Mountains, Mountains and More Mountains
Well after yesterday's glorious day of riding, I was all set for another successful day today. Before discussing todays events however, I will talk a bit about the first night of camping.
First off, the tent is definitely a snug fit, and although the Thermo-rest pads did provide much comfort, last nights sleep was certainly not one of the best I have ever had! It seems that Dave enjoys sleeping in the fetal position, and although he was not facing me, and thus spooning me, he did take up a fair share of the tent... especially for a little guy! All considering though, last night was quite a success, and I only hope that things can be as good every night... unfortunately, we only have two of those MEC meals though... the Thai Chicken with Noodles was delicious!
So after a decent sleep, Dave and I arose, once again later than we had hoped. We cooked up some porridge and beans (yum!) and then packed up all of our gear. However, by the time we were ready to get on the road, it was past 10:30am... one hour and a half past our expected departure time. We really need to work on getting out of bed!
According to other accounts, todays trip would be one of the toughest we would face; however, for the first 30km it seemed that most of the route was downhill, and we were making great time. Then we reached our first tunnel of the day, which proved to be an interesting experience. With only a narrow sidewalk for bikes to ride on, it proved challenging to maintain balance on the bike, especially with transport trucks whipping by only a few feet away. Although the first tunnel proved to be an easy hurdle, both Dave and I would later learn that the tunnels can be a treacherous place as we each had an incident where we lost our balance and rubbed against the tunnel wall.
After riding for approximately 3.5 hrs, we pulled over into Bostons Bar, which is a tiny town, and had lunch, feeling pretty good about the morning portion of the ride, even though we had left so late. It was following lunch however where the the day took a turn for the worse. For some reason, right after lunch I felt weak while riding, and I was labouring pretty bad. This proved to be a poor time for pain though as the last 40km of the day were primarily uphill with long, steep slopes that required great strength, both physically and mentally, to overcome. It is easy to tell that a hill is steep when the transport trucks that are going by have the pedal to the metal and they are barely going 30kph!
As a result of these hills, and the tough day of riding, I once again had to question why I was doing this, but once we reached the campground I had a chance to call my parents, and I quickly shut those feelings out of my head. Mom probably said the greatest thing I could have ever heard when she told me that they (my family) were all pulling for me and that they are very supportive. She told me that she hopes I don't decide to quit before the journey is complete. It was these words of support that helped me regain my focus and look forward to tomorrow!