July 13, 2016
DAY 45: Houston to Ellington: "Wait, I have to bike up THAT?!?"
DAILY STATS
Mileage: 72.92
Average Speed: 11.3 mph
Maximum Speed: 40.8 mph
Today was the most physically arduous day since McKenzie Pass. Except that today also included angry dogs and stifling humidity.
I was efficient this morning and out of camp by 6:45am. The first part of today's journey would take me down into the Ozark Scenic Byway. I say down as if it was one long, continuous descent. It wasn't. It was the same succession of rolling climbs and descents that trended gradually downward.
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During this first part of the day, I had to make use of my bear spray, spraying two dogs on separate occasions. I could probably just yell at them, but the dogs are intimidating and I'd rather make use of my spray than risk a bite.
The descent was pretty (dogs notwithstanding) and the clouds kept things cool. But as the clouds slowly burned off, the familiar heat and humidity returned.
By this time I had wound my way down to Alley Spring, an 80 million gallon/day freshwater spring. It was a beautiful place to catch my breath, escape the heat, and soak my bandana.
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Up to this point, the day hadn't been particularly challenging. But then the really crazy climbing began. It wasn't that the climbs were high, oh no. It's that they were STEEP. To make matters more unpleasant, they were successive, and the heat and humidity in the valley was, to put lightly, suffocating. I'd never sweat so much in my life, and I couldn't drink water at a fast enough rate to equal its rapid expulsion from my pores. The brief, fast descents only served as a temporary abatement for the soggy onslaught.
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I had just finished listening to "The Martian" at the top of the day's last climb, and wearily puttered into Ellington. I met up with Kyle, and we set up at the city bike hostel. Once there, we cranked on the ACA, each took cold showers, ate a brief dinner, and passed out. It was an exhausting day.
You know what, though? Supposedly this section of the TransAm is the hardest section of all. I'd heard some cyclists say that, so if that's the case, then hurray!
Today's ride: 73 miles (117 km)
Total: 3,111 miles (5,007 km)
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