I was glad to get going again this morning. I actually ran into the doctor at breakfast, and she wished me well. I stopped at the bike shop and thanked them for their help. I went back to the hospital for one followup they wanted to do, and it came back ok. I was off!
That was the peak of the day. I felt very jumpy at first whenever a car was near - a feeling I really didn't like, but one that I think will fade over the next few days. The towns I went through (Umatilla, Irrigon, Boardman) were all pretty crappy. After Boardman I faced Wyoming-strength winds the rest of the day - it took me 3.5 hours to go the last 23 miles, all on flat ground. That's insane! With no wind that's well under 2 hours. Finally I got to Arlington, where I will be staying in the one motel in town (the doc wants me to stay clean as I heal, so no camping for a while). All the restaurants and the grocery store in town were either closed for the night or forever. The only open store was the gas station. I just finished a dinner of a terrible turkey sandwiched and terrible dried apricots. Didn't think you could make terrible dried apricots? The Shell corporation can!
Ever the optimist, I offer several silver linings:
At least the gas station was open!
A lady gave me a free mini watermelon (called a sugar baby) when I bought a peach in Irrigon!
It is supposed to be less windy tomorrow!
My hip and back and various other owees felt pretty good all day!
Tomorrow I'm in the gorge! People have been building this up for me for weeks.
I could see Mt Hood in the distance for most of the afternoon! It's 80 miles away and over 11,000 feet high. And like Mt Rainier, it's all by itself and looks terrifying and awesome. I'm excited to watch it take shape over the next day or two.
No comments:
Post a Comment