Samantha Nobrega commented on my blog: I just realized that you are cycling towards two pretty large fires in the area: the American fire which is 17k acres and 60% contained but is inundating our little city (Reno) with smoke and the Rim fire which is very near Yosemite. The Rim fire has already burned 53k acres and is only about 2% contained at the time of this writing. The smoke from the two fires is causing health advisories. If you see you are getting in a smoky area, best stay put or head in a different direction. Stay safe out there! - Alison is monitoring the Rim fire since our ride ends there in three weeks. Supposedly this is top priority for the Forest Service. This photo of a former forest fire was taken near today’s summit.
The weather looked questionable when we awoke; there were low clouds but it looked promising. And sure enough, the fog and clouds burned off quickly.
I had anticipated TODAY'S RIDE to be one I wouldn’t enjoy, another damned 38 mile climb with 3,900 feet of climbing. But today’s climb was less steep, easier and, from a pedaling perspective, more enjoyable than most of the long climbs we’ve experienced.
There was one bad aspect of today’s ride: traffic. It was just the opposite of yesterday’s no traffic ride. We had traffic continuously today. It was sometimes scary, depending on the width of the shoulder. Of course we knew there would be days like this when we signed up so I not complaining. But it was unpleasant; just saying.
One item essential for today’s ride is a rear view mirror. I didn’t use this during my first 40 years of cycling. I bought one before my cross-country tour and now can’t live without it. And with today’s traffic and a sometimes non-rideable shoulder it is essential to know who’s behind you, how many vehicles there are, how big they are and how fast they’re coming. Today I continually monitored my rear.
After the 6-mile downhill the route sheet claims we have almost 14 miles of a “long, undulating slog into Sisters”. To me this was the best part of the ride by far. Undulating means rollers. I love rollers. And it was basically downhill. I was turning 18 mph, faster than my norm. It was great. You can stretch your legs; it’s the open road – much better than going up a mountain or going down.
Why am I on this mountainous ride anyway? 
Miles today = 57, Elevation gain = 43,972. Total miles = 424, Tot Elevation gain = 26175
Hi again John,
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the traffic for this ride. In my blog I wrote a year ago after doing the same stretch:
"On Friday, I returned to the (bike) saddle and rode the 57 miles from Detroit to Sisters. The first 37 miles was almost entirely uphill (!), climbing close to 4000 feet. Mostly the grade was very gentle, but the final 3 miles to the Santiam Summit was tough. The hardest part of the ride was the traffic — unrelenting passes by multiple cars, trucks, and motorhomes, in the range of 5-10 per minute, typically traveling 55-60 mph. The shoulder was narrow, often too narrow for comfort. Often, when I saw a big vehicle in my mirror, I pulled off the shoulder into the cinders to stop and wait for the traffic to pass. We all made it safely, but the hypervigilance was tiring."
- Bill