Day 77: Sherman's March; A Bloated Ego

Wow... who knew that so much climbing would be so much fun? I'm sitting in my motel room sipping on Diet Coke with a ridiculous grin on my face; a sense of accomplishment; a bloated ego. I've accomplished so little in these last 25 years that I need to savor every last ounce of this. It could be another 25 before I have something to blog about.

OK but long story short... I climbed a tall mountain... or rather... I rolled over a large mountain today. Here's a detailed account of the day:

8:30am Alarm goes off... Turn it off. Go back to sleep.

9:30am Housekeeping knocks on the door and wakes me up. What the heck?! I have until 11:00am. I yell 'OCCUPIED' like this was a toilet stall or something... but I just woke up and my brain isn't working right. She walks in anyways and looks confused that there might be somebody still in the room. My annoyance keeps me awake. I take a shower and watch Chris Matthews being interviewed on Tim Russert's TV show. I'm not sure why, but I really dig Chris Matthews. I bet he'd be a real interesting guy to have dinner with. As far as moderately liberal TV hosts go, he is by far the best one. Maybe I will download his book on tape?

10:00am I inspect the bike. Make sure all the screws are tight and the brakes are as they should be. I'm gonna have a serious descent today, and I don't want to have to worry about any mechanical failures occurring at 35mph. Everything look solid. I load the Front Panniers a little heavier than usual to avoid any possible problems with 'shimmying'. I FIND MY LUCKY ROCK!

10:30 Heat up Breakfast Burritos in the Microwave. They're not bad actually. After I finish, I head out the door to conquer Sherman Mountain! It is warmer than usual, but still overcast and gloomy. Perfect weather. Last night Allison reminded me to have fun today. Seemed like stupid advice at the time. But I think maybe its brilliant advice. It's also the same advice my mom is known to give. I think I've been getting too caught up in the challenges and the obstacles; maybe I have been forgetting to have fun? OK... today's goal is to have fun.

I cross the Columbia River, and at the base of the mountain, I reset my pedometer and start my ascent.

Miles 1 - 3: Holy cow. This is difficult. If it stays like this for the entire 23 miles, I'm gonna have some serious problems. I find a good groove and have no difficulty climbing, but I'm going very, very slowly. I think the trick is to listen to slower tempo music. If you get too pumped up, you will be tempted to over exert yourself, rather than just slowly plod along, conserving energy. Or maybe I'm just really slow? Either way this could be a really long climb.

Miles 4 -6: Wow... it flattened out pretty nice. This is actually a lot of fun. I've read on other blogs that it's going to get really steep 7 miles to the top, but for now... this is fantastic. I'm enjoying this thoroughly. No logging trucks, only the occasional RV. I start thinking again about my dinner with Chris Matthews. I'd invite Danny Devito too. He and Rhea Perlman would be a good time. Good people.

Miles 7 - 13: This is really not that difficult; I haven't even needed to take any breaks. This is fantastic!

Miles 14 - 15: Oh wow OK it got a bit more difficult. This is less fun.

Miles 16: OK... This is what everyone was talking about; it's a pretty difficult climb. It reminds me of the climbing that Matt and I did in the Appalachians... except it doesn't ever end.

Miles 17 - 20: Remember to have fun?! What stupid advice.

Miles 21 - 22: Are you serious?! At what point does it become more prudent to build a tunnel? Because I'm sure this would qualify. About 1 mile from the top, a THICK! wall of fog descends upon the road. I can actually see it rolling down the hill. Visibility immediately drops to almost nothing. This doesn't seem very safe, but I embrace it. I think I hit a second wind.

Mile 23: I reach the top! Wow... this feels great. I had been planning all day on eating my lunch up here, but it's absolutely freezing and the fog is wet and beyond thick. A plan is a plan! I quickly scarf down a hoagie and some vegan mac & cheese. I quickly double check the bike for problems and get ready for what should be the most awesome descent of the entire trip. This is going to be a lot of fun.

Miles 24 - 43: All downhill. I am flying at 30mph for the first 8 miles. I've decided that 'I'm Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass' by Yo La Tengo is the best album with which to descend from a mountain. Empowered. A solid beat. Great Rock and Roll. These 16 miles are so incredibly worth the climb. Fantastic. Superb. Fun. Other superlatives that have the same exact meaning.

I roll into Republic. It is a neat little town. I grab a cheap motel with Wifi and take care of a bunch of online stuff. I'm very close to the end, but I have a 3 more mountains to climb before then I don't want to think about the next or even tomorrow's climb... Tonight I just want to focus on what I've already accomplished. I sit outside my motel room in the cool air and look at the mountain on the edge of town that I will have to climb tomorrow. I'm grateful that I traveled east to west and saved this stuff for last. This really is a blast, I just need to remember to keep it all in perspective, and not let it overwhelm me. Allison's advice IS brilliant, but just not at 5000 feet...