After a long day yesterday and late night to sleep it was off on the road again. Unfortunately before we could get going we had to fix an overnight flat tire. This meant we did not get on the road until almost 11 am. But when we started going we got off with a blast. The first 10 miles of the day were flat with good roads. We still had 3 passes to climb on this day. The last one was the highest with an elevation of only 5200 feet. After riding at much higher elevations for the previous weeks this didn’t seem like much, but it was.
It was difficult because it was hot. The first two climbs were not bad the third was the worst. It was longer and the sun was getting lower in the sky. We made it to Prairie City well before dark but after all restaurants and convenience stores were closed. That night we slept on picnic tables, under a pavilion in a campground. It was actually very comfortable and dry. The nice thing about camping is that bedtime always comes earlier. Meaning earlier starts the next day.
Today’s stats: total mileage 69.9 miles, average speed 11.3 mph, elevation gain 4160 feet, elevation loss 4150 feet, maximum speed 32.4 Miles mph.