When one rides a ride like the Transam Bike Race, all manner of formulae get tossed out of the window; you can make all the plans you want to, but you’ll have to have the ability to change them at a moment’s notice, due to changes in conditions, or factors you’d not accounted for, making a difference. That said, a good Plan-A is also very important, else everything you encounter is a surprise, which is not always nice. When I stopped in Mount Vernon the previous night, I intended to get out at the crack of dawn, but I found myself leaving just before seven. I’d taken a look at the climb profile, and it seemed pretty tough. It would see me climbing three hills in quick succession, and Baker City lay on the other side of those three hills. The temperature was in the high 20s (Celsius), so it would be essential to maintain good hydration, and keep a cool head.

I’d been moving for about an hour and a half when I rolled into Prairie City, where I caught sight of Brad and Alexis Crossley, right about here; Alexis seemed to be having some trouble with her Achilles tendon, and Brad was helping her, and both were stopped right near the store. Had a brief chat with them, wishing them well, and I started moving again. Stops seem so much shorter in our heads than they really are, and those of us who don’t get this seem to waste a lot of time, and not even realize it; those who realize it are the ones who have a really small difference between their elapsed time and their moving time. I hadn’t realized it then, but I know now that I’d been stationary for 28 minutes, where I’d eaten one and a half muffins, and drunk a coffee. Not exactly super efficient.

This is what the climb profile looked for the triple hills; they would be an aggregated 1569m from the triple hills.

By 1030 hrs, I’d scaled the first of the three hills, and had descended to the Austin junction, where there was a cafe. The cafe was actually closed for businesss on that day for some reason, but the owners were dot-watchers themselves, and knew there were a bunch of riders coming in, and had opened up just to receive us. Almost as soon as I pulled in, Greg Hoffman pulled in too. I was hot as hell, and ordered myself a triple-scoop ice-cream (one for each hill, I thought!), and some root beer. American root beer uses the same flavoring agent as many toothpaste brands in India and Europe, so it was a bit of an interesting experience, but it was sugary and nice, and I’d chug down anything sugary and cold in the state I was in. As I was relaxing with my ice-cream, the Crossleys pulled in. There was more banter, and I decided to order a sandwich and fries, eat some and take the remainders for later. I was loathe to leave the cool indoors for the hot climb that awaited me, and it showed! I was stationary for a whole 58 minutes! Just before leaving, I decided to fill one of my two bottles with plain water, and the other with more root beer; I’d regret this heartily a bit later.

Greg Hoffman and I rolled out together, and within some time, we were joined by Nick Macey, as we labored up the second hill. Now, the sugary root beer was beginning to make me more thirsty. My body was sending me mixed signals, and I actually drank more of the stuff which I was now carrying, and the more I drank, the thirstier I seemed to get. Before long, not only was the root beer exhausted, but I’d also run through a lot of my water. At this point, I realized I’d made a mistake. I really should have carried only water, but more of it, when I left the nice cafe. I was now struggling. I stopped for a bit of rest, and Greg stopped too. I told him I was struggling due to the heat, and he even offered to share some of his water with me, but I couldn’t do that in good conscience. I thanked him, but told him I’d slowly work my way up and over, and asked him to continue. I resumed my ride, and after some time, after getting past the third hill, I decided to find some shade and nap for a while. After I’d napped for some 40 minutes, I woke up to hear voices approaching, and when I looked up, I spotted the Crossleys and somebody else; it couldn’t have been Nick Macey, as he’d gone up ahead. They enquired if I was okay, and I waved back and told them I was fine. The sun had gone down a couple of notches now, and the rest had done me some good, but I was still very thirsty. As I continued slowly limping my way to Baker City, I caught sight of the Powder River right about here, and decided to use my Life-straw to get a drink of water. The water was flowing briskly, and seemed quite clear, and I took several greedy pulls on my life-straw, and instantly felt so much better. All was good in the Universe again!

The sun had gone down now, but the wind had turned against me. Though I was steadily descending, it never felt like it, and I gritted my way and rode on. After what seemed like an eternity, I pulled into Baker City, just after 6 PM, and ran into the Crossleys again, as they were exploring the town. Brad very generously offered to share their room with me, and I very gratefully accepted. I found some things to eat, and bought some more stuff. I planned to leave very early in the night, to try and make up for some of the lost time. I’d had a chat with Brad on Day 1, when he’d told me he was targeting a finish in 28 days, the same as me, but already, it seemed like it was really slipping away. Brad was more pragmatic about it, and said they (Brad and Alexis) would ride on one day at a time, and see how it went. I sighed, wished them luck, thanked them again, and went to sleep, more than a bit disappointed with my day’s progress.

Mileage: 142.51 km
Climb: 1696 m
Total time: 11 hrs 43 mins
Moving time: 8 hrs 05 mins
Link to Strava activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/1029642515

You can access other posts of mine related to TABR 2017, by clicking on this link: https://pchengi.com/tag/tabr2017