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| Not so bad! |
To give: JON'S MDA DRIVE
When I was 18 I rode with friends Bruce and Mark down the West Coast -- Seattle to San Diego. We did 1800 miles in 28 days. That's about 64 miles a day. Today I'm at 830 miles in 25 days -- about 33 miles a day. A pretty good measure of the difference between 18 and 60. And the bigger days -- 72 miles a week ago, and 50, yesterday -- have been exhausting.
From Ovando we rode to a little National Forest Service campground east of Lincoln. Temperatures dropped into the low 30s, and in the morning some of our water had frozen. Tom started a fire and it was the business of tending it that kept us functioning. My hands, weakened by MD, became nearly useless in the cold. I could not grasp anything -- I had trouble zipping up a jacket, tying a knot, pulling on my pants, all the myriad tasks of striking camp. I might as well have had two stumps, so useless were my fingers. I thought, not for the first time,
You are not well enough for this. Tom was huge and understanding help.
We rode 50 that day, yesterday, taking long breaks to lie down in the grass. The Rogers Pass was tough but not as bad as the sharp, steep hills we climbed for almost 10 miles that followed it. Finally we turned onto the road to Augusta, where the hills were milder -- long and slow-building, followed by an exhilarating several-mile descent. We motivated ourselves with the promise of a hotel to decompress. We hadn't had enough food, and in the lobby of the hotel, I stood and felt dizzy, and sat right back down. Tom fetched a sugary soda, and almost immediately I felt better. We checked in, got some dinner, showered and lay down comatose.
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| Our fire at Aspen Grove campground. |
Our next target is Great Falls, a metropolis compared to the little towns we've passed through. It's 55 miles, and we may take that in two pieces. Tom's scheduled to depart from thereabouts tomorrow night, Thursday, and that will be a big loss. I will adjust.
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| Me and my little tent. |
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| A bikers' welcome in Lincoln. |
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| Chainsaw art in Lincoln. |
You are doing great!! Navigating the pass is no easy task and that is behind you. You will enjoy Great Falls, it will feel like a huge city compared to what you have been through the past few days. The landscape will start to change. It becomes flat and the mountains further away. Still pretty, just a little different look. I'll keep my eyes out for the hooligan that jacked your water bottle. He must have been an out of stater that moved to the area. Stay safe.
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