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Woke up at 4:30 am for a 5:30 am breakfast and a 6:30 departure, we are
starting earlier since we have more than a century to ride today. Breakfast
featured hearty biscuits and
gravy. Started out with Bruce, Courtney and Paula. It was very cold, around 48 degrees going through town,
and we weren't really dressed enough for the temperatures. It took me a long time to warm
up, and I actually looked forward to climbing hills rather than coasting
down. The sun finally came out and even
though it wasn't much it really helped. We stopped for coffee at the Hoh
Resort, but the guy running the espresso machine was so slow we skipped it.
I spent the time riding with
Bruce/Paula/Courtney/Jennifer before the coffee stop, then with Brian afterwards as Bruce
had headed on ahead. We met up with Gerry and Z, then soon arrived at the coast
near Ruby Beach (where I recalled many childhood
memories of tide pool walks and camping) and took lots of pictures down the coast and at
overlooks. We stopped for a bit at Kalaloch Lodge and took more pictures, then
I headed out on my own to catch Bruce. I finally met up with him at lunch at the Queets/Clearwater School;
getting to lunch featured logging trucks, rolling hills, and more beautiful scenery.
The route after lunch was less than spectacular. The roads narrowed, there
were many more trucks
(although most were quite courteous and accommodating to the cyclists), lots
of chip sealed roads (rough gravel and oiled paving), and miles upon miles of clearcut
areas. The temperatures rose into the 90's, and the water stops were farther apart
than they should have been. I had a tough time, bonked once and got a bit
dehydrated, but a bottle of Cytomax (sports drink) and another of Gatorade
in Humptulips made things much better. The last 10 miles was supposed to be downhill per our
meeting the previous night, but it was really rolling hills and more chip seal. Bruce and I finally turned into camp about 4:15
pm and drank down
several bottles of juice and water, then did the tent/shower/dinner routine
yet again (mediocre chicken stir-fry, but I was hungry enough that it went
down well). A longer-than-usual meeting with a drawn-out awards
presentation, and finally into the tent for bed by 10:00 pm. Today was a hard century,
much harder than day 1 of RSVP, but an accomplishment nonetheless. We're
facing another
century tomorrow, but it's supposed to be easier (of course we've heard
that before!).
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