2014, Day 6: Hard Is An Understatement

"Hard day was an understatement. Of the first 40 miles, 32 were steep upgrade. What was so demoralizing was that there was a steep upgrade for 2 miles, then down again, up for 2, down again, up for 2, down again—all that work and hardly any progress on the elevation. Then a long, long climb to Rainy Pass—most fairly steep. Then down 1000’, leaving a final climb of about 1700 feet in 4 miles. Killer. By this time I was pretty tired and resting every ½ mile. Finally made it to the top after more than 7 hours of riding. Then ZING down the east side at speeds nearing 40 mph. I braked several times. Covered another 16 miles in less than an hour. I have gone 300+ miles in six days—right on schedule."