If the thunder don’t get you, the lightning will

The “plan” today was to ride first to the agribusiness hub of Othello and then on to Connell, some sixty odd miles or so. The Kamoot app directed me to the starkly picturesque road called Lower Crab Creek Road. The app showed it had an unpaved section, but it was labeled as “path.” Imagine my chagrin when the pavement ended and I was swimming, literally, in loose gravel, the kind where it took all of my effort to stay upright. There was no smooth section of the road where cars had created two sets of lines where the gravel was more packed, likely because so few cars use the road. I swam and swerved on this stretch of gravel for 10 miles. I looked at the app and saw there was another section of the same after several more miles before Crab Creek joined state highway 26. I found a detour that would avoid the gravel but add several miles to the route. I admit to hesitating just a bit. What do I prefer? A shorter but more treacherous path? Or, longer but safer? In the end, I took the road north instead of east, expecting a climb but not a long one.

I was encouraged that a railroad line paralleled the detour route, aware that the railroad grade is no more than 3%. Sure enough, the climb was easy and I felt vindicated with my choice. But then the railway diverged from its parallel track to the road, and made a long loop to the east while the road’s grade rose and rose until it topped out at 10%.

Eastern Washington is experiencing a heat wave, and though it was only late morning, the day was already quite hot as the sun bleached the arid landscape. And when you climb uphill slowly, you don’t enjoy the benefit of the air moving that you get when you are moving at 12-15 mph. The climb seemed to take forever and I felt myself overheating. Now did I feel vindicated? Good question. I was hot and tired and had to climb a monster, but at least I was upright. Then again, had I continued on Crab Creek Road, I probably would have made better time because on the ride to Othello the wind changed and I struggled against a headwind. And, it was 94 degrees.

In the end, today was probably the most difficult day thus far, thanks to gravel, steep climbs, heat, and headwinds. Othello was at mile 51, and I called it a day.

But the adventure continues. The wildfires out here have forced me to change my entry point into Idaho due to an uncontrolled blaze in Washington just south of my planned route. And I also need to adjust my riding and daily pre-ride preparation due to the heat. I apply SPF 50 gloss to my lips and SPF 50 lotion to my nose multiple times during the day but they still have suffered damage from the sun. I hope to hit the road early in the morning and get several hours in, before laying low in a shady spot (if one can be found in this tree-deprived landscape) during the heat of the day, and then riding for a couple more hours before the sun goes down.

Again, these are just plans. Thunder and lightning may have other ideas.