Day 2 of this great adventure had plenty of work and excitement. The leg was from Palm Springs to Blythe, CA and was 135+ miles. Because all 17 of us had some level of heat issue yesterday, the ABB staff put together a plan to have us all prepared for the longer and hotter today we expected and received today. While most of us were fully hydrated yesterday, many of us did a poor job of keeping our core temps in check in the blazing sun. Today we all dealt with the heat issue, cooling ourselves at every rest stop and many of us bought bandanas that we filled with us, and then wrapped around our necks. This simple approach gave us the ability to withstand 100+ degree temps while pedaling 17-25 mph across the desert. It really was a case of "adapt now" or sit in the van and watch your friends figure it out! My roommate, Greg Lehr, was pedaling really well until we hit the second rest stop at about 66 miles. Shortly thereafter, he and a huge piece of truck tire collided and he went down on the shoulder of I-10, the only connecting road between Palm Springs and Blythe. Greg got 5 stitches in his left arm, but had no other injuries and will be back in the fight tomorrow. The shoulder on I-10 was really a mess with an unbelievable amount of tire pieces, wires from dismembered steel-belted radial tires and assorted nuts, bolts and junk. And the road itself was buckling and anything but smooth for over 30 miles. Imagine this: the temps are 100+, you are traveling at 20 mph, watching your buddies around you, dodging tire chunks and wires that will flat your tires, and don't forget the occasional dust storm that sand blasted your skin, bike and embedded itself on your second layer of sunscreen! And despite these "irritants," we all had a complete blast! As they say in Hawaii, "go figga"! The real highlight of today's ride was driving up Chiraco Canyon, a magnificent creation of rock that only God himself could create. I rode about 30 miles of this segment by myself and really enjoyed seeing rock outcroppings that reminded me of the old west. I'm calling it quits here since my energy level is dropping precipitously. Tomorrow we are leaving a little early (6:30 am) to take advantage of the cooler temps (70s through 11 am) as we travel to Wickenberg, AZ. And thanks to Keith Hammond for the call tonight. My phone obviously didn't like the cold water I was pouring over my head most of the day. While it helped me a lot, it did not help my aging palm phone. Stay healthy my friends, Steve. PS Your generosity is amazing! As of today, we have raised over $4200 for the CAC kids. Thanks and thanks again for assisting some of America's greatest kids. Photos below are (left to right) Martin, Steve, Greg; Start of trip at Huntington Beach on 22 April 12