It was hard to get going this morning because the arms, back, and legs were so sore. Like I probably would be under exaggerating to say it felt like I had watermelons inserted into my legs and then had them smashed with a hammer multiple times. I sat around making breakfast and coffee, while I lazily packed up camp. While cooking breakfast, I saw a bald eagle land in the tree across from my camp. It was a nice reminder as to why I'm putting my body through this.
After leaving the campsite, I biked around Triangle Lake. It was a nice and peaceful way to start the day.
The next town I hit was Blachly, where I sent home some of the extra stuff that I felt was overkill. That lightened my load a bit. Plus I didn't carry the additional 2 litres of water since I knew I'd make it to a city tonight. That also really helped. I walked out of the post office and was standing around out front and the woman working there ran out after me and handed me 10 postage paid postcards and told me I should write to my family and friends to let them know I'm ok. I told her I'd write to her along the way to let her know how the adventure is going. Such kindness! I'll also pay that act of kindness forward along the way.
Just after that, I reached the highest peak of the trip so far (1022ft/311.5m). It's 10% of what I have to do in Colorado, so I'm hoping my body is ready for that seeing as this little climb made me want to throw myself off the mountain so I wouldn't have to keep going upwards.
Finally on my way into Eugene, I made a wrong turn and noticed it 3 miles later. So I ended up having to cut across a super busy highway with no shoulder. Was super scary! Then there were about 7 miles of city biking, before making it to my hotel.
I'm going to stay here 2 nights. My muscles feel better today, but want to give them a break. Plus the next days see a climb to 5000ft (1524m). I want to be rested and relaxed, plus I'm slightly ahead of schedule anyways.
Distance for the day: 39mi (63km)
Total distance: 81 mi (131km)
After leaving the campsite, I biked around Triangle Lake. It was a nice and peaceful way to start the day.
The next town I hit was Blachly, where I sent home some of the extra stuff that I felt was overkill. That lightened my load a bit. Plus I didn't carry the additional 2 litres of water since I knew I'd make it to a city tonight. That also really helped. I walked out of the post office and was standing around out front and the woman working there ran out after me and handed me 10 postage paid postcards and told me I should write to my family and friends to let them know I'm ok. I told her I'd write to her along the way to let her know how the adventure is going. Such kindness! I'll also pay that act of kindness forward along the way.
Just after that, I reached the highest peak of the trip so far (1022ft/311.5m). It's 10% of what I have to do in Colorado, so I'm hoping my body is ready for that seeing as this little climb made me want to throw myself off the mountain so I wouldn't have to keep going upwards.
Finally on my way into Eugene, I made a wrong turn and noticed it 3 miles later. So I ended up having to cut across a super busy highway with no shoulder. Was super scary! Then there were about 7 miles of city biking, before making it to my hotel.
I'm going to stay here 2 nights. My muscles feel better today, but want to give them a break. Plus the next days see a climb to 5000ft (1524m). I want to be rested and relaxed, plus I'm slightly ahead of schedule anyways.
Distance for the day: 39mi (63km)
Total distance: 81 mi (131km)
Love the lady at the post office! So thoughtful, and awesome that you said you'd send her one of them.
ReplyDeleteJust think how strong your muscles will be once you get past these mountain areas. After that, the physical part should seem like a breeze. Glad you made it safely to your hotel! Amanda
She was sweet as could be. I also had people pull over and ask if I was ok or needed help when I'd pull over for a break. There's a lot of kind people out there for sure.
DeleteNice work, Michael! Sounds like a great start. Brian (920)
ReplyDeleteI'm curious, what did you get rid of and ship?
ReplyDeleteSo far just some shoes and a few camping supplies that were duplicates. I'm actually close to shipping home a few other things (camera for example and just use my phone) since I think I'm still carrying too much extra weight and will need to carry more water the next few days
DeleteThe bike has been a beauty so far! I've even had a few folks comment that they like it with all the bags and everything too :-)
ReplyDelete