Pac tour day 9 - July 13

I must admit, I felt (and looked) pretty rough this morning. I think I was even a bit stressed about the ride ahead and was wondering if my body was up to the task. Arriving van-side for breakfast in the dark in the wet parking lot, I noticed that I wasn't alone in my rough appearance and state. After a little food and brief conversation (including saying goodbye to another cyclist returning home--claimed by pressing business), I hit the road at 6 AM.

We headed east out of Evanston (the home of weekly horse-racing during the summer) on I-80, and I felt like a million bucks at about mile 5. This is a phenomenon I noticed during training...you start to feel better on the bike than off of it. So weird.

The winds felt fairly favorable (despite the forecasts of gusts up to 30-40 mph). The terrain began to change as we re-entered Utah, and were greeted with sandstone and tons of signs about the rock formations, oil formations, and fossilized squid. Yes, fossilized squid. Additionally, you could also see the giant plates of earth shoved out of the ground, displaying their

sedimentary layers.

We descended into Flaming Gorge (yes, Flaming Gorge) for lunch, around mile 90 something. Yes, lunch at 90 miles. Again, beautiful rock formations.

After lunch, the climbing began in earnest (see GPS data for confirmation). It was beautiful climbing (5-12% grades) punctuated by brutal headwinds around many of the corners (yes, the

wind did rear it's head today), dropping speeds to mid-single digits at times. Even the couple descents amongst the climbing demanded attention to balance and many times pedaling to keep moving. At one point, I was getting a bit demoralized by the wind...fortunately Jeannine and Lori came along for some company and distraction from focusing on the wind.

The big descent (5-8% with 10 switchbacks over 9 miles) at about 130 miles yielded expansive views of the valley, mining projects, rocky canyons...and an exercise in riding into very strong winds. After passing a major Simplot phosphate mining project, we (Lori, Jeannine, Walt, and me) shared pulls through the wind into the city of Vernal, Utah. 149 miles and about 9000 feet of climbing later.

While today was arguably more challenging than any other on this trip so-far (and perhaps any day on this trip at all), I certainly felt stronger at the end of the day than on the last few. As Lon said, we will become tougher as the tour progresses.

Interestingly, about 4 days ago many people were suffering from saddle sores (read: raw, open wounds on the buttocks, legs, or worse), but everyone seems to have healed them and made proper adjustments. Some of the aids for cures including every salve, ointment, cream, or powder you could possibly find in a Walmart; moleskin; wearing 2 pairs of cycling shorts; getting a huge foam or gel pad to put over your saddle; or getting a huge squishy saddle. Just a few hints for those out there looking to string together multiple 100+ mile days in the saddle.