I know I haven't blogged for a couple of days so I will do a quick recap on them. After Walla Walla, Washington I took a short ride into Mayberry.....I mean Dayton, Washington. I stopped in at the visitor center and they shared some information about the town. It was actually a nice little cozy area. It wasn't a big town by any means but it did have a lot of character. The ride was beautiful but it was pretty difficult even with a lower mileage.
From Dayton I rode to Clarkston,WA which is right on the Washington/Idaho border. I actually thought I was from the country until I started traveling in the west. It is amazing how much open land is around. The fields go on for miles and miles and then you will see a single house. I don't know how they farm all of these hills but they do. It is actually neat, you look at the wind blowing the plants and tall grass on the hills and it looks like ripples in water. I feel so small when I have all this large scenery around. I have a free feeling like I can yell and no one can hear me. I actually have done that a couple times or a song will come on and I'll sing it out loud because no one can hear how bad I sing.
On my way to Clarkston I came up on three gentle resting on side of the road. They were riding into Pomeroy and finishing their day there. As I pulled up to stop and talk, they immediate greeted me and said, "What's your story?" This is the question that I've heard over and over again while on this ride. Everyone has a story and it is awesome and inspiring to learn some of them on the road. One of the gentleman named Bob had just retired and he always wanted to do a trip on his bike. He told me that he was a rookie. I explained to him that I was too. It was fantastic to see these three free spirited gentleman out enjoying their lives.
Today my goal was to get to Kamiah, Idaho.It started out with a minor chain issue on my bike. I stopped in a bike shop on the way in Lewiston, ID and was out in 10 minutes. Once that issue was fixed I was ready to go. I started out riding through Lewiston and had to go up a hill so steep that I couldn't make it all the way up. I had to get off and walk a quarter mile. I know I probably shouldn't tell that but it is the truth. These are definitely not the rides that I'm use to. The land in the west is on steriodscompared to where I'm from in Ohio. It is absolutely beautiful though. Majority of my ride today was a climb. It took 4 hrs. 30 minutes to ride 40 miles. Climbing the mountain was slow and exhausting. It was nice to go down the mountain on the other side but needless to say I'm a flat lander and I'm tired of hills and mountains. I don't mind looking at them but riding them is a different story. I know I have a few more mountains ahead but I can at least prepare for them a little better. When it says5000 feet of elevation I will have a better idea of how much that is. I continue to follow the theme of "Just Keep Pedaling". I know that with my faith and a little sweat I can accomplish anything.
No comments:
Post a Comment