Well, I made it to the third state, Idaho, but I completely cracked today.
On paper the route seemed completely manageable. There were three gradual climbs that increased in distance with the final climb being 20 miles. Each climb had a small peak at the end, but overall the grades were very minor. Ha. Boy was I wrong. After 6 days of riding, temps in the upper 80s, and head winds on and off all day including on the final climb, today turned into an epic day. After I reached the peak of the final climb at 75 miles I was completely spent. Not even the 7 miles of descending could produce a second wind, so the final 18 miles were an act of sheer willpower.
And I wasn't the only one who had a rough day. You could see it on everyones faces. Three people ended up in the van and everyone I talked to after the ride said their stats were way off.
Tomorrow is another big day with lots of climbing. Luckily the climbing is earlier in the day so hopefully it won't be as hot. My plan is to take it easy and not worry about how long it takes me to finish. Just keep turning the pedals and pushing forward so that I can make it to the first rest day on Saturday.
Also, we've been told that we're heading into a couple days (Wednesday, 8/25 and Thursday, 8/26) with no cell reception and possibly no wifi. If that turns out to be true, I'll post updates as soon as possible.
Day 7 stats:
distance: 99.3miles
elevation gain: 4554 ft
nutrition:
breakfast: eggs, potatoes and peppers, biscuit, apple sauce, waffle, and Skratch crispy rice cake bar
lunch: salad, PB&J, coke
post-ride: 1 recovery drink, 1 small coke, kate's real food chocolate mint bar, and a banana
gels: 3
bloks: 2
52 oz skratch superfuel, 104 oz zym, 26 oz water
Day 7 details - Lewiston, ID to Kooskia
planned distance: 103 miles
planned elevation gain: 6377 ft