Epic Bike Ride Day 34 July 1
Thoughts from Kelly: Happy Birthday Pops! As we were settling in for bed last night Marty, a south bound cyclist camped with us. He was leaving by 7am just as I was waking up. I imagine we could cover much more ground if we got up earlier, but we all know that won’t happen! Today we saw lots of streams, rivers, flooded grassy areas, snow and flowers as we meandered through Union Pass. We were told by other riders about a cabin open to all who need it along Strawberry Creek, and that 5 of them slept in it last night, a couple on the tables. We stopped to check it out, what a great resource! It had a wood burning stove, a couple pots, a vault toilet, tables and a satellite phone. We desperately needed showers so we were willing to pay to stay at Lava Mountain Lodge, but they had no vacancies, but did have quarter operated showers, score! We hung around there for awhile chatting with other south bound cyclists. We met Rick, the oldest racer this year at 77! He said this is his 6th year and probably his last, he was not able to go as fast as he wanted, and was knocked from a ‘racer’ to a ‘tourer’. What an inspirational human! After our mediocre at best showers, we drove the 3 miles to a campground and set up for a rainy night.
With Marks back still hurting, we’ve decided to take as many paved road options as possible from now on. So, we will be considered ‘off route’ for portions of the time, but we hope that will allow us to continue longer and hopefully finish.
Thoughts from Mark: Absolutely brutal day on the bike today. Union Pass was ok, despite the warning from the southbound riders about the tough climb. To be fair, it looked like a much steeper climb coming southbound than our northbound route. After the Pass, the rough roads made for a very slow slog. Eventually we decided to take a paved alternate, and just as we got onto the pavement, we turned into the strongest headwind I have ever had the “pleasure” of riding. At one point, on FLAT ground, I was in my lowest gear moving 4.9mph. It took all of my effort to even get to this speed, and the frustration level was at the maximum setting. I don’t think I have ever been this close to quitting the entire ride. I was spent, both physically and mentally, and I finally agreed to get into the truck, and drive the remaining 5-ish miles to the campground.
We made a stop at a resort, which didn’t have any rooms, or even tent spaces, available, but they did have coin operated showers. The water pressure was on the “just go outside and spit into the wind” level, and after several quarters (each one gave about 30 seconds of water), I finally got out of the shower, and might have still been a tad bit dirty. We eventually got to our camping spot, and I went to bed wondering if the entire ride was worth it. I really hoped a decent sleep would snap me out of the funk.
Miles for the day: 36.32 Feet climbed today: 2,349
Total miles ridden: 1,558.2 Total feet climbed: 100,707
