The hills are worth the views

How is it already 6 AM, did I even fall asleep? The room rustled with bikers ready to start the day. Martin had already started coffee, the preferred fuel choice for Jim and I. The pantry swung open to a library of cereal choices, and my library card was ready for activation. In an effort to revive as many childhood cereal taste buds as possible, I combined four cereals together: cinnamon oatmeal squares, chocolate mini wheats, crunchy special K, and the best of all, golden grahams. I waited for the cereal to absorb the milk, and polished off a Greek yogurt with fresh blueberries in the mean time. Our plan today was 58 miles to Hartsel, which meant +6,000 feet in elevation. The incline was steady, so as long as your in an appropriate gear, you should be fine. I bottoms up’ed the sugary milk at the bottom of the bowl, finished my coffee, and rolled out to accomplish today’s task with da boys. Martin decided to come with, and being that he’s an expert on these hills, we basically knew what to expect.

In the morning sky we found our way to the first hill which lasted about 8 miles. I reached down to shift to a lower gear, and noticed my worst nightmare. The gear shifting lever was loose meaning when I would shift into a gear, it wouldn’t hold. Not what you want approaching the mountains. Somehow, someway, without having to perform major bike surgery, I adjusted my levers while climbing to work. With that being said, we got to work on the long stretch of hills. The climb was steady, so you didn’t have to grind hard, just consistently. The Trans America Race also is underway, and the leaders, since starting only June 3rd, are passing us in the opposite direction. Whenever I saw one coming, I would scream motivational lines to them. Their lightweight setups are insane, and maybe one day I’ll participate in that awesome race 😉

It’s hard to put into words the views we have when riding. The furthest views are the snow-topped mountains, then the high green hills, then the mountain plains. Some areas have many pine trees, others are empty fields of faded green grass. Antelope can be spotted throughout the plains, only to run away the minute you stop for pictures. The air is cool, but not cold. The air is fresh, and sky as blue as can be. Usually, I pay too much attention to my bike computer, today I barely thought about it. Today was easily the best scenery I’ve had during the trip, and is top 3 best days, if not the best, thus far. We met Paul several more times along the trail, ate lunch and drank cold water, and basked in the beauty of our surroundings. As crazy as it sounds, I was bummed we arrived to Hartsel, because I wanted to ride in this beauty all day long.

We went to the local cafe, and I ordered some coffee. Nothing like a warm cup after a day’s ride, it’s probably one of my favorite ‘calm down’ rituals for the trip. While in town, we ran into a new biker! His name’s Justin, and he’s one cool ass dude. He pointed out where he setup his tent, which happened to be behind an old barn with a crystal clear creek flowing along it. With our crew of seven, Justin, and two of Jim’s friends visiting, we had a legit community of bikers camping behind this abandoned barn. The only thing missing from the evening was a bonfire, but I wasn’t mad about it.

The best nights are hanging with cyclists from all around the world, behind a random barn, in a random town, in a random state. I literally can’t explain how profound this trip has been in so many different ways. I said to myself, “If the trip was over today, I would be satisfied with what has occurred thus far” I still have such amazing country to explore, but first, we need to hike over Hoosier’s pass, the route highest elevation of 11,539 ft. I’m ready.

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