Logistic Challenges

This leg of the journey has been a logistical challenge. Last night, when we were planning what to do today we appeared to have three options:

1. Ride 60 miles up a mountain to a hotel with air conditioning, on a day with a forecasted high in the 100s.
2. Ride 50 miles up a mountain to a campsite (obviously without air conditioning), on a day with a forecasted high in the 100s.
3. Ride 30 miles up a mountain and then go off the trail 4 miles down the mountain to a hotel.

While we did not love the idea of losing 4 miles of elevation gain, we settled on option 3. And then learned the hotel is fully booked for the next 9 days. Cool.

After a wee freak out, I found one AirBnB 15 miles away that we could stay at tonight and one AirBnB 20 miles from there that we could stay at the next night. So - thank god for that!

It was very stressful looking at the map of where we are headed on Saturday night and realizing that if we want to eat food Monday night and also on Tuesday, we would need to find a place to buy food Sunday morning.

We got a late start this morning, leaving around 7am, because we didn’t have very far to travel today (even though it was all uphill). We rolled in to Fair Play at 10am, and set up our camp chairs in the shade of a parking lot of a restaurant until it opened at 11. We had lunch and hung out there until we could check in to our AirBnB, which we were surprised to learn was actually on a winery. Like - literally next to the tasting room.

We did a wine tasting at the tasting room and it was lovely. The people who worked there were great, the wine was good, and there was a really chill dog.

Highlights

• There was a really good dog in the tasting room of the winery we are staying at.
• Lunch was really good. As Bruce Kauffman would say: while bicycle touring, every meal you have is the best meal you’ve ever had - and we have found that to be absolutely true.
• It’s much more wooded here, so we had lots of shade while riding.
• We thought we would have to bike 5 miles out of the way up a mountain to buy groceries but then we stumbled upon a hardware store that unexpectedly also sold groceries.

Lowlights

• It is still VERY hot. After 9:30am, you do not want to be moving around outside.
• We rode downhill a bit to get to the AirBnB, so, we know what’s coming.

Julie’s food (because my mom still worries I’m not eating enough)

• Breakfast: oats and fruit
• First snack: granola bar + gatorade
• Lunch: an impossible burger and fries
• Dinner: cous cous, veggies, and textured vegetable protein

Stats

• Total distance: 17.7 miles
• Elevation gain: 2177 feet
• Weather: hot and dry, high of 100+ degrees Fahrenheit