The main event of my trip began the day after Christmas: the 55th annual San Diego Christmas Ride, a six-day, 400-mile tour.

Las Vegas during the holidays is a sight to see. It sort of reminded me of Disneyland. Max went everywhere we did. We were able to enjoy a meal at the Cheesecake Factory right in front of the giant aquarium with Max under the table in the Ceasers Palace mall. He also joined us for an afternoon show. We spent three nights at Harrah's and then drove to the Salton Sea.

This resort is a retirement community and enjoys fantastic winter. It has mineral water hot baths and pools. I was happy to discover that along with all of the other activities such as bocce ball, horse shoes, etc., there is a fairly nice network of hiking, running, mountain biking trails built and maintained by some of the residents of the park. I brought my mountain bike hoping to get an opportunity to ride.

I fell into a routine of walking Max and doing some cross-fit style exercises, then riding the bike trail. After my 90-minute ride, I headed down to the pools. If the big pool was available, I'd  do a few laps and then a 30-minute soak in the lobster pot before finishing with a steam bath. Then lunch, followed by a nap.  At 3 o'clock I had a leisurely ride on the trails with the locals followed by dinner with the folks. 

On Christmas Eve my cousin and her daughters came over from San Diego for lunch. Christmas Day, after my usual morning routine, I drove to San Diego and had a great meal cooked by my cousin, Annie.  In the morning I headed over to the university to meet up for the big ride.

This is the first time I have done this annual event but I have friends who make it a regular thing. A handful of friends were on this year's ride. In the parking lot I was surprised to run into a Vacaville local, Karen Cook, who is a member of the Monticello Cycling Club and a touring veteran. You can read about her grand solo cross country adventure at crazyguyonabike.com and search for her name.

I have heard many stories about the Christmas Ride, mostly about the weather, both great and horrible. But this year the weather was ideal. As a result, many of the locals signed up at the last minute, filling the ride up to the nearly 100 riders.

Before we rolled out through the streets of San Diego, a veteran of 40-plus years of these rides, Ralph, explained how we would ride in "critical-mass-formation." Once the group enters an intersection, the entire group would proceed through as a single unit. If the light changes to red then cars would wait until the tail end of the group passed through.

This worked perfectly until we began to climb into the hills and the group spread out. Our destination was Pine Valley. The ride was only 50 miles but mostly uphill. Beginning at sea level and finishing at 4,000 feet.

We stopped for lunch in Alpine at 1,500 feet of elevation. In Pine Valley the entire group stayed at the community clubhouse. Some people, me included, set up tents. Most slept inside on the floor. We showered in two hotel rooms rented by the leaders. This is a no-alcohol ride but at the hotel there were several six packs of beer being shared while we waited for our turn to shower. The meals are a group effort. The first night of the ride you introduce yourself to the group and then are assigned a job.

On Day 2 the temperature dropped into the 20s so I had to dress warmly before climbing into my sleeping bag. I was up early and at the door of the cafe when they opened at 6 a.m. After coffee I found that I had a flat tire from parking my bike in a patch of goat heads.

I was ready to roll with the group at 8:30. Most of the group turned left onto old Highway 8 but I followed my friend Jim with a group onto the alternative route. We were looking for a gated forest road to get off the main road. We found it, Pine Creek Road took us up to Mount Laguna, but it had very steep climbing and we had to shed our clothes to avoid getting drenched in sweat.

At the top, 6,000 feet we found plenty of snow and we had to dismount at least a dozen times. When I reached the end of the road and we were back on the regular route I leaned my bike up against a truck just as my rear tire blew out. I was able to finish the days ride on the tire but would need a replacement before the following day's big descent.

Our destination was Warmer Springs. I had never been there but I was familiar with the roads through Julian and St. Isabel from visiting my cousin when she lived in Ramona. After lunch in Julian we passed through Santa Ysabel. I had passed through her before on a ride to Mount Palomar. There is a great alternative route via Mesa Grande that I had wanted to take but with my rear tire problem I opted to stay on the main route.

In Warner, we stayed at a school. I bedded down in the kindergarten classroom. The entertainment for the evening was a competition to see who could change a flat tire the quickest. I had enough tire changing of my own to do. My friend Michael provided me with a replacement tire.

Stay tuned for the remainder of the Christmas Trip report in my next blog.