Shortest and Hardest Day of the Whole Trip
173 miles. Took me all day, and I was working hard at it. Of course, Covid complicated things. I think it took 4 rest stops to get it done. I'd ride a ways then find a wide spot and rest for a while before I could go on. I probably need to go back this way because the only thing I remember clearly on the whole ride was a stretch of bad road.
23 miles. They had chip sealed the road and didn't bother to sweep it off at all. I can't explain how treacherous this condition was, the loose gravel on top of fresh smooth asphalt made it really tricky, especially downhill. 23 miles, and no way to go around. Took me darn near an hour to ride it.
Complicated by the fact that I felt like hammered dog shit by the time I got to this. I had some extra body pains but my brain was foggy and fuzzy as could be, and I had 0 energy. I was entirely focused on just making the Lane Creek Campground. It took about 8 hours...
By the time I made it to the Lane Creek entry road I no longer cared about road condition or dignity. I rode into the campground with my feet near the ground because I didn't trust my balance anymore. I took this picture next day, you an actually see my left trailer wheel track right in the center. I was barely moving.
I didn't do a real good job of picking a campsite or setting up my tent. Look at the slope of the tent, for instance. I didn't put in tent stakes or go through the normal set up procedures. I just wanted it up and a bed to climb into.
I didn't eat a bite for around 24 hours. I had a sandwich just after the bad road and didn't eat again 'til the middle of the following day. I did make coffee and drink plenty of water during my stay.
I knew I had a fever, and I went to bed before the sun was down. Some time during the really dark part of the night I must have been thrashing in my sleep because the cot partially collapsed, rolled me completely over so that I tipped the whole tent on it's side with me completely wadded up inside. I couldn't figure out what I needed to do to even get out and THEN realized that I had to pee. I absolutely slithered out to the dirt. I'm sure it would have made an insanely funny video if it weren't me as the star.
This is what the tent looked like after the sun finally came up. You can see my flashlight that lives in that pocket on the cot. Notice my hat. I'm dammed glad my head wasn't in it. You can also see the emergency strap that I didn't bother hooking up the night before... Would have prevented the cot collapse.
So I stayed right here an extra day. I did start feeling better early in the afternoon, I moved the tent, secured the cot and generally set up the campsite. I took no more pictures, so you will just have to trust me.
So now that I've got my whining out of the way I'll head on to see family. Next time :)
All words and photos in this post are mine. For better or worse.