Day 2: Cameron Corners, CA to Calexico, CA

Today we met a fellow trans America cyclist! She was coming from FL to CA and will be finishing tomorrow! Like us, she was not a cyclist before this trip. It was a tender mercy to run into her because it gave us a little reminder that we can do this!

The best part of the day was definitely being able to press the brakes for 5 miles when we were flying down the freeway on a 6% grade! I never realized this but the freeway has a really wide shoulder and it’s a nice ride. Matt’s least favorite part of the day was that it’s hard to get free Wi-Fi for cheap, and my worst was the strong head wind that decided to join us for the last 25 miles. (My second-worst of the day was when Matt and I passed someone’s yard and three really big dogs came and chased us for a little while. I don’t like big dogs… they kind of scare me.)

We were 100 yards from the Mexican boarder so we had to take a pic (below). It was crazy seeing all of the boarder patrol guys going around. One boarder station had a sign that said they've caught almost 8000 lbs of drugs this year!

We went through the Yuha Desert and it was pretty hot. We had to take frequent rest breaks to fill up on water and granola bars. Our diet thus far has consisted of the motel’s free bagels and muffins for breakfast, granola bars for fuel ups, ham and cheese sandwiches  for lunch, whatever we feel like for dinner, and lots and lots of water. Today we added a bottle of Gatorade during the hardest part of the ride.

Our ride ended at 4:30 today, and we went a total of 68 miles. After taking a long shower and eating 1/3 of a watermelon, I’m sitting on our cheap motel room bed, and I don’t really want to move. I think I’m going to hit the hay a little early tonight.

Quote of the day from Grandma Gina: “Whoever thinks the world is flat needs to bike across America.”