Rose Pedals . . .: A "Dam" Hot Day

Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Day 3 - Winthrop,Washington to Coulee Dam, Washington
100 miles
6,043 feet of climbing

Today was relatively a tough day of riding, mainly due to the heat. I'm told the temp was up over 100 degrees. To start the day, we had a 10-mile warm-up before we hit the first climb of the day - a 20-mile climb up Loup Loup Pass. It was a nice steady climb, long, but not all that steep. At the rest stop at the top of the climb, the crew had prepared for us cold watermelon slices, that really hit the spot as the temperature rose. From there, we had a delightful 20-mile descent before we hit our next series of climbs. This is where the ride stared to get difficult. As we made the turn heading southeast, we hit a fairly strong headwind that stayed with us for the rest of the day. This, combined with the heat and the climbing, made for a very tough day in the saddle. We did, however, have some very nice views of Lake Omak to look at while we suffered. The terrain was very desert-like, dry and brown. I half expected to see Wylie Coyote and the Road Runner duking it out in the background.

This being our third day of spending significant hours in the saddle, its getting a bit "uncomfortable" sitting on the seat. This is the initiation period that generally occurs when you start riding long hours consecutive days in a row. I'm sure we'll toughen up in a few days, but in the meantime . . . I sit, I stand, I lean to the left, I lean to the right, (repeat).

We made our way to our lunch stop at mile 73, and let me tell you, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich never tasted so good. We didn't linger too long at lunch because we still had one more steep 3-mile climb ahead of us. After lunch, I felt revitalized, reinvigorated and refurbished. As we approached the climb, which began at mile 83, I was back to feeling overheated and drained. In any event, I was able to made it up the climb without too much difficulty, drinking every drop I had in my two water bottles. After that last climb, we had a really nice descent into the town of Coulee Dam, with great views all along the way. We got to watch local firefighters in action as they battled a good-sized brush fire. The Coulee Dam is amazing! Apparently, there is a light show set to music at the Dam every evening at 10:00. I did not see it, of course, because 10:00 is way past my bedtime. But I'm a very happy camper just to have accomplished today's route. Tomorrow . . . we head to Spokane!