Day 21: July 26, 2024 - Halfway, OR, to Woodhead Park Campground, ID
End: Woodhead Park Campground, ID
Miles: 41.4
Feet climbing per mile: 43
Records of the day's rides:
When I removed my right contact lens before going to bed it tore into a few pieces, at least one of which seemed to stay on my eye. I couldn’t see where the piece was but I could feel it even after putting rewetting solution on my eye. In the middle of the night I woke up, attempted to see where the piece was, and by gently tugging on my lids was able to dislodge it without ever seeing where it was on my eye.
I’ve been wearing daily lenses for the past ten days. Dailies are much thinner than monthlies, and now I know they are more susceptible to tearing. Before I removed my lenses my eyes were feeling dry, so I should have used rewetting solution or saline before removing them.
I was up at 6:00 and learned that there were no rooms available at the Frontier Motel in Cambridge, so I made a plan to camp at Woodhead Park Campground on the Snake River, just 32 miles away. It looked like the air quality would be good between here and there.
As I checked out I asked Diana, the owner of the motel, whether someone was working on the Chevy in order to get it running. She said her husband hoped to have it done by the fall.
I thought that this would be an easy day with a ride of just 32 miles. Instead it turned out to be the most challenging day on this trip so far.
Shortly after leaving Halfway I was on a beautiful road surrounded by vast spaces of beautiful scenery.
The first half of the ride went well, although I did need to wear the N95 mask I had bought in the morning. I stopped at the park in Oxbow to refill my water bottles, and then headed south along the Snake River. There was soon some difficult climbing, some of which I walked. I was surprised at just how difficult the riding was, and I thought that it was because of the heat, smoke, and somewhat rough surface of the road.
Eventually, while riding, I felt as if I had a flat tire. I stopped to check and realized I could not turn the rear wheel either forward or backward. My first thought was that perhaps the free hub has frozen up. Then I discovered that a weld of the rear rack was almost completely broken and that the rack was dragging on the rear tire.
Without a rear rack I have no way to carry my trunk bag, spare tire, stuff sack of cold-weather riding clothing, and water bladder. I immediately sent Tom Reingold a message through my satellite communicator (there was no cell service) asking him to go to the gear section of my blog, find the exact model of my rear rack, and find one for sale online.
While Tom was looking for a replacement rack I used my four bungee cords, four Infinity Tools straps, and two zip ties to support the rack so that it would not drag on the rear tire. I put the 3.5–pound stuff sack of cold-weather riding clothing on my back inside my shirt and I was on my way, hopeful that the cords, straps, and zip ties would hold out for the eleven-mile ride to the campground.
Despite the problem with my rear rack I continued to enjoy the scenery.
After arriving at the campground I saw that the weld was now completely broken. By this time Tom had found on eBay a new rack of the same model as mine.
After a shower I rode 2.8 miles to the Gateway Store & Cafe, the closest source of food. The hamburger I had was one of the worst I’ve ever eaten. I knew it would be a few days before the new rack would arrive, and I dreaded the prospect that I would have to eat at this cafe every day. I looked through the store for some cheese and crackers that might serve as my dinners but was unable to find either item. I bought two cans of sardines.
When I returned to the campground I saw Linda, the camp host who had earlier checked me in. I had earlier told Linda about the problem with my rack and that I didn’t know how many days I would stay. When I saw her after dinner I told her about the dreadful meal I had eaten and she said she had extra food she would bring me the next day.
On my way to dinner I had forgotten to record my ride as soon as I left my campsite, with the result that I rode an extra two miles looking for it when I returned. This felt especially distressing after dealing with the problem of the rack. I found my campsite after being directed by another camper and set up my tent.
See all of my daily routes here: Cross Country 2024
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