Days 7 & 8 - More Mountains to Climb

By Mark Heggestad
I did not post to my blog yesterday because it was impossible.  Last night we stayed in Bates State Park just outside of Austin Junction.  We had no cell phone service, no WI FI, and no Internet.  In fact there was no service within 30 miles of where we camped.

We have had two good days of riding with quite a bit of climbing.  Yesterday we reached our first 5,000-foot summit (Dixie Pass at 5,277 feet) and today for the first time we climbed two summits in one day (Tipton Pass at 5,124 feet and Sumpter Pass at 5,082 feet).  Biking over two passes in one day - priceless.

Getting up the mountains is still an exhausting endeavor, and I would be lying if I said they are getting easier.  However, I think each time I top a mountain I gain confidence for the next one.  That helps offset the accumulated fatigue I am feeling from all our riding. 

Brian and I originally thought we would average about 60 miles a day and we would take a day off once a week for recovery/sightseeing.  However we have several sometimes-competing priorities that mess with that goal.  Our daily mileage is driven as much by the availability and spacing of campsites as it is by our desire to do 60 miles a day.  We have been averaging a little less than sixty partially due to how campsites have been spaced and partially due to fatigue (at least for me – I wont speak for Brian).  I knew climbing mountains would be tough but attacking them day after day has been more taxing than I anticipated.  We have not taken a day off yet because every day so far has had perfect weather.  It has been cold (last night it got down to 25 degrees), but our definition of perfect is no rain and no headwind.  The cold we can live with.  So we have amended our day-off criteria a little, with our new thinking that in general we will save them for rainy and/or windy days.

We are definitely traveling at a slower pace than we planned, but that is the mountains forcing their will on us.

We are staying in Baker City, OR tonight and tomorrow we plan on biking an “easy” 42 miles to Richland, OR.  Every time we plan an easy day, it ends up feeling a little crueler than planned.  You’d think we would learn.  But you gotta admire our unwavering confidence.


Typical View From Day 7


Taking a Break


Typical View From Day 8 - Love the Forest

Stats for the past two days:
Day 7 (May 7)
Day 8 (May 8)
Time biking
3:32
4:34
Miles biked
42.7
53.6
Avg. Speed
12.1 mph
11.7 mph
Max. Speed
35.7 mph
38.3 mph
Avg. Cadence
78 rpm
78 rpm
Calories
2,190
2,518
Avg. HR
136 bpm
131 bpm
Max. HR
174 bpm
165 bpm

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