rain, rain, go away!

We awoke at the university dorms, and had a buffet style breakfast in the cafeteria. The century ride a few days ago nearly did me in, and here I was going into a four day stretch with three rides over 90 miles. I was apprehensive to say the least.

When we began, it was very cool out and we all bundled up again. We spent most of the day as we’d spent the past several days, going along State Route 200. We passed a sign for Garret Ghost Town, which sounded very intriguing, but it was 12 miles off the route and we had a lot of miles to cover that day. Despite being a long day (at 99 miles), it was actually a really good day. It’s amazing what a day off can do for your body. Also, I think the best way to get through long days it to really just push yourself and get it over with. It’s much easier to maintain mental composure for 8 – 9 hours in the blazing heat than for 10 -11 hours. So I just pushed right through it all today, and that seemed to work out well. We did do a lot of climbing today (3,500 feet) as confirmed by the fact that my lotion all came squirting out of the bottle as soon as I opened it in camp that evening.

We did go through one exceptionally buggy bit, and the air was thick with bugs. Each time I breathed in, I must have eaten 10 bugs. Another rider commented “Well, at least we won’t be low on protein today.” I’d just put on sunscreen, so my eyes were still a bit sticky and it acted as a trap for the bugs. By the end of the ride, my arms were so covered with bugs that I could see more bug than arms.

It had been overcast and humid all day, but just after the buggy bit, the bottom seemed to drop out of the sky. It didn’t last for more than 20 minutes, and thankfully I was with a group of four, so we were able to stay in a line and help shield each other from the wind. The rain drops were really fat, but I didn’t feel any hail. A few others were further out (serves them right for going so fast! :o)), and got caught in a hail storm. My poor friend, Kathleen, got a flat tire and had to change it while being hailed on.

The Dixie Chick’s ‘Wide Open Spaces’ and Jo Dee Messina’s ‘Bring on the Rain’ both came to mind today. There is just so very much open space out here. I could look in all directions and see for miles and miles without seeing another person, car, or building. The terrain is rolling hills covered with bright green grass and dark pine trees. The contrasting greens against the blue sky and fluffy white clouds provide an amazing backdrop for such an adventure!



As I mentioned before, the areas I put pressure on all day are really starting to feel it. My hands and wrists ache after supporting my torso all day, my rear end wants to do anything but sit on a bicycle saddle, and even my feet start to go numb from the continuous pressure of pushing down on the pedals. To mitigate this strain, I’ve explored some alternative positions for bicycling. One position I’ve thought through (though not yet attempted) is sitting side saddle on the bike and then leaning down and putting one hand on each pedal and circling them round. The only problem I can see with this position is that it wouldn’t be ideal for seeing the road ahead of me. As such, I’ve put aside further exploration of this position for the time being, but I still have several alternative positions I’m considering. I have also proposed the idea of hooking up my bicycle to the back of the support van with a rope and having them tow me along on bike. (I figured as long as my legs are spinning, it’ll still count as “bicycling” – right?) The crew members were not amenable to the idea.

Another problem I’ve encountered is that my joints seem to have gotten the (obviously false) impression that I’m getting older. They ache and whine and moan and generally seem to be displeased with this whole cross country bicycling business. After the 100-plus mile day, they asked me “What in the heck was that?? We’ve always been so good to you, carrying you faithfully around, and then you ask us to do that??” I didn’t know what to tell them. So instead I attempt to appease them with a fairly absurd amount of anti-inflammatories, pain killers, ice baths, and a cream that smells of menthol and is supposed to ease aches and pains. All in all, they seem to be taking it as well as could be hoped.

I’ve also passed another milestone today. When the ride leaders mentioned that we’d be going through areas with no towns, gas stations, or any other restrooms available for tens of miles, I blanched. Everyone else seems perfectly comfortable using the bathroom in the great outdoors, but I was not excited at all by the prospect. In one of the more forsaken stretches today, I knew I had to go. But I convinced myself I’d be able to make it to the next town. I pedalled quicker and kept repeating “You can make it, you can make it, you can make it”. All at once, I realized that I could not make it. At that point, I’d left it too late to scout out an ideal spot, so I just went careening off the road and hopped into the nearest bush. Unfortunately, it seems that this will just be the first of many such woodland excursions!

In the evening we stayed in Avon, Montana – population 124. In fact, the town is so small they had to point it out on our cue sheet – “This is Avon!” We stopped at the Avon Café on the way into the campground, and the people of Avon seemed really nice. There was no need to lock up our bikes, and when I dropped $10 on the ground without noticed, someone kindly picked it up and handed it back to me instead of hanging on to it himself.

The Avon Café catered dinner at our campground and it was all great, -- especially the pies. They brought all sorts of pies – coconut cream, cherry, oreo, banana cream , lemon meringue, blueberry, and peach – and we all took a piece and shared them around. It was amazing!