Previously: TABR: Day 2
Looking back at my TABR ride now, I realize the many, many ways I could have done things better, and I believe the experience will hold me in good stead for my future rides. Back then however, it was hard not to get overwhelmed; I was afraid of getting into a state of panic, so I often overcorrected, and was perhaps a bit too relaxed. On a ride like TABR, it’s important to keep stops short, and even a few minutes saved makes a difference, as it all adds up. My Day 3 of TABR 2017 started at a quarter to two A.M (0145 hrs). I rose, packed my bivvy, whose liner was quite damp, after two consecutive nights of bivvying, and knocked on the fireman’s quarters door, to ask to use the restroom.

The volunteer who was working that night had been briefed about me earlier; he allowed me in and after I’d freshened up, offered me some hot coffee, which I gratefully accepted. Over two cups of that great coffee, I filled him in about the ride, and my plans. As I prepared to leave, he offered me some cheese and crackers for the road, but I thanked him and declined the offer as I believed it wouldn’t be in the spirit of doing the ride unsupported. I changed my stance on this on another occasion, but under very difference circumstances, but that’ll be in another post. I’ll update this post with a link to that post, when I actually write it.

It was 0227 hrs when I hit the road. It was pitch dark, but the trusty lights very blazing away as I rode hard to work up some heat. The temperature was 4° C and dropping, and it reminded me of biking through the night, in Sweden. When the temperature dropped below 2, my fingers really began to hurt, as I was wearing the thinner of my two full-fingered gloves. I switched to the other pair, and instantly felt better. I saw that I had network coverage there, and gave my wife a call, and spoke for a bit. She was at work, so the call was short. I then called my coach Venky, and updated him about my bag woes and mentioned the ad-hoc fix I’d attempted, and told him I hoped to push hard now. I rode on for the next couple of hours, stopping only to munch on some cashewnuts, to keep hunger at bay. I knew there were few options for food along that stretch, at that hour, but hoped to get breakfast at the McKenzie River Inn, but when I pulled into there, I found a sign indicating they were ‘Now open’, but nobody at the reception. I called the number on the door and reached the sleepy owner who mentioned they’d decided to delay the opening! Their rooms were open but their kitchens remained closed. He mentioned though that I was free to use their toilet, so I did, and moved on. I did see J.J. Cruz’s tracker stationary right there, so I was happy to get the jump on him!

The route had now changed into a steady low grade climb, and I got onto it, and after about two hours, I reached the McKenzie General Store, which gave me a lot of joy. I wolfed down two breakfast burritos, drank a whole quart of buttermilk, and also bought spare batteries for my Garmin there, before moving on. The next couple of hours saw me going up the low grade climb, crossing the McKenzie Bridge and onto the original Scott Road, the road taken by the explorer Felix Scott, back in 1862.

The Scott Road.

I saw a couple of other bikers going up the Pass, and I exchanged pleasantries and pushed on. It felt different, and pleasant, to see snow in June, though I wouldn’t be very happy to see snow in June, in Sweden! As I was making my way to the summit, I had my first non-bag related mechanical issue, when the drawstring from the mummy liner which I was airing out by spreading it across my handlebar, got caught in the rear disk brake, bringing me to an abrupt stop. Indeed, I was a bit lucky not to have sustained a fall, as I managed to clip out in time. I had no clue what had caused it and was a bit concerned, but I was relieved when I saw that it was only the drawstring, and nothing worse. I removed the wheel quickly, dislodged the remains of the string from the disk and was back on the road before long.

I summitted McKenzie Pass just before 1500 hrs, and the view on the top made the long climb feel totally worth it.

The bag, riding so low that it was making intermittent contact with the wheel, even while climbing.

A few minutes of effort makes it better, but it wouldn’t be long before it comes down again.

In the Inspired to Ride movie, Juliana mentions that the best part about climbing, is the descents that follow, and I remembered that as I started my descent. I went past 65 kmph, but I was worried about the bag, so didn’t push too hard. With the excitement running high, being in the best shape of my life thus far, and with a great bike, it was quite frustrating to have to hold back due to equipment issues, but that was how it was. I made it to Sisters, just before 1700 hrs, and ordered myself a most amazing home-made banana ice-cream at Sno Cap. Now, even as I started to eat, I realized that Sisters had two good bike stores, and they were about to close down. I asked the store employees if they could stash my ice-cream for a while, as I needed to take care of something urgently, and they were really kind and amazing to accept! Blazin Saddles was about to close, but the owner agreed to wait a few minutes for me. I was unfortunately not able to find anything there that I could use, so I made it back to Sno Cap, where I finished my ice-cream, and ordered a shake too, which was just as amazing.

I now decided to resume my ride and ride upto Redmond, which was just about 20 miles away, and possibly farther. As I struggled to reload my bags, trying everything I could and failing, a kind samaritan helped me repack, and used some string and a wicked sailor’s knot on it, which meant the bag was good to go. It was nearly 8 PM now. I thanked my savior for the help, and I took off as hard as I could. There was a bit of head-wind, but it died away after a bit, and I was able to make the trip to Redmond without further incident. I found a 7-11 where I bought some bananas and chugged down some milk. I wasn’t really tired, but my spirits were a bit low. After a few minutes of thought, I decided to hole up for the night at the Village Squire motel. I paid 50 bucks for the night, and was happy to find a tub with running water in the motel! I relaxed for a bit in the tub, spoke for a while with my fiancee, and turned in for the night. The plan for the next day was to ride through Mitchell, and see how far I could ride in the direction of Baker City.

Mileage: 194.5 km (121 miles)
Climb: 1964 m (6443 ft)
Total time: 20 hrs 40 mins
Moving time: 11hrs 20 mins
Link to Strava activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/1024751163