Epic Bike Ride Day 14 June 9

Thoughts from Kelly: The day started with us meeting another rider, Brian from Wisconsin.  We ended up leap frogging with him throughout the day, it was fun to chat with someone along the ride.  The first part of the day was fairly routine although there were some ominous looking clouds to the west we were keeping our eyes on.  We did start to hear thunder so we pulled off the road to wait it out.  After a couple hours, we hit the road again on what we thought were going to be dry-ish roads because it seemed like the roads looked good.  All was ok at first, roads were solid, then we got into some soft muddy stuff, what the riders call ‘peanut butter mud’.  I started to slide just after Mark pulled off the road cause his bike was caked in mud and the wheels wouldn’t turn anymore.  I put the truck in 4 Low and did fine but Mark was struggling to get the mud off to ride again.  We packed up the bike and started to drive to the next campground.  After awhile though, the road looked better and Mark started riding again.  We found another BLM spot and set up camp.  We tried our ‘rain’ set up but need a couple more tools to make it work.

Thoughts from Mark:  As Kelly was backing the truck up to leave our camping spot this morning, and as I was starting ride, another rider, Brian came riding up.  We talked briefly, and he had been riding for 11 days, and was fully self-supported.  He went zooming down the hill, and we would play “leapfrog” for the rest of the day.  We were able to talk him into taking some water and a can of soup, and he said this greatly put his mind at ease, as a few of the resupply points (convenience stores, gas stations, restaurants, etc.) that are on the map (he has the same set of maps) are actually closed, or out of business.  This isn’t a huge deal for Kelly and I, as she can always drive into a town off of the course, and get whatever we need, but for a self-supported rider, this is a VERY big deal.

After a couple of hours of riding very slowly, due to the climbing and the rocky roads (now I’m thinking about ice cream!), I stopped for a break, and it began to rain, and then hail.  We spent about an hour waiting for the storm to pass, as there was some decent thunder and lightning, too.  I have to admit, I am absolutely terrified of lightning, and have been since I was a kid.  I think it’s because I’m so tall?  Eventually the storm passed, and I tried riding again.  I didn’t get very far, as the road was now extremely muddy, and eventually my wheels, fork, and everything else were CAKED in mud!  This was some of the “peanut butter mud” I had heard about on the biking websites.  My front tire wouldn’t roll, as there was so much mud built up.  I pushed the bike through the grassy field next to the road, and then Kelly and I tried to knock the rest off with sticks.  Eventually we decided to load my bike up, and drive to the next campground, which was about 10 miles away.  Brian caught up to us as we were loading the bike, and after watching him ride on, I started to feel guilty.  I drove for about three miles, and then decided to try to ride again.  I made it to the campground, despite climbing over 1,200 feet during this section of the ride.  I rode through the entire Forest Service campground, but after passing equally good camping spots (unofficial ones just off of the road), we decided to backtrack about 1/2 mile, and just camp off of the road.  This saved us $24 (the fee at the Forest Service campground).  We set up camp, and were completely done setting up just as another rain storm passed through.  It will be interesting to see how the roads are tomorrow.  We knew there were going to be some weather challenges along the way, and we were happy to have made it through this one without any major issues.  After Kelly cooked us another fantastic dinner, we played some backgammon.

Miles for the day: 23.98 Feet climbed today: 3,389

Total miles ridden: 621.36 Total feet climbed: 40,016

Mark LinderComment