Holland Lake to Seely Lake

July 5, 2023

July 5- Holland Lake to Seely Lake- 34 miles 3900 Feet.

Henry was riding a rigid older Diamondback.

We left Holland Lake at the crack of dawn*, a little before 8. There was a ton of elevation, and I climbed well until noon or so,then hit a wall. I rested and walked the bike a little bit, but was able to ride most of it. I think today's 3900 feet was the biggest on the route so far. I finally topped out with awesome views of the valley ahead towards Seely. Then miles of exposed, flowy, rugged singletrack followed. The Kiwis flew down pretty fast, and I was a little slower on my rigid LHT, taking care not to rattle any teeth loose. It was the longest and hardest singletrack I've done, not that I have done a lot of it. But it was fun.

*The crack of dawn up here in summer is about 5am.

As we approached Seely Lake, Cain (from the campground) appeared out of nowhere and rode into town with us. The Kiwis and I ate at the Chicken Coop, and it was mediocre.

Cain arranged for all of us to camp behind the ice cream stand in town for free, so we did that. I did laundry and showered across the street, lost a sock (first thing I've lost on the journey) and talked to Jen. She and our friend Lisa have been in Colorado visiting Jen's mom for a few days, and are leaving for Oregon tomorrow. It's likely to be Jen's last visit with her mom, so things are getting sad and real.

The camping was was a little loud and chaotic, and one meathead parked his running F150 diesel 5 feet outside my tent and left it running while he went and stood in the long ice cream line. I got of my tent to tell him to move but was already in front and I didn't know which meathead owned the truck. What's with the idling trucks?

August (who is a bike mechanic) and Cain discussing the ramifications of various crank lengths related to watts and cog tooth counts.

Tomorrow is Ovando!

Today's ride: 34 miles (55 km)
Total: 459 miles (739 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	14
Comment on this entry	Comment	0