86 miles. Montrose, CO to Naturita, CO
There are some days where you just reach your limit. Today as i stood in the kitchen i decided that i would rather go hungry than eat more peanut butter for breakfast. Not that there were even any bagels or bread left. 10 minutes later i was eating a paltry bowl of cereal. With peanut butter.
Lately, we haven't been having the most luck with breakfasts being donated unfortunately. Probably due to the early wakeups i would guess. That by itself would be bearable, but not when there are only 2 towns, if that, on 86 miles of desert highway. And even given the availability of places, its really expensive to support the crazy appetites we have out of our pockets on a consistent basis. I guess what im getting at is that I've gained a whole new level of appreciation for our hosts who provide us with meals, because without them, and without breakfast especially, the day really starts off to a bad tone. What a surprise, once again im talking about my problem with hunger...
Well today a good number of us needed a real breakfast no matter what so we stopped at this diner on the way out of Montrose, or should i say Cafe 110. We spent a good hour there(so much for 5am wakeup) eating these pretty good omelette burritos. Being my hungry self, i jokingly asked the waitress to stuff as many eggs in as she could. It was only after i had completely cleared my plate did i see a weird charge on my bill. I asked the waitress Michelle how explained that yes, "thats for the three extra eggs" Yes. Extra. Three EXTRA eggs. Without realizing it had just consumed a 5-6 egg burrito. Wow.
The riding was okay but my legs still felt like bricks. Its just such a miserable feeling to be pedaling as hard as you can and to barely be moving, and on top of that to have muscle soreness in those quads with each stroke. I really hope some good stretching and our days off will give the legs a chance to recover.
Just as we were approaching the bottom of our first climb, i got into a little spill when my wheel slid off the shoulder. It was just a minor elbow scrape but all of a sudden i became furious. I've been pretty cranky sometimes on this trip but never legitimately angry the way I was then. It just sucks because almost every single fall I've had has been because of that stupid transition between the raised asphalt and the ground. You would think I'd have learned by now to just go off the road instead of try and recover and end up falling. What made me angrier was that it happened because i could barely pedal and was really slow and wobbly as a result. I was just so sick at that moment of not having cycling work for me. I shouldn't have to kill myself to barely move 10 mph on flat ground. It just drove me mad. Also, I was just pissed at being "that dude" whose always falling.
Ironically enough, all of the adrenaline from the fall let me pedal really hard. I channeled that combined with my rage and totally flew up our first 5 mile climb. I can't even remember the last time i was that angry, but it definitely fueled me up that hill.
What also fueled me up the hill was a snack i bought at a gas station beforehand. It seemed like your typical Iced Honey Bun, but this was no normal snack. I would ask that you try and guess how many calories were in this one pastry. Really, just throw something out there. OK. Now multiply that by two and you'll still be short because this one honey bun packed 674 calories. WHAT! Is that even legal? Not 675, 674. Carlie and I cracked up laughing in the store when we read it. Oh and if you're curious, 354 of those calories were from fat. As expected, it gladly disappeared half way up the hill. Its tough because on the one hand you really do need some sugary fatty junk food to sustain such intense exercise. But on the other, 72 days of that diet really doesn't sit too well with my arteries.
After the summit we enjoyed a solid 20 miles of downhill. It wasn't awesome like the other ones since it was gentle enough that we still had to peddle, but still good. The canyon we were riding through was gorgeous with all of the exposed red mountainsides everywhere and the river alongside us. The desert is definitely becoming more of a reality.
We continued until 2 solid miles of an 8% grade climb(meaning up 8 feet for every 100 feet). 8% is steep. 10% is uncomfortable. 12% is really bad. Anything more is insanity. Along with Carlie calling me a mountain goat for climbing it so fast, i realized that i really enjoy climbing hills the most and am pretty good at it. I alluded to it a few posts ago but definitely confirmed it today. I guess i just really like the concept of having this crazy finite challenge staring you in the face versus indefinite normal pedaling. Knowing that you'll always have a downhill and an awesome view at the top are definitely driving factors as well.
Had really great riding for the next 30 miles on a gentle downhill through really amazing fields and prairies with lots of cattle and horses. Alas, my equine brethren do not yet heed my calls to solidarity. As a consolation though, we did get this lovely herd of goats running alongside us today which quite possibly made me the happiest person in the world for that moment.
Had an awesome strawberry-vanilla milkshake in town(all 3 blocks of it) and now need to clean my shorts since our group alone makes up 5% of Naturita's population. Moab is tomorrow which is great. What isn't so great is the 86 miles of uphill we need to travel to get to it. Either way, its just one more day and then a build day and a day off, meaning 2 whole days of no riding! Its really ironic how sometimes the only way I can motivate myself to cycle is by thinking of how much Im looking forward to not cycling. Its also funny how we're ending the cycling on friday and have the whole weekend off. In otherwords, cycling nonstop has literally become our job. Except that instead of 9-5 its really 5-11, a little more demanding.
Oh and forgot to mention that i found this awesome white vertebrae on the side of the road yesterday while waiting for the van. It's odd how i found just one, though I'd rather not uncover an entire carcass if i can help it. Anyway its making an awesome centerpiece for my handlebars right now, especially since the bull skull and elk antlers don't look like they're gonna come through. Now if only i could find some leather handlebar tassles...
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