I'm more interested in being here than writing, so here's what's up. I made it! I'm at Lochsa Lodge. 68 miles today, 4:50 on bike, arrived at 3:12 PM. I had a good breakfast 1.5 miles in at Lowell, and lunch at 43.9 miles by the river where I filtered more water.
It was very much like being back on the divide. There was nothing between where I camped and here, so I set a goal - lunch around 40 miles, and after 40 miles passed I stopped at the first good spot to each lunch and filter more water. The last three times I rode this I didn't have a water filter and had to carry a ton instead - booo. I also took a stretch greak at 16 miles. I pee'd a lot too.
The road was good and I had a light tailwind for a lot of it. I felt strong. I think this may be the strongest I've ever done this stretch, which makes me happy. Being a better rider at 43 than I was at 33 is a nice feeling - and I wasn't new at it then either!
I also finally caught the brothers who I'd been behind since Day 2, I was a half day behind them much of the ride, and I caught them today. I ride faster than them, but they take fewer breaks. Touring cyclists often are tortises or hares - I'm definitely a hare. I prefer <5 hours on bike and lots of chillin'
The ride was amazing - just 68 miles of being by an amazing river with light traffic. It is a bit of a mind eff, since the scenery never really changes and you can get caught staring at your odometer moving slowy, and it's a long uphill, but I enjoyed the mental challenge.
Now I'm at the Lodge, camped with 4 other cyclists (the brothers, another guy going east, and one going west). I'm having my celebratory burger for the 4th time, and everything is great.
I don't have much more to say, so I'm going to stop writing and enjoy the moment. :) I did it! One more day and I've done 700 some miles, countless passes, and pulled it off again. Feels good.
The goal of this trip has been accomplished.
One interesting thing, I see everything through the lense of a teacher now, having been one for 18 years. Bike tours should count as PDUs. I think often - how do I guide 10 to 13 year olds onto this path? It's a big discussion. Too big for right now - but rest assured I have many, many thoughts on it - and on the futility of it. Paths must be walked, experiences must be had. There are no shortcuts. Guidance is... complicated.
Yup.
Oh yea, the other thing I thought about today was that, after filltering water, I was carrying it back upstream. That particular water had an entirely different fate until I intervened. Would it have made it to the ocean? Would it have been drank by a deer? Evaporated? Seeped? Who knows?
Fate is a funny thing, and today I was an interesting instrument of fate acting on that river. What does that mean? What is the lesson? I don't know yet. I don't think the answer is as important as the question.
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