paradigm of humanity (68 & 69)
September 17, 2009
92 miles to Pendleton, Oregon
54 miles to Boardman, Oregon
I believe that the way it works is as such:
One day, under some unique auspices, you do something differently than you otherwise would. That thing, whatever it is, makes you realize that perhaps you’ve been going about everything the wrong way, or at least a less than optimal way, the whole time. And thus so quickly, and so simply, are your foundations washed away.
Such is the case with me and black tea. A fellow named Christopher gave me a cups worth of loose leaf black tea near Farewell Bend, and tonight I brewed it. And wow. Refreshing. It’s nice to have something like that, warm and flavorful, on minimalist days like today, where my dinner comes in bar form and my only beverage is water. Even the act of making it is soothing.
So another combo post, which I may as well do because today, the 52 miler, was very nondescript. Day 68 however, the last of the mountains, was a doozy. I knew it was destined to be, with the Blue Mountains Summit and something called Dead Man’s Pass awaiting me, so I got an early start. The climb up to the summit was a difficult one, but Dead Man’s Pass isn’t even a thing if you’re going west. It does offer 6 miles of 6% grade to coast down, however. From 4000 ft to 1000 ft elevation in one whrrrrr.
Now I’m at something like 100 ft, and near the south bank of the Columbia River. Day 69 was what the day after a 90+ mile day always is: Hard. Hard to get out of bed, to get moving, to get on the bike. Hard to keep myself from taking a lot of breaks, and hard to find motivation. Even the fact that I’m a mere 150 miles from Portland couldn’t get me excited to cover more miles. Which is fine. 150 miles in two days is not a big deal; if you recall I rode about that in one day going into Denver.
Yes, I’m excited to have this existential finish line ahead of me; I’ll go more into that whole subject soon. For now it’s Colossal 100 protein bar and off to bed!
Pictures later/tomorrow. It’s an interesting tidbit that there’s a giant free wifi cloud that covers most of eastern Oregon, provided by EZwireless. I don’t know why, or exactly how, but it’s quite nice!
