Rider magazine asked our two good friends David Andreas and John Puerner, who are participating in the 20th Anniversary of the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America, to keep us posted on the ride’s progress with a daily blog. Each entry will cover the previous day’s events (or perhaps the two previous days). Here’s their report from the first ride day on Saturday, May 3.
Alarm clocks went off at around 4:30 a.m. By 6 a.m. we had dropped our bags at the luggage hauler to be transported to Tucson, so they would be waiting in our rooms when we arrived.
At 6:15 a.m. Kyle Petty and the motor marshals briefed us on our route and plan for the day. Engines were started at 6:45 a.m. and we did our best not to wake up the neighborhood as we headed out.
The morning route went east from Carlsbad, California, on State Route 78 away from the coast. We started climbing up to Ramona and on to Julian, where we topped off at over 4,000 feet in elevation.
The roads through the mountain were a blast, with a mix of twists and up-tempo sweepers. After Julian we started the quick descent through the Anza Borrego area, where pine forests quickly gave way to desert.
We stopped for fuel and snacks in Westmorland, California, near the Salton Sea and continued to Interstate 8 and on to Yuma, Arizona, Gila Bend and finally Tucson around 5:30 p.m.
This was our longest day of the trip, at 445 miles, which made the cold beverages of choice upon arrival very refreshing.
Tomorrow we’ll talk about the “gas stop ballet” where we fuel well over a hundred bikes in 10-15 minutes. Today’s ride takes us through Tombstone and Douglas, Arizona; and Lordsburg, New Mexico, before we finish in Las Cruces, New Mexico, for the night.
For real time updates and route information, follow us live on Facebook www.facebook.com/KPCharityRide or on Twitter www.twitter.com/kpcharityride.
Previous Blog Entry:
The Kickoff
Next Blog Entries:
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Days 6 & 7
Day 8 and Final Thoughts
