July 23, 2021
Day 79: Omak, WA to Chelan, WA
Off Route, Fire On The Mountain
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Climbing Today; 1,956 ft Climbing to Date; 127,500 ft
I found a penny in the parking lot as I left Safeway last night with my supper and breakfast and some ride provisions. That brings the "found money" total to $3.17 now.
Yesterday I finished 14 days of antibiotics taken to control the infection that developed in my 5th wisdom tooth. Antibiotics kill off the good bacteria in your stomach, and they had done a number on me. I hadn't been "regular" for several days; I hadn't done what bears do in the woods. So I thought maybe I might need a laxative. BIG mistake. I only took 2 of those tiny dulco-lax pills, but they unleashed a nuclear war in my tummy that left me drained when the alarm went off at 03:30. I was sleepy, a bit dehydrated, and yet I needed to get up and get going to get in the 55-ish mile day before the sun became unbearable. Steve, riding a day ahead of me, had warned me that there was a steep climb at the end of today's ride and that I didn't want to get caught out in the heat doing that climb. Gee whiz; not a good time to wake up wasted away, but it was what it was. I had to force myself to eat a little bit of instant oatmeal; there was no way I could possibly do this ride without nourishment. And so, it took me a bit longer than normal to get my act together and get rolling, but I finally headed out with enough toilet paper for a few emergency stops - fortunately I did not need it.
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3 years ago
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3 years ago
Yeah, the smoke was a little unpredictable around Omak. I wanted to go further west and ride over Loup Loup Pass, but it looked like the smoke was much worse in the next valley over. It's a small world; we were within 2 days of meeting up. Best of luck,
Buddy Hall
3 years ago
Some road signs just kill me - maybe I have a sick sense of humor.
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The Columbia River valley supports a lot of agriculture, and many of the residences I passed had abandoned vehicles in the yards. Looks like there would be a need for the scrap metal and someone would haul them off for free.
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Sorry, not much in the wildlife category today. I'm off of the backroads that the ACA map would have taken me on, probably won't see much wildlife from this point till the end.
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Wells Dam is a hydrocombine, the only one in the U.S. See Wells Dam for more info.
I got better as I rolled along, and stopped in Brewster for a breakfast sandwich and coffee at a McDonald's. The inside dining was closed, so I sat outside on the sidewalk and very slowly nibbled at it. That gave me some energy and I rolled on. I made good time and hit the long climb into Chelan before noon. It was slow and I found myself panting in the heat and stopping every mile or so for a water break. The Apple Inn is a nice place with very nice rooms, so I'm good for the night. I need to look ahead at tomorrow's ride now, I'm on a 1-day-at-a-time now until I finish.
Doc Update. Doc is done! He rode the shoulder of I-90 into Seattle, then used Google bike routing to navigate the extensive bike trails to Puget Sound to end a "coast-to-coast" ride. His bike is now in the hands of a bike shop that he says is a little more ghetto than he would like, and he flies home tomorrow.
I have a flight home that was purchased prior to starting this journey. With the Canadian border shut down preventing us from taking the routes into Canada that we wanted, my wisdom tooth infection causing delay, and now the forest fire rerouting, it's amazing that I will be finishing anywhere near the original planned date. But I will, and I will be flying home 1 week later than Doc; at least, that's the plan for now. We all know that plans can and do change. In the meantime, it's 1 day at a time for me as I move on.
Lots to do to prepare for tomorrow. One thing I won't do is take a dulco-lax tonight. Good night all, I hope you are all keeping "regular" in your daily lives...
Today's ride: 54 miles (87 km)
Total: 4,023 miles (6,474 km)
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3 years ago
Bud
3 years ago