Day 2

Lucija (and, to a lesser extent, me too) feel a little cheated, because everyone said today was going to be a lot easier than yesterday. Not so.

The day started with what will be the usual routine for the next seven weeks; get up (at 5:30), pack up, load up (...the bags onto the truck), eat up, ride out. We finally hit the road at 7:30.

The first five miles were not really hard, but it became obvious my preparation had been less than ideal that morning: forgot my gloves, forgot sunscreen. Also, my camelbak water system was leaking. It was like going skiing when I was 8 years old again; it seemed to take ages to leave with all the necessary accessories...

Still, a couple of miles at a slow pace in a low gear had nicely loosened up my legs. The day before I had felt a little soreness in my left knee, but, after talking to the the "fit expert" that came along with us for the first two days, I lowered my saddle a little, moved it forward a little and started biking with my knees more inward. All of this helped a lot and I started to feel great.

The first 40 miles of the ride were again breathtakingly gorgeous. After a short four mile downhill on the dreaded I-90, we took a nice rolling road through pretty dense forest and finally through the small town of Cle Elum. After Cle Elum, the scenery began to change; the trees started to disappear and low sage bushes popped up everywhere. We took a road alongside a tributary of the Columbia river. The road was quiet, generally downhill and the scenery was gorgeous. I felt great and biked fairly quickly toward our lunch stop in the small college town of Ellensburg. we had an early lunch at 10:45.

At lunch, most people thought the day was basically over, but the rest of the day proved different. I waited about an hour for Lucija and hung out with the rest of the riders. When Lucija arrived, we decided to go into town and do some shopping. I wanted to pick up some extra spokes, a new Camelbak water bag, some gloves and some more lube to put in our shorts.

We left the town probably about noon and it had gotten pretty hot by now. Riding out of town, we rode directly east toward an awesome mountain range that spanned the entire horizon. Going up this range meant conquering a 16 miles climb in 100+ degree sunshine with a warm headwind. We were riding with about 4 people more or less together and we were all dying to reach the top. When I saw what looked like the top, I had to yell "Jaaa" a couple times. I saw the our truck with extra water and some other riders.

Ehh, but the truck wasn't really parked at the top, so after loading up on some water, I went on my way for another 2 miles or so of climbing. I really had to focus on continuing on my way, but after another 15 minutes or so, I reached the top and could start the 9 mile decline toward our campsite.

The downhill was nice and smooth and at about 2:45 (early!) I reached the campsite, which is situated very nicely on the banks of the Columbia River, a very wide river with 200 meter tall sandy cliffs on the opposite side of our campground. I set up the tent and went for a swim in the pool (!). The cold water drenched my overheated body - ahhh!

Now, after dinner, it's time for bed - tomorrow, we start with a long climb out of the Columbia River Valley followed by a long ride across a dry plain. 85-ish miles in total.

All in all, it's pretty tough going, but I am having fun because each day is filled with new sights, small worries about personal fitness, the challenges finding the right route, eye-opening interaction with the other riders, and increasing comfort with this daily routine. Most of all, there are a lot questions that continually pop-up: how high is this hill going to be, how will I feel tomorrow morning, how hot will it get tomorrow, what will the scenery look like 20 miles into the ride, and tens and tens of these little questions more. Each day poses its own questions and then answers them as we go on. 

Still, I can't wait for my body to catch up with this daily routine so that it all becomes a little easier. More experienced riders tell me this will happen within 7-10 days. That means we have 5-8 days to go.

By Lucija:

I'll keep this short and sweet.  Today was hot as hell.  I learned that I'm TERRIBLE at dealing with the heat...  The last 2 hours of my ride were uphill, through a desert (who knew they  had these in Washington State?!), in 100 degree heat.  Needless to say, I was a bit of a zombie by the end of the day - for example, when taking my shower I shaved one leg twice and only noticed at dinner that I had one  hairy and one shaved leg.  hmmm.  so from now on I decided to drink a LOT more, and leave as early in the morning as possible to avoid the heat.  Tonight I slept like a log.

Photos

View of a tributary to the Columbia River, west Washington

Lucija at after 5 hours of biking - still smiling!