My understanding of American geography is admittedly poor. I thought the first and only mountain range we would cross was the Rockies and I knew that would happen in Colorado. So imagine my surprise, seven days in to this ride, to find myself at the top of a mountain, in the same state I started in. Sierra Nevada: not just a brewery, folks.
We got up early again this morning and left at 5:15. We were on Highway 88 the whole day. We knew we would have a long climb, followed by several miles of descent, and then some unknown amount of climbing again until we reached our destination, Kirkwood. I spent the WHOLE morning looking forward to that descent, and it only lasted a couple minutes. And then I spent the next couple hours climbing again and regaining the 1,000 feet we lost. Hills!
We had really good scenery all day. This stretch of 88 had a shoulder most of the way, and there was only the occasional car. It wasn’t terribly hot either, so all-in-all, it was a pretty great day. We’re all exhausted but I’m feeling pumped. And we will have less climbing tomorrow!
Highlights
- Had a nice long descent and got to go real fast
- It was much cooler today with all the altitude we gained
- When we checked in at the resort they upgraded us to a suite with multiple bedrooms, so no one has to sleep on a sofa bed
Lowlights
- I saw a squirrel get run over by a truck. Scamper, scamper, flattened.
- After we got to the bottom of the descent, we had a very long, very strenuous climb and it really caught us off-gaurd.
Julie’s food
- Breakfast: bread and almond butter
- First snack: pop tart
- Second snack: Clif bar
- Lunch: a wrap with hummus, avocado, lettuce, and tomato from the General Store in Kirkwood
- Dinner: pasta with tomato sauce
Stats
- Total distance: 27.02 miles
- Elevation gain: 4009 feet
- Weather: hot and dry, high of 85 degrees Fahrenheit