Day 12
Oxbow, OR to New
Meadows, ID
Distance: 88 miles
Total ascent: 5,600ft
Energy Gels consumed:
1
Yes, I have finally
waved goodbye to the beautiful and sassy Oregon, and have moved seamlessly into
the world of Idaho.
After yesterday’s
shocker with the heat, I was up at the earliest time yet, eating scrambled egg
cooked by Julie, the lovely owner of the B&B, well before 6am and and
hoping to get on the road by 6.30am. But inevitably with my general faffing,
and despite the earlier start, it was more like 7 before the wheels were
actually turning.
Rather than my usual
zen like state of awe at the scenery and the freshness of the morning, today’s
ride started with a catalogue of minor irritations.
A sweat/heat rash on my legs
not from exposure to the sun but the heat permeating my long shorts yesterday
leaving a red raw bumpy mess just below the line of the shorts I had on today;
a sore patch on my right ankle where my cycling shoe has been rubbing and which
I have been covering with band aids for the last few days kept getting exposed
again as the plaster simply would not stay in place; stray hairs that had
escaped from my pony tail and helmet and were tickling my face; but worst of
all swarms of tiny black flies that were coating every inch of exposed skin and
sticking to the sun-cream. Yeukkkk!
It was while I was stopped for the third time in as many miles to adjust the band aid, hair, and wipe off the flies that I noticed a huge bird fly over above and perch on a nearby tree. The fact that it was a vulture seemed rather fitting. I could quite easily have given up there for the day and allowed the bird to invite his mates so they could all pick over my rotting carcass, spitting out bits of mangled band aids and tiny flies as they went...
And so I wasn’t in the
best frame of mind as I crossed the state line and into my second state of this
trip. Losing an hour on moving from Pacific Time to Mountain Time, I was upset
to find it was already 10am by the time I started the big climb for the day,
and the sun was starting to get hot. With legs tired from yesterday and
a general weariness from the extreme heat the day before, it was a real gritty
plod to get to the top of this climb, but I made it. And it turns out that Idaho is pretty damn beautiful too.
Coasting down into the
small town of Cambridge, I stopped for a swift grilled ham and cheese and then
set out into the real serious heat of the afternoon.
But this time I was
prepared.
Not only did Florence
make her second appearance but I also donned the matching long-sleeved white
number, and only after dousing both in cold water in the restroom and wearing
them damp. They dried again within a few miles, but I just kept repeating every
opportunity I got and before I knew it, it was after 5pm and the temperature
was dropping again.
Eventually rolling
into New Meadows at a fairly late hour, I was overjoyed to be greeted by
Phyllis, Valerie’s mum, who packed Steed and me and the rest of the team into
her SUV and whisked us all up to her cabin in McCall, just around 12 miles
away.
Phyllis prepared each
of us an oversized Tanqueray & Tonic as I showered off all the griminess and
insect life of the day, and then we ate fried chicken, with buttered sweetcorn
and other lovelies on her porch and chatted away while the Pine Squirrels and
Steller’s Jays made their presence known in the surrounding woods.
What a great way to
end a day.
Me x
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