Today started out very cool and the forecast was for low humidity. Because of this I decided to plan a longer ride. Unbeknown to me, all roads aren’t made equal. As I followed my plan route expecting 61 miles, I came to a critical junction and found that the road was heavy coarse gravel. I had already experienced quite a few hills and I knew I had about 1500 feet of elevation planned. Given the history there was no way I could do these types of gravel roads. So as I sat trying to plot a new course I was able to stop a local gentleman in a truck who helped me get reacclimated. This was clearly a learning experience. The pave roads are few and far between. This was something I was completely unaware of and that became the challenge of the day. And in fact that will be the challenge getting across the state. As I followed the advice from the man in the truck I eventually came back to a long road heading West. I knew this was going to add miles but I did not understand what the impact was quite yet. Outside of the major freeways the paved roads were extremely quiet. I was very happy to not encounter many vehicles. Today was the first day I wore a reflective triangle on my back which represents slow moving traffic. I thought this was very important because all throughout the day there were nothing but rolling hills. The traffic as they approached always moved over I never felt that the vehicles came too close. Again the traffic was very light which I much appreciated. I had to stop constantly to recheck my route and plan ahead. My preloaded route to Garmin was not an option today. I spent most of the day using Google Maps, Komoot, and RidewithGPS. In my research I had a ride with gps route that said it was all paved. If I had only known of the limited paved options I probably would have followed that exactly from the beginning. The combination of the three help me find my way to my final destination. Along the route I encountered yet another Detour and road closed. Heading into a small town hoping I could get some information on the closure a young lady from a veterinary clinic told me she thought it might be passable on a side dirt road. Late in the day I did not have any options and the heat was rising faster than the forecast. I took my chances and decided some ways somehow I was getting through that road construction even if I had to go off trail. As I approached the construction site I saw they were reconstructing a new bridge road. As I surveyed the crossing I saw a small pathway through. Being out in the middle of the fields, No one on the construction crew paused to stop me. I was so grateful that I could get through without getting my feet wet or muddy. I traveled through several small towns hoping to get some refreshments but these towns were decimated and the best I could do was a pop machine on the side of a building. I’ve managed my water and food well today. I never feared that I couldn’t get to the end of the ride with water. The wind was light which I was very thankful and at times I think it even gave me a push. Coming into the tiny town it was good to see restaurants, gas stations, and something resembling a larger population. Today’s ride given the challenges added 15 miles and more than doubled the elevation. I will definitely have to look at the next 5 days and recompute every days ride now that I understand the topology.
