Thursday, August 1st, 2024
Hurricane, UT → Milford, UT
100.26 mi, 4997 ft elevation
This morning, I realized the unfortunate news that today’s ride was 90-some miles northeast. On our route to the West. Oops.
Honestly, it was worth it to experience four different national parks in Utah. Although it did make today’s ride more mentally challenging than most because I knew I wasn’t making progress towards SF. Today’s ride was also a challenge because it was our first full day without Cleo. We had just said goodbye to her yesterday morning but it didn’t really hit me till today- we were now a team of 7.
Not much happened today- it was hard and boring. Hence the lack of photos.
So, inspired by Rebecca, here is the gimmick of the day: A How-To Guide for Boring Rides.
Step 1: Always leave as late as possible.
Earlier in the summer, we would try to leave by 7am, sometimes earlier, to beat the heat and get to our destination early. However, as the summer progressed, we began realizing that no matter how early we left, we would still be biking in the heat.
So today, I dilly dallied in our motel. I took my time filling up my water bottles and eating breakfast. I pumped my tires and scrolled through Instagram. Shockingly, I didn’t stop for coffee before leaving town, but it was already 8:40am and I really had to get on the road.
Step 2: Try to bike in silence, but then start listening to music.
You can normally tell how hard the ride is for me by how soon I start listening to music. I can normally go 30 or 40 miles (aka till lunch) in silence. Today, on the other hand, I started my music 30 minutes in, right before our leg on the interstate (don’t worry, it was legal). I met up with Varsha and Jess for a quick water break, and was inspired by their podcast regales. For the next hour or so, I listened to an interview with Greg Louganis, one of the greatest American divers in history. The interview focused on his experiences through the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, and how he competed despite being on AZT treatment for AIDS and injuring his head during the 1988 qualifying trials. His mindset and advice stuck with me throughout this ride and (spoiler alert) helped me on the even more challenging days to come.
Step 3: Get a first lunch before real lunch.
Rarely, we get the pleasure of passing through a town. Even more rarely, the town has stores and fast food. Today, that town was Cedar City. Gas stations! McDonald’s! Dairy Queen! Culver’s! I didn’t stop for food (which I later regretted), but Hank did.
Step 4: Get a few flat tires to spice up the day.
A smooth day of biking would be too easy, too boring. Luckily, Hank got two flat tires 15 miles apart. A boring ride is always improved by the intellectual challenge of identifying what caused your flat tire.
Somehow, I still haven’t gotten a flat tire yet. Maybe my tires are just built different.
Step 5: Take a long gas-station break.
After an amazing lunch where Rebecca surprised us with sweet tea, we reluctantly got back on the road. Somehow I got through the next few hours before pulling into a gas station for water.
The most glorious sight (in my opinion) is seeing the other Spokes bikes parked at the same place you are stopping. You know you’re in for a good conversation and perhaps even a commiseration session about the ride. At this particular Chevron, Varsha, Jess and I gabbed for 30 minutes.
Step 6: Try (and fail) at drafting.
For the next few miles after the gas station, I was drafting behind Jess. Recently someone had told us that drafting is more dangerous for the person in the back. Today, I discovered why when I got distracted and rode too close to Jess. In slow motion, I saw my front wheel hit her back wheel and I went flying. Apparently, the person in front doesn’t feel a thing, so Jess just thought that her bike went over a bump and only stopped after hearing me fall. Luckily, while I carry nothing with me on the bike (bad decision), Jess carries a first aid kit. She patched me up and we got back on the road, a beautiful sunset painting the rest of our ride!
Step 7: Take advantage of having cell service.
The fall really only spiced up my life for a couple of miles. But, I still had 10 to go. As I rode, I remembered others on the team describing how they would call friends and family to make time pass faster on the bike. With this in mind, I called my sister. For the first few minutes, we were yelling to each other, afraid of not being heard over my headwinds and downhills. After realizing we didn’t need to do this, we continued chatting about random things as I entered Milford.
Step 8: Why not make it a century?
Close to the destination for the night (the Mountain View Baptist Fellowship) and 96 miles in, I ended the call with my sister promising not to ride around town till I got to a century. But, the temptation was too strong. So, I traveled up and down the streets of Milford, my eyes glued to my bike computer, till I got to 100. Unsurprisingly, almost everyone else had done the same thing as me. It seems like a new theme of my blog days is our team biking extra miles to increase our century count.
Step 9: Enjoy a team dinner <3
No matter how hard, boring, or long the ride is, our nightly dinners always make it better. Today, Rebecca made Philly cheesesteaks (or cheese-tofus). We sat around the table, tired and sleepy but content as we had random conversations and marveled that we were entering Nevada, our penultimate state, the next day.
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