June 16, 2013
Day 5
I ain't gunna lie. Today was a tough day. Oh, I'm not saying I would NEVER lie. I mean, if you just finished a big speech in front of thousands of people, and you got off the stage, pumped, because you nailed it, I would definitely lie when you asked if you had spinach stuck between your front teeth. But Im not lying now.
It was the day I was worried about when I came up with this crazy idea. It was a long way, with a likely headwind, with 50 or so miles between water or services. In Loma, the last store, I loaded up on fluids and snacks and set off. The plan was to make it to the Colorado river, where I could filter water if necessary.
The day started well, with cool temps and no winds. The 30 mile ride on the freeway was even pleasant. A wide shoulder light traffic, and an occasional pull from passing semis was nice. But after the turn off to Cisco the winds picked up, and so did the heat. I had enough water, more or less, but it was hard going.
I got my first flat today. But right before I noticed it, at the view point, overlook on the freeway, a couple who were driving to Oregon asked, "do you need any tools? I'm a bike mechanic and have a bunch of them in our car." I didnt need them, of course. Until 5 minutes later when I noticed my flat.
"Do you have a floor pump?" I asked. They did. What are the odds?
I talked to Kelly the other day and she thought there was a store at Cisco. I had my fingers crossed but as i got near I could tell there would be no store. But there was a bus, one of those busses with the big trailer that hauls people and rafts to and from the river on rafting trips.
And there was Steve, bike shop owner and part time raft bus driver, waiting by the road until it was time to pick up the rafters down by the river. "I park here because I can get cell phone service," he explained.
"Take as much water as you want," he said when i explained my plan to filter river water. "It is really hard to filter water from the river. Clogs the filter because of the silt."
We chated for a while while I luxurated in the air conditioned bus. He told about a recent encounter with two French Canadian cyclists on the same route as me.
"They were totally unprepared, and seemed shocked by the difficulty in finding water. I explained what a desert was.... They were in such bad shape and close to heat exhaustion that I loaded them and their bikes up and drove them the rest of the way."
I wasn't nearly that bad, but the cold air and water revived me.. The rest of the way to the river was hot and barren, and the first thing I did when I rolled past Dewey Bridge, and the colorado river was jump in for a swim. Then I crashed on the picnic table for the rest if the afternoon. I couldn't think of a better place to spend the HOT afternoon than by the river.
Around 6:00pm I decided i better decide on where to camp. Dewy Bridge was great but I generally don't like to camp at established campgrounds when I am the only one there, on a bike. So I started packing up to roll for a few more miles when Tinka from Germany drove up.
"Were you going to camp here" I asked her after she went for a swim. She was, so I stayed too, and we chatted about this and that over dinner.
I was so tired that I was ready for bed by sunset. It was a tough day, like I said. Still, I had to smile at how things worked out. When I needed a boast there was Steve and his ice water and cool bus. When I needed a campground buddy there was Tinka. THere was even a family from Wisconsin who offered me a cold drink when they saw me napping in the shade. And of course there was the bike mechanic, who happened to be there with a floor pump JUST as I needed it.
The world is really not as scary as some people make it out to be.
In the end, another good day on the bike.
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Today's ride: 68 miles (109 km)
Total: 340 miles (547 km)
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