Tour de Palm Springs February 2014

A portion of the start of the Tour de
Palm Springs.

The Tour de Palm Springs is a crowded, but fun century. The ride was so large that you are always among 10 to 20 riders the entire day. This was the flattest century ride that I have ever been on. The Coachella Valley is very flat, and very open. It is the desert around Palm Springs.
This was a fun ride for the most part. Unfortunately, someone died during the ride. I came up on the scene while the paramedics were still working on her, providing CPR. It was near mike 70. She crossed an intersection with Stop signs on her route, but not the intersecting road. Her group of riders were trying to catch up with a group that had already preceded through the intersection. It really pays to look at the traffic for yourself, rather than rely on the group.

The only challenging part of this century ride was the opening segments, which was very windy. The first 10 to 15 miles of the ride pass through the wind turbines of the valley. Where you see hundreds of wind turbines, expect lots of wind. It was weird to see hundreds of riders all leaning into the wind.

The first rest stop, with Mount San
Jacinto in the background. Palm Springs,
the starting point is at the base of the
mountain.

This was followed by the only climb of the day, a 500 foot climb, that found a few people struggling with, although it was a gentle climb. At the the high point of the ride, you could see the Salton Sea, over twenty miles to the south. This is a flat valley. This was followed by a long segment down Dillon Road. We were on this single road, heading southwest for 25 miles. I guess this is how riding in the desert is. Along the way, you really get a sense of the desert, single story houses spread out every few miles, or so, with sand for landscaping.
I accidentally left my Garmin 510 Bike computer at home, realizing that it was sitting on my desk when I was past Pasedena, over one hour into my trip to Palm Springs. However, the course was so flat and there were so many people around, I was actually able to read other folks computers beside me. Next year, I will do much better knowing the course and having my computer with me.

The Marilyn Monroe statue that was in
downtown Palm Springs. It has since
 moved on to somewhere else.