Nothing but sand

Wow. I have shockingly little to say. The desert is hot. And dry. And rocky. And sandy. And it kind of goes on forever.

I'm assuming that the next four days are going to involve some more variety because the novelty of pushing really hard through 35 km of barren open space may get a little bit boring :-) It's certainly majestic and the views are breathtaking, but it's all so featureless...makes it a bit too easy to focus instead on the physical challenge and the test of endurance to keep moving. (There were for a couple of first-timers who are definitely wondering what they got themselves into.) We rode to the highest point in the desert today, and then down the other side of the moutain, a fast and aggressive ride the challenged even the most experienced riders. Tomorrow is supposed to be uphill all day, but fairly gradual and steady. Tuesday and Wednesday are all flat and downhill, which would be terrific. I'm just kind of hoping there will be more to see then, well, just desert.