What a day!
I woke up with quite an upset stomach - too much greasy food in Middlegate!
This worried me seeing as the next bathroom was 65 miles away. I managed to find some Imodium and refuelled myself on essential salts and vitamins so it wasn't a problem in the end.
First off I had to make a decision on 2 routes;
Option 1 highway 50, more traffic, much lower passes to climb over but more drawn out uphill climbing.
Option 2 the scenic route, very few cars, much higher pass to get over to start with, 2 miles more to cover but more coasting downhill after initial climb.
I took the scenic option and certainly didn't regret it. I felt fresh early on and actually enjoyed pushing uphill. I was stopping often just to take photos which slowed me down a lot.
Fighter jets continued to randomly fly overhead which was even better when I was in the valleys. They were always too quick to get a decent video but I just caught one which is on YouTube.
The initial climb wasn't as steep as I expected and slowly creeped upwards winding through huge rocky faces, steep inclines scattered with parched looking bushes and trees all in perfect clear skies with no wind.
It was 21C by 9am so I was expecting things to get a lot hotter.
I set off at 8.30 and reached the peak/pass at about 11.30. At this point I was feeling good. I had done what I thought was the hardest part. I faced only downhills and easy flats for the rest of the day until the final climb into Austin.
I was wrong!!
The downhill was great and the beautiful landscape continued. When I reached the bottom and hit the flat, endless straights things got really hard. The 'difficult' section which ended up being enjoyable was behind me but now the 'easier' section was turning out to be anything but.
Once on the flats I was riding in a giant basin - there were mountains and hills all around a huge flat area. This had a crazy affect on the wind. One minute it was calm, next it was knocking me off sideways, then I was riding into a frickin hurricane (not literally) with horizontal rain driving into my face. It was changing every 2 minutes. I didn't know where it was all coming from.
I could find no rhythm - as soon as I picked up some speed, smack, wind and back in first gear. Very tiring.
I didn't need a visual indicator that the weather was completely schizophrenic but in the basin there were lots of wind turbines. Not one of those fffurkins was facing the same way. All completely random and all laughing at me while doing a merry dance.
On top of it all these long straight roads actually grow as you ride along them. If you take your eyes off them for a second they stretch and add a few extra miles. I put it down to seismic activity. You actually have the feeling you are going backwards. In the mountains you worry about being eaten by mountain lions, on the straights you worry you will die of old age before you get to the end.
The scenic route was less well travelled and road maintenance could have been better. It was quite a bumpy ride which probably didn't help my knees which were hurting again by the end of the day. Amazingly my backside is holding up fine to all this saddle action!
On arrival at my new town I Checked into my motel, put some wet towels in the fridge for my knees and ran a cold bath. Completely knackered again. Some food and a freshen up always makes you feel human again though.
Very hard work today but worth it (just).
Same again tomorrow! Next stop Eureka, 69 miles, three separate climbs.
I woke up with quite an upset stomach - too much greasy food in Middlegate!
This worried me seeing as the next bathroom was 65 miles away. I managed to find some Imodium and refuelled myself on essential salts and vitamins so it wasn't a problem in the end.
First off I had to make a decision on 2 routes;
Option 1 highway 50, more traffic, much lower passes to climb over but more drawn out uphill climbing.
Option 2 the scenic route, very few cars, much higher pass to get over to start with, 2 miles more to cover but more coasting downhill after initial climb.
I took the scenic option and certainly didn't regret it. I felt fresh early on and actually enjoyed pushing uphill. I was stopping often just to take photos which slowed me down a lot.
Fighter jets continued to randomly fly overhead which was even better when I was in the valleys. They were always too quick to get a decent video but I just caught one which is on YouTube.
The initial climb wasn't as steep as I expected and slowly creeped upwards winding through huge rocky faces, steep inclines scattered with parched looking bushes and trees all in perfect clear skies with no wind.
It was 21C by 9am so I was expecting things to get a lot hotter.
I set off at 8.30 and reached the peak/pass at about 11.30. At this point I was feeling good. I had done what I thought was the hardest part. I faced only downhills and easy flats for the rest of the day until the final climb into Austin.
I was wrong!!
The downhill was great and the beautiful landscape continued. When I reached the bottom and hit the flat, endless straights things got really hard. The 'difficult' section which ended up being enjoyable was behind me but now the 'easier' section was turning out to be anything but.
Once on the flats I was riding in a giant basin - there were mountains and hills all around a huge flat area. This had a crazy affect on the wind. One minute it was calm, next it was knocking me off sideways, then I was riding into a frickin hurricane (not literally) with horizontal rain driving into my face. It was changing every 2 minutes. I didn't know where it was all coming from.
I could find no rhythm - as soon as I picked up some speed, smack, wind and back in first gear. Very tiring.
I didn't need a visual indicator that the weather was completely schizophrenic but in the basin there were lots of wind turbines. Not one of those fffurkins was facing the same way. All completely random and all laughing at me while doing a merry dance.
On top of it all these long straight roads actually grow as you ride along them. If you take your eyes off them for a second they stretch and add a few extra miles. I put it down to seismic activity. You actually have the feeling you are going backwards. In the mountains you worry about being eaten by mountain lions, on the straights you worry you will die of old age before you get to the end.
The scenic route was less well travelled and road maintenance could have been better. It was quite a bumpy ride which probably didn't help my knees which were hurting again by the end of the day. Amazingly my backside is holding up fine to all this saddle action!
On arrival at my new town I Checked into my motel, put some wet towels in the fridge for my knees and ran a cold bath. Completely knackered again. Some food and a freshen up always makes you feel human again though.
Very hard work today but worth it (just).
Same again tomorrow! Next stop Eureka, 69 miles, three separate climbs.
Shoe tree
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