Victorville, CA - Yucca Valley, CA

Today started out with an awesome 5:30 AM wake-up, with leftover pizza for breakfast from dinner the night before. We had another 75 mile day ahead of us going into Yucca Valley, CA, and I knew that I would have to ride fast in order to beat out the heat that would inevitably wear us out later in the day. I rode today with Matt Calardo (George Washington University), a frequent paceline buddy, and Ethan Heine (University of Colorado). At first I was a little nervous, since Ethan is easily the strongest cyclist on our team, and I had never ridden with him before. However, his speed coupled with Matt's enthusiasm and motivation got me through the ride. I struggled to keep up with the other two guys, but they pushed me to ride hard throughout the entire day--we even got up to 40 MPH at one point on a flat part of the ride! With lots of rolling hills thrown into the ride and the desert heat creeping up on us, the three of us finished the ride first among all of the pacelines, giving us plenty of time to relax. We didn't have any scheduled Friendship Visit, so we all got to relax at our lodging at Yucca Valley High School, where we were sleeping in the gymnasium. After a Crew Chief lunch of sandwiches, we all got settled in for some much needed relaxation. After showering and shooting hoops in the gym, I read for a bit in the book my mom had sent me, "Determined to Win", by Jean Driscoll, the biography of a woman in a wheelchair and her experiences with wheelchair sports. Our dinner was provided by Matthew Calardo's parents, a delicious meal of New York style pizza. When we had all eaten our fill, I went back to my air mattress for some reading, music, and sleep. Overall, a pretty relaxing day to reward the team for a tough and successful bike ride.