July 20, 2018
Calm the Hell Down! Riggins to New Meadows
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Looking at the ACA map, it looked like another day of climbing, and Jen was really getting more congested and felt worse than yesterday. But she said she felt up to moving on, so thats we did.
Beth and John, the librarians we met a few days earlier sent me an email saying that the route to New Meadows was a trudge, and that accurately describes it. The climbing began almost immediately, although it was gentle at first. Gay rode ahead as he does because he's fast (I suspect steroids), and Jen and I plugged along. She is a faster climber than me, and even today when she felt like total shit, she was ahead of me. The traffic was moderately heavy, with a nice shoulder at first which disappeared as the elevation increased. We stopped frequently so she could rest, and she asked when the big climb was going to start so she could gear herself up. I looked at the map and realized that we were already more than halfway up, which meant that the climb wasn't going to be as bad as we thought. With this good news, I didn't know whether I was ecstatic or ludicrous. (That's a line from In Living Color, the 80s TV show). There was still some up hill to do, but once we realized the worst was almost over it was a big relief.
It got scary approaching the top when the edge of the tarmac dropped off 6 inches into loose gravel and the road turned and twisted constantly with traffic buzzing by too fast. Most drivers were ok, trying to give us space, but almost all of them drove too fast for the road conditions. As a cyclist, when there is nowhere to go on a twisty uphill, you have to grit your teeth and hope for the best. Good god almighty people, slow the hell down.
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The town of New Meadows was great, with free camping and a Family Dollar and market a block away. We were the first ones there, but later in the afternoon a young guy names Miles from Georgia rode up. He's doing the TransAm and will start a new career as a veterinarian when he gets home this fall. I said, "Oh, you're a vet? Thanks for your service! Haha!" And then we all laughed and laughed and laughed.
The temperature dropped 10 degrees as soon as the sun started to disappear behind the mountains, so we expected a cold night. Jen still feels like crap, and we will either stay in New Meadows another day or go on tomorrow, depending on how she feels in the morning. She's been very reslient during this and other challenges over the past couple of months. She's short and skinny, but she's strong.
Today's ride: 36 miles (58 km)
Total: 1,657 miles (2,667 km)
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| Comment on this entry | Comment | 4 |
6 years ago
I do hope she gets some rest and feels better.
6 years ago
6 years ago