Day 1: San Diego to Alpine, CA

Miles 34.83 (plus 3 to get to the Pacific Ocean).
Overview: Tears goodbye and we are off!

Wow, the day has finally come! I only slept a couple of hours last night. Jitters about whether I packed the right things, did I pack to much, how will I do up the hills on a recumbent... The morning finally arrived and at 7:00 we were all out at the WomenTour trailer having oatmeal (and plenty of other food) for breakfast. But first we had to weigh in our luggage. No problem there, but it still feels like I have too much. Once I was done with breakfast, it was packing snacks for the days ride (p/b & J sandwich, some nuts and dried apricots, a banana and a power type bar). As all the riders were doing this, others were snapping photos (Kate and my friend Kelle among them). By 8:00 we all got on our bikes and headed to Dog Beach to dip our rear tires in the ocean. I CAN'T BELIEVE WE ARE REALLY STARTING THIS JOURNEY! A group photo was taken (or I should say hundreds of group photos were taken!!!) Some of us dipped our tires - and then the hard part - goodbyes.
Saying goodbye to Kate was hard (but you all know I am not good with goodbyes on the best of occasions). There were several of us in tears. Hugs all around, then another hug for Kelle and then one last one with Kate --- and we were off.
It was exhilarating to actually start. Getting out of San Diego is not the most fun with the traffic... but we soon got away from that and through some beautiful hills and canyons. I had no problem keeping up on the recumbent, so that was reassuring. The last hill of the day into Alpine was long -- with quite a bit of construction happening, but it went well. The flag men (and women) were amused by us. I got to the hotel a little before 1:00 along with Kathy and Kathie. I rode with them most of the day which was nice.
I just finished sorting through some of my gear, took a long shower and talked to Kate as she was boarding the plane in Denver to Madison.
Hopefully most of my blogs won't be so long (and I'll have some photos but I have to figure that out later). I guess I am still excited from the first day of riding and therefore writing more. Hopefully I will sleep well tonight! I count myself very fortunate to have the opportunity to do this cross-country adventure!