Here is a tongue in cheek post that I did on the Tandem forum about today's PS century:
Note to self..the next time the National Weather Service issues a Severe Weather alert for the Palm Springs area..READ IT!!
Had a 'memorable' day today on the Palm Springs Century course. There are few centuries as cool as this one particularly this time of year...as long as the big winds don't blow and the massive sand fields don't go looking for human flesh to remove from their owner's bodies. Unfortunately, today the winds blew huge and large quantities of sand were relocated throughout the PS area.
Actually it was outrageous only for the first hour or so..shortly after the 6:30 start we hit the worst sand blasting of the day as well as some seriously scary gusting that put all of us on edge in more ways than one. There were more than a few folks walking their rides for a while as well as reports of more than a few grown men crying as their prized paint jobs were being removed from their steads by a clearly ticked off Mother nature.
Once past this first hour, the course changed direction and the wind became our friends for a couple of hours; then as we got to the far southern end of the course and headed back to PS the winds were just normal winter feisty breezes.
All in all a fun early season ride with a little something for everyone. It is always hugely popular for us Tandem riders; we were everywhere you looked. Every brand
imaginable was well represented with notably way more Paketa's than I've seen in the past along with several one-off customs that I was not familiar with. All of which that were being well ridden by their teams.
...it is a great, well supported event, even if a bit crowded at times. If you ever get the chance to ride it, go for it ...just read the Severe Weather Warnings first!!
Bill J
