The internet connection here in Cody is shaky at best, so this will be a briefer post. Today got off to a bad start when I discovered that my front tire was flat, evidently from a slow leak. A bad omen....
We headed south out of Columbus, and immediately started climbing, and had already done 1500' by the first rest stop. The next 30 miles were even hillier, with multiple 300' climbs followed by 200' descents. It reminded me of the south end of Whidbey Island.......relentlessly up or down, but never flat.
We passed through the town of Red Lodge at the 50 mile point......it appears so be a big motorcycle mecca, like Sturgis, South Dakota. By now the temperature was over 100. We had lunch on the Wyoming state line, and even though we had already climbed over 4000', we had more climbing to do. To make things worse, there was now a 10 mph headwind. The final pass was at 5800', following which there was a nice drop into Cody. The landscape changed dramatically as we entered Wyoming. Trees disappeared; there were endless brown hills covered with sagebrush. The Beartooth mountains loomed to the southwest, still with a little snow, amazing with this persistent heat wave. As we approached Cody, the Bighorns could be seen in the distance to the east, looking quite formidable.
So, all in all, a very rough day. The combination of the heat, the climbing, and the headwind was hard to deal with. I just hope I didn't use up too much energy before our date with the Bighorns tomorrow.
Waking up in the morning knowing you need to ride 130 miles or more is a little daunting, so I divide the day into smaller psychological chunks. The first rest stop is usually about 25-30 miles out, so I concentrate on making it that far. Then the second stop is at about 55-60 miles, so I think about that next. Lunch is usually at the 80-100 mile mark, and that is an easy thing to concentrate on. Finally, when I have completed about 75% of the ride for the day, I first allow thoughts of a hot shower to creep into my head. When there are 10 miles left, I think SERIOUSLY about a hot shower!
115 very tough miles. 6300 vertical feet.
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1 comment:
Why is it that I can actually hear you saying "a bad omen" in my head. So many years in precipitous situations perhaps? I was thrilled to see it when mom sent me your blog link. Ironically, when I was running we broke down the distance runs the same way. "I just have to run to there" usually got me through the tougher days. Ride on, Big John! Eli
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