So, firstly, Mt. Vernon is not on a mountain. Which is weird, because we are surrounded by mountains. Anyways...
So remember how I said this was cupcakes? Well maybe compared to Divide it is, but it's still really friggin' hard. I kind of forgot how hard this is. Humans are good at that, or women would never have two babies, and Seagers might not keep doing bike tours...
Nah, it's hard... but hard is good. Everything hurts, but especially my hands and triceps. I've had my bike fit dialed in for years, this bike is 21 years old, but my body has also changed, so now it's fit is... subpar.
I spent some time today raising my handlebars, adjusted bar tilt, etc (they say you can tell the age of a cyclist by how high his bars are, like tree rings.) But, in the end, the fact is this is just hard and on day three shit's just gonna hurt. Hurt a lot.
I also gotta remember that, despite doing RAGBRAI ever years, it's still been 5 years since my last tour, and the difference between 38 and 43 isn't nothing. That said, tons of people tour into their 70s and I'm not really slowing down.
The ride was good though, I left Mitchel at 8am because the hostel was too good not to sleep in, made it to the top of Keye's pass, 6 miles in about 9:25, with 56 minutes on bike. Then I had 33 miles of "downhill" to Dayville, but in a hot headwind, so I had to work for most of it. I got there around 12:15 with 2:58 on bike after stopping a lot for adjustments.
I ate lunch at a cafe there. I planned to eat at cafes much more on this trip since I'm more esablished financially, but I discovered the downside is sitting with our legs below you, instead of on the ground, is terrible for leg recovery. The food was good though and the resteraunt was full of motorcyclists.
Then it was a HOT 26 more miles into Mt Vernon on a slight up hill. I had a tailwind whch I liked, but that just made it hotter. It's 90+ degrees. I survived by soaking my shirt the one spot of the John Day River that wasn't behind private property fences, and later standing in an irrigation sprinkler that was hitting the road. I learned the wet jersey trick on the divide, if you are near water and keep your jersey wet (every 5-10 miles) it feels so much cooler. I can ride in pretty much any heat (days of 120 deg heat index, actual temp over 100 o RAGBRAI last year) as long as I can radically cool myself off every 10 miles or so. Rivers are key.
I'm staying in a hiker/biker campground at Clyde Holiday State Park 1.25 miles past town where I stayed in 2014.
Traffic was better today, but still is WAY up. There are TWO biker rallies happening right now, A BMW rally in John Day and a Harley-looking one elsewhere. I also think car traffic is up to support the rally. A local even commented on all the traffic as I passed his ranch.
Part of what made today hard, compared to my last two Divide tours, is that I can't just stop anywhere. There is no shade on the road and I'm surrounded by private property. I can't reliably access the river so I can't filter water or swim if I'm hot. I'm pretty much stuck to breaks on the shadelss shoulder by hot pavement and traffic, which makes for some long, hard, hot pushes between towns. I really loathe private property being used like this
But, things are still great. Hard, but great. I'm sharing this campsite with Norman, a BMW guy who wanted to get away from the crowds. Hopefully that doesn't catch on. I still haven't seen any other baggers (bicycle tourists), but I hear there are three a day behind me.
Tomorrow I do a short 35-40 miles to Austin Junction (over a pass) where I hope to camp behind their store and eat a bunch of their food. I need to start early since it'll be 95 degress tomorrow. I go through John Day in 8 miles, that'll be super interesting with this rally happening. Motorcyclists tend to be really cool to baggers though. They get it.
I know I'm making this sound pretty tough. It is, but it still is pretty great.
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