MTS and STM

So this weekend was a big one for me. I did the "Moscow to Spokane" on Saturday stayed the night, then did the "Spokane to Moscow" on Sunday.

I woke up pretty early on Saturday. Much earlier than I had wanted, but since I was awake and itchin' to get on the bike. I got dressed, ate a double serving of oatmeal, pumped up my tires, attached my lights, and set off. The temperature at my place was 42 degrees when I left. I was warm enough for about the first hour, then I swear it got much colder as I went further North. I got very cold as I road past miles and miles of frozen water and weeds in the ditch. I had to stop several times to try and warm up. I was just so amazed at how the temperature could continue to drop even after the sun came up. Neadless to say it's unpleasant to ride in extreme cold without the proper clothes.

I had kind of an emotional ride in the middle. I got quite lonely. You get tired, sick of cars trying to run you off the road, and desparate for the long stretches of road to end. At one point, some readneck in a pickup made it very clear that he didn't like me for some reason. It's pretty disheartening.

Then the temperature came up. I got closer to town, and end was in sight. It was good to climb the steep hill to my parents' house. I imagine the finish of the RAO will be something like that.

The return trip was better. Temperatures were more manageable and the ride was about 10 miles shorter (thanks Dad, for driving me through all that construction). The stretch between Tekoa and Oaksdale always seems very long though.

Overall, a good experience. It's encouraging that I can ride long distances on back-to-back days. Only 2 weeks left to prepare for the Lewis and Clark Ultra. Thanks for reading.