July 16, Stage 10

July 16, Butte, MT to Columbus, MT, 105 miles, 3000 ft of climbing, tempurature ranged between 59 and 73, then back down to 64 at the finish. The 30 degree lower temperature was a welcome relief. This was one of the worst days of riding I have encountered. (At home, I always ride into the headwind going out, so that the wind becomes a tailwind to blow me home. Out here, there is no being blown home.) Headwind--20+ mph most of the day. This was supposed to be an easy day, with little climbing following an early climb. The early climb was riding on the shoulder of I-90 for about 20 miles, a gradual climb. Fortunately, I was able to ride with a few others to the first stop. Afterward, I could not keep up with them, so was riding on a frontage road along I-90 by myself, into the headwind, at about 13-15 mph. I was calculating how long it would take me to get to the finish for the day, and it did not seem pretty. Bikers are usually thinking in terms of how long it will take at a particular speed. On a day like this, calculating does not effectively take one's mind off what is going on with the body--some more neck pain, some seat pain, leg exhaustion, mental discouragement--wondering "why am I doing this--riding a bicycle across this god-forsaken state, while I could be sitting in my office in air-conditioning. Most days have a period of time when discouragement and exhaustion set in. Sometimes, salvation occurs. For a couple of miles, I could see these three riders gaining on me. They were in a paceline, taking turns leading for a mile at a time, with the other two getting a 30% saving of effort riding in the leader's draft. They invited me to join in, and my speed jumped from 14 to 20+. At the next stop, I contined with two of them, with each of us taking turns leading, except one guy wanted to lead for 9 miles--no one argued. Three sections of riding on the shoulder of I-90. At one point, the shoulder ended as we crossed an interstate bridge. No trucks, or cars were in the vicinity. We stayed together into Columbus, with some light rain coming down. At the end, the body usually feels spent. Amazing, though, is how that feeling leaves as soon as one arrives and gets off the bike. Then, the craving for sugar--cookies, soft drinks, etc.--sets in big time. PACTour has those provided at the end, along with potato chips, etc. Also amazing is how much a shower and clean clothes adds to the transformation. Then, spaghetti for dinner tonight, blogging, and off to bed, with another day in saddle coming tomorrow. Breakfast at 7:00. Supposed to be a tougher day. Next few days are longer, and the next two jump into the 6-7,000 ft climbing range, and steeper. The legs do seem to bounce back by morning. Hope they come through again.