But I'm on a pretty short time leash here at the Salmon, Idaho library so I'll be brief.
I've covered over 500 miles in 5 days. I've been very pleased with how I've felt physically. The wind has been horrible and it's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow. I thought this ride would be a good preparation for riding in the heat and sun. Hasn't happened that way. I've been wearing pants and long sleeves ever since I left Salt Lake City.
All in all it's been a great adventure so far. I've only felt like quitting twice so far, which isn't too bad for more than 500 miles... especially considering that I've had at least 5 completely blissful moments in which I felt like I was in the perfect place.
The Great Divide Race is going to be really hard but I feel like this ride up to the start is helping me work out a lot of the kinks and get used to "living" on my bike.
I sure am spending way too much money though. I'm eating like a horse. I seemingly can't pass by a cafe without stopping for a meal. Yesterday I ate 3 dinners. I've also spent two nights in hotels and now I'm probably going to stay in a hotel again tonight. Camping is fun and all, but when it's supposed to start snowing in a few hours and I'm in a town right now with multiple cheap motels it just seems silly to keep pedaling. Only problem is that it's supposed to be snowing/raining all day tomorrow as well and I have a 7,000 ft. pass to ride over at the Idaho/Montana border. That should be fun. I more or less have the clothing to ride in horrible weather but once I get soaking wet I'm going to want to get a hotel again tomorrow, using up more money that I don't have. I guess I should buy a lottery ticket or two. Well, I'm hungry again so I guess I'll go get dinner #1.
I know the feeling of eating a lot on long trips. One time when I pulled into Healy, AK after a 200 mile day I went to the Totem Inn and ate for 2 hours straight (with a few beers) before going back to my tent. It's very easy to blow a lot of money eating at the diners and such along the way, but it sure tastes better than trail food!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to following your progress, it's quite the adventure.
cheers from Oz,
dave
Hey....I just chartered a flight out of Salmon for one of my clients....small world!
ReplyDeleteI once made the mistake of packing for the Appalachian trail like I was eating on a bike tour. Way too much food!
ReplyDeleteCheap ways out: Buy a loaf of bread, small jar of peanut butter, and small jar of jam. Split with friend. Eat.
Dont forget biscuits and gravy.
Hey, and the GPS tracking is way cool. Especially for mom Roes!
Good luck!
Yep, when you are training sometimes it's nice to have the other parts of your day worked out, like steady meals and a place to stay. If you want to put more energy into your body and coping with harder training, you end up not wanting to use that energy for planning. Priorities, I guess. Great job!
ReplyDelete