Today wasn’t a usual day for I4K, and things didn’t necessarily go as planned, but we adapted and pushed through. The ride started out with an unexpected amount of trail closures that required us to maneuver around trails at a slow pace. The day continued on with long gravel hills and more road closures that required us to make some adjustments. Soon, we were hit by storms that required us to shelter in a Casey’s and finish out the day by shuttling everyone to the stay-over. Despite an unfortunate turn of events, the team still had a good time and found ways to make the day fun!
Quote of the Day
“Morning grind? Sounds like my gears right now” - Harbin
RIDE OVERVIEW
Mileage: 84 Miles
Elevation: 2,840 ft.
Points of Interest: Morning Grind (Coffee), Closed Trails
Ride Dedication: Donna Wallach
Tales of the Trail
We started out the morning at our usual time, and everyone prepared for what was expected to be a longer day. We biked through very windy trails and were met with a lot of trail closed signs that we had to maneuver around. We even had to trek through the mud for a small portion of the ride, and everyone took some time to clean the mud off their bikes and cleats. We came across some unfinished bridges and fences we had to climb over, and even though they proved to be a major inconvenience, we laughed it off and kept on going. This made the first stretch of the morning far longer than usual. Fortunately, we made it to the first rest stop of the morning and got some coffee at the Morning Grind. We met some very nice people at the coffee shop, and it was great to take some time to relax after a turbulent morning. Some of us weren’t in the best of moods, but we continued onto the next stretch of the ride and eventually got to ride down a shaded path, and luckily, we didn’t come across any closed trail signs on this path. Eventually, we came across some hilly gravel roads, and we were met with yet another road closed sign. Luckily, we were able to find our way around and continued the ride on some challenging hills before seeing dark rain clouds in the distance…
Due to the prospects of a severe storm, we booked it to a Casey’s to try and beat a torrential downpour. We just nearly missed the rain as we rolled into the gas station, and we sheltered there for a while. It wasn’t looking like the thunderstorms were going to clear up any time soon, and our ride leaders made the executive decision to shuttle everyone to the stayover, ending our ride for the day. A group of us were shuttled to the stayover, while another group had to stay at Casey’s to wait for a second trip. Since the left-behind group had some time to kill, we decided to bike over to an ice cream shop in the town over before the next storm rolled in. The only problem was that we had an extra bike, but Jason used his super cycling skills to ride on his bike and hold the other at the same time. As we made our way to the ice cream shop, our group got a flat tire, which was unfortunate because we had to make it to the town over quickly. Jason changed the tire quickly, and we were on our way as we took in the views of beautiful clouds in the distance. We made it to the ice cream shop just in time before it started downpouring, proving to us that today wasn’t all bad luck! We enjoyed some ice cream before being picked up by Sofia, and the rest of us were finally shuttled back to the stayover for the night. Upon our arrival, we got to shower and enjoy some of the facilities at the YMCA before eating and wrapping up the night. Reflecting back on the day, we dealt with some misfortune, but it made for some funny moments and what some teammates would call “type 2 fun”.
Thank you to the community of Nishna Valley YMCA for giving us a place to sleep and letting us use your facilities!
Cyclist’s corner
Today’s Rider: Micah Yoder
How are you feeling today?
I thought today was very fun and interesting, because we had a tunnel underpass pretty close to a construction zone, which we went underneath, and it got quite a bit of mud in my tires and everyone else's tires and in my breaks, but a good cleaning at the stayover made that all fine, and it was a fun experience to go through with my team.
Do you have any go-to gas station/rest stop snacks?
I had two slices of pizza today, but usually I would stick to our snack box trying to get protein bars or chips. Since chips, I figure, are fairly healthy, since we need the sodium anyway, so that’s good.
What is your rest stop routine?
When I get to rest stops, my first thing is usually to finish all the water from my water bottles and then sit for a little bit, maybe eat as much food as I can fit in my stomach for a short period of time. Then I eventually fill up my water bottles, and if it's been two rest stops without sunscreen, reapply sunscreen, and then forget that I didn't turn my Garmin (a bike computer) off, and that it’s battery life has gone down 10% and then roll out.
How do you stay motivated on long/tough days on the bike?
Usually, my method for doing this is just singing, either out loud or to myself. I go through a number of songs throughout each day, and i've noticed that whenever i feel especially tired, it's usually because i haven't been singing to myself for a while, and I start singing to myself, or something like that, and I feel a lot better. Otherwise, I try to talk to other people, or share life stories or hear other people's life stories, as we do a lot on bikes.
For the remaining portion of the ride, where are you looking forward to visiting the most?
I’m looking forward to seeing the Rockies and all the mountains there since I haven't been up mountains very much, besides passing through on flights and such, and mountain scenery is great.