Yesterday was just 63 miles. Ever since I started using the Strava app, I've been feeling more motivated to ride faster, take fewer breaks, and push myself on climbs. I started this trip riding towards the back of the pack, but much of that was due to more frequent and inefficient stops. Riding towards the front of the pack means I can chalk messages on the road for other riders to see - yesterday's note was "life is a high way" and in the middle of today's long climb was "at least you're pretty."
We arrived in Duchesne at 11am and I had lunch at a cafe with Eliza, Emma, and Marcus. Last night was our first time on this trip camping, so we knew we had time to kill in town. We had a few camp sites reserved at Starvation State Park, which is next to a lake. I was prepared for the most rustic of camping, but when we arrived Emma called the place "glamping" which means glamorous camping. There was running water, indoor plumbing, and shelters over picnic tables, so we weren't exactly roughing it.
The afternoon at Starvation was spent napping, stretching with Rae, doing abs with Emma, watching folks practicing on Mike's slackline, singing songs that Dan can play on the guitar, eating Subway sandwiches that Travis DM-ed, making a mess out of smores with Sarah, and painting our nails with Amanda's stash of polish. I asked each of the twelve guys, "What are the chances you will paint your toenails?" Most of them said 1 in 3, or 1 in 5. We counted off together, "Ready, one, two, three..." and then I guessed the same number the guy was thinking of - six times! So I got half of the guys to paint their toenails. It was silly seeing them walk around afterwards all awkwardly, and when someone asked if anyone wanted to go swimming in the lake, Kevin said, "I can't - my nails are still wet!"
We woke up at 4:30 am this morning, and we dressed and took down the tents and set up breakfast and pumped up our tires all in the dark before sunrise. I left the campsite with Rae as the sun was rising over the lake and plateaus - it was absolutely stunning. So stunning that we missed our turn and a 97 mile day suddenly became a century ride.
Rae and I crushed it and didn't stop for the first 40 miles until first lunch. But it was mostly a gradual climb with unrewarding descents in between hills. At about mile 60 was the summit - we didn't even know we'd be riding on a pass through the mountains today! Route 40 was just as unforgiving as yesterday with it's oversized loads pushing me off the road. But Rae, Chris, and I stopped at the summit for a moment, and a truck driver came out and talked with us. He insisted we were "in the most beautiful part of the most beautiful state" - northern Utah. We were pretty tired from all the climbing we had done, but the truck driver said it was all downhill from there. He was right - there was a 6.5% downgrade for about 15 miles. Sweet! Chris led the way because he's a beast, Rae was comfortable drafting behind him, and I preferred to have more personal space than that and wanted to take turns carefully, so I stayed in the back and called out when there were "cars back!" We cruised through a gorgeous canyon and couldn't ride slower than like 25 mph. Climbing has its rewards.
However, our ride came to an abrupt stop of standstill traffic. The road construction was like spreading tar on the road, and there was only one lane open at a time. After a minute of standing in the lane with the cars, we decided to pass the cars by riding in the shoulder. The tar was still wet, and tiny rocks were being flown into our faces by our bikes and the cars passing us. I was pretty worried about my tires while I squinted my eyes form rocks. We beat the van and trailer to second lunch, and we didn't feel like waiting around for it. Kevin DM-ed a pizza and breadsticks from Little Ceasars, and I indulged myself in mozzarella sticks and a slushy from a gas station.
The three of us met up with Austin, Dan, Marcus, Kevin, and Elaina, and so we set out on the last 27 miles in an eight deep paceline. They're fast, and I was tired by mile 75 and the mozzarella sticks were not exactly fueling me. I'm pretty uncomfortable and inexperienced with pacelining and drafting, so as each person "pulling" in the front "dropped back" I was getting closer to pulling people who are faster than me. Yikes. Anyway, the headwind was ridiculous, the narrow shoulder had debris, and there was more construction and trucks. I did the best I could do pulling, and reminded myself that pulling is basically the same as riding my bike except that there are people behind me. The eight deep paceline eventually broke in half, and then Dan, Austin, and Chris and I stopped at a waterfall to dip our feet in. With less than ten miles to go, I finished on my own, and took my time slowly cruising through a lovely shady bike path. The last century ride of the summer ended with my post-ride routine of drinking chocolate milk, stretching, changing out of my chamois, rinsing my face, and napping.
When all you do is eat, sleep, bike, and build, the days begin to blend together.
No comments:
Post a Comment