear wheels into the Pacific before taking off on the ride. We had the great honor of having guests to see Jeff & I off; my sister Debbie, her husband Bob & our nephew Sean came and gave us 1 last hug–even though we were such lousy company on Thurs night! We also had the privilege of meeting our counterparts from Guide Dogs of the Desert & their trainee, handsome Taxi. We were finally off and even though it was cold, it was not rainy…we will learn to be appreciative for these small blessings! Speaking of dogs, we have a mascot traveling with the group, Mark from sunny FL brought along his long haired Dachshund named Dusty. He is blonde and looks like a miniature golden retriever. Everyone takes turns taking Dusty for walks and no one can pass him without petting him, which he loves.

Let’s see, what did we do today on our way up 3800 feet elevation? We made a couple of wrong turns, but minor mistakes. We went by an ostrich farm. We learned the SAG stops are great for filling up on all kinds of nourishment. When we finally made it up what seemed like a never ending climb, we got to camp to find our tents all up, air mattresses in place and bags inside–great job to Captain & crew. All in all, it was a better day than I had dreamed in my mind, and the 1st couple of days with all the climbing are supposed to be the toughest. Tomorrow will be a shorter mileage day, but just as much climbing and cold–we are all in our tents and sleeping bags because it was just too cold to sit outside, so have not seen the sunny part of CA yet.

A fellow rider last night on our walk together home from dinner had cited the quote that became the title of this post and it is something I have heard before and truly believe; you only really learn the most about yourself when you are at the limits of your comfort zone….so I feel I will have a whole new understanding of myself as each day goes by. Today alone I broke my record for mileage and elevation, that surpassed my comfort zone and it feels good and I’m looking forward to tomorrow!