Solitude

Juntura, OR to Burns, OR

There were two mountain passes to climb before lunch. The team has figured out that pacelining doesn't work well on climbs, and even riding with someone while climbing is difficult. So I went at these two climbs alone, and actually had a great time. It's more of a mental test than a physical one. I was the third rider to reach lunch, and apparently the pack was being led by us "lady shredders." We also crossed into Pacific Time, so we were feeling accomplished.

During the descent, I stopped at a wonderful Native American art gallery and museum. There, I learned that this county, Harney county, has the lowest ambient light out of any U.S. county, making it an amazing place for stargazing. But that also means that during the daytime there is simply nothing around.

There was about 20 miles of a straight road through the desert, which reminded everyone of the infamous and miserable ride to Dalhart, Texas. I  cranked it at 17mph against headwinds and was feeling good. However, the clouds provided a very lonely atmosphere. Stuck in my head again were songs from Springsteen's album Nebraska, which has become my personal soundtrack for this summer.

Our host was a school gymnasium, where I promptly took a group shower and nap until it was time to do laundry. I picked up my Secret Santa gift while in town, and wrapped it with pages from a magazine at the laundromat.

Dinner was steak at the elks lodge, so I stayed at the gym and ate from the coolers. I practiced a few songs on Dan's guitar, and read the chapter Solitude in Thoreau's Walden. When I'm surrounded by 27 other people all summer, it's nice to get some alone time that's not on the bike.

Sarah often asks me, "Laini, why don't you hang out with me?" To which I reply, "I'm too busy being an introvert to be hanging out." But when I do hang out with her I usually start the conversation with, "So what's it like being so extroverted?" and ended the conversation with, "Okay well this is making me tired, I have to go back to being an introvert now." This interaction happens like three times a day.

Josh and I were dubbed "the lone wolves" because we like our space, both while biking and not. We are both fine with that, and fortunately the team respects people's needs for down time.