On the joys of pedaling uphill (Part 2, Day 11)

28 June, 2021, 4 min, 639 words

Tags: biking transamerica-2021

It's hard to believe, but my trip is slowly drawing to a close. If my schedule holds (which I give a ~50% chance of happening), I'll reach Anacortes on Friday of this week.

Since my last update I've crossed two (arguably three) mountain passes, and I have another two remaining (arguably three). That means that both my recent past and near future include a lot of pedaling uphill.

Before I go into my uphill ramble, a note from my (not actual) sponsors. This post is brought to you by

• Excessive heat warnings! For when the National Weather Service agrees that this heat is truly excessive and should just chill out.
• 4.5 miles per hour: definitely a speed.
• River dunks: a solid way to cool off, as long as you don't mind a bit of algae and some weird looks.
• Quail! Why did the quail cross the road? An excellent question, but at least it is a darn fast runner. Seriously, though. Quail are shockingly speedy given their tiny legs.

I realized in Iowa, when I encountered my first hills ("hills"), that if I wanted to do this touring thing, I'd need to get comfy with the fact that I'm going to spend much more time pedaling uphill than down. On a logical level, I largely came to terms with that in Iowa. But it took until Sherman Pass yesterday for that reality to really sink in.

One obvious thing happened between those two events: I spent nearly three weeks touring full time. Turns out that has an impact on your fitness and ability to just keep pedaling.

So, on a climb, you have two options. 1) Pedal and be miserable about how hilly it is. 2) Pedal and savor the scenery. Either way you have to get over the hill eventually.

And once you know that you're on a long climb, there's really something magical about just settling into that lowest gear and chugging along. For me, that's the leisurely speed of about 4.5-5.2 mph, which gives me a good deal of time to admire the scenery and sink into an almost meditative space. Minimal adrenaline, minimal excitement, just you, the bike, and the mountain. As usual, I'm not doing it justice. But it's a special kind of fun, if you're into this sort of thing.

So here's to two (arguably three) more mountain passes in the next two days, and all the spectacular scenery and fantastic fauna they entail.

Apologies, but I don't have time to pick out photos this time around. I owe you a few next time. Thanks for your patience. [edit: lack of photos fixed in postproduction]

Zeph