Dec. 25, 2017
Merry Christmas, everybody! I hope you’re all enjoying the day with family and loved ones or whatever. Maybe you’re eating Chinese food… seeing a movie. Whatever it is, enjoy it.
Another long-ish one coming in 5, 4, 321…
Today was the absolute hardest riding on any bike I’ve ever done. Ever. In the most amazing way. I can’t adequately explain how amazed I am at what I rode through.
The morning started off raining, so that’s good. Asphalt gave way to ripio pretty much right away, which is fine except this particular stretch is pretty gnarly. Washboard, mixed with gravel of varying depths, mixed with pounding rain, mixed with massive potholes, mixed with the occasional boulder in the road. Toss is some massive holes from waterfalls for good measure.
In Oregon there are similar roads (not really, but they have the same rain filled potholes), but those still afford you latitude with picking a line. The ripio this morning did not afford you that luxury – picking a line was more about which holes looked least offensive and grabbing some throttle, hoping to skate them as best as one could. It wasn’t awful, but certainly tiring.
Because of the road being cut (waterfalls were literally wiping out sections it looked like) there was a boat that dumped you a few KM south. A surprisingly pleasant ride all told.
After that is where it began to get intense and truly test my riding ability, and my mental fortitude. I suppose in some ways my stupidity as well.
As the road started to rise into the mountains the rain got worse. As the rain got worse the wind started gusting. As the wind started gusting the temperature started dropping. That all sounds pretty bad, but still doesn’t factor in the sections of road that were a few feet wide because the rest was gone (seriously, not sure how some cars made it, which could be my brain making it worse).
As the road kept deteriorating and the wind and rain kept getting worse the surface started to become a complete network of exposed bedrock and boulders. Now, as you know a rock that is wet is a slippery rock indeed. Bad enough in a straight line, but add turns and you are in for some pucker moments.
I often ride by reading the tree line. It gives me an idea of what turns are going to do and how tight they may be. As I approach a turn, dealing with all this crap, AND climbing at a nearly inappropriate angle my brain gets confused. The tree line comes… back… at me? Uh oh. It’s a hairpin. A very steep, very slick, 1st gear hairpin. On a 2 way road that I was going to need all of. Visibility due to vegetation and steepness through said curve? About a meter.
So I make it through the hairpin. Only to find another. And another. And another. And… you get the idea. Those hairpins were my true test today. They really did take all of my skills to get through. All I could think about was how done I’d be if I dumped the bike. I mentally questioned my own ability. I made it.
As mentioned, this post doesn’t even come close to describing or explaining how hard it was nor how close I came to wanting to give up and turn around. Like I said, hardest riding I’ve ever done.
After that was mostly sunny. Beautiful scenery. Waterfalls everywhere. Sadly, no lunch. Everything is closed for Christmas. Looks like a hotel sandwich for dinner it is! Could be worse probably.
Before I go, one last thing… I had a bottle of peach juice in a pannier. Either the insane jostling or the altitude and pressure popped it open. So, I now have some peach scented gear. Oops.
Ryan
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Ryan Cavalier 