Sea-to-Sea NA day 3 I think early starts will be the routine for the next 3 weeks. By then we will be in the habit of getting up early and it will probably stick for the rest of the tour. Heat is the challenge. Today by mid afternoon the temperature is close to 100F again. The humidity is low since we are in the interior dessert now. At 7:50 when we left camp the temperature was nice, we started to climb 20 minutes later and much of the early part was in the shadow of the mountain. The climb was longer than yesterday, about 33 km, but the grade not as steep and so for much of the lower climb we were holding 15-20kph. The upper half was in the sun, with very little wind only that of the large trucks blowing past us. We knew from the contour map that the climb would be steeper for the last few km and it was. We ended the hill in our lowest gear, out of gator aid and nearly out of water. Elevation change of about 3000ft After lunch, water and a short rest we were off again down the other side. Knowing that the grade was not as steep as yesterday, I let the bike run without a big push on the pedals. We reached 73kph for a while and as the grade flattened we kept it at 60kph for quite a while. The Rumba has quite a high gear so pedaling at 60 is not that difficult. In the valley we stayed between 30 and 40kph. After one more long climb and short rest at the top, we were in the final stretch home to Ellensberg. We needed some bike and other supplies and since we were in camp just after 12 we had time in the afternoon to get them. While we were gone, the automatic sprinklers came on in the area of our tent but thanks to the fast action of those in camp most of our stuff stayed dry. I have no idea at this time of what the route is like tomorrow but I know it will be hot and dry, so another early start will be in order unless it is a short day.