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The theme of the day was… uphill. As is evidenced by the elevation map, we had a mostly uphill day with a few climbs and some nasty steep rollers before lunch.
On paper, some days don’t look terrible. But paper doesn’t always tell the story. Today was a 71 mile ride from Hermiston to Walla Walla. The ride was mostly uphill with a few small climbs. Overall, not a bad day. I didn’t feel great by the end of the day as we rolled into Walla Walla for the last 5 miles. I’m not sure what it was but I felt spent and tired. My stomach didn’t feel great. Will need to do some tweaking of my eating tomorrow.
We started the day at 7 am with mild temperatures and overcast skies. The overcast skies was a gift and it was helpful in keeping the temperatures down.
I was feeling fatigued by the afternoon and struggling with my stomach most of the afternoon. I didn’t want to consume anymore food or water. My stomach was just ‘off’. I suspect it was the heat that contributed to the off feeling. That said, I’m going to stick with a a half pb&j sandwich at rest stops. That seems to work well for my stomach and was what I ate on my training rides. No need to mix it up now.
Keeping hydrated in the afternoon has been an issue as the temperature rises through the day. Water in bottles – even if starting with mostly ice – quickly becomes warm and then hot water. Hot electrolytes aren’t super wonderful to consume. It’s like a bad hot tea. A few days back, I ordered two Bivo insulated cooler bottles from Amazon. They arrived at the hotel in Hermiston yesterday and were a game changer today. They keep the ice and liquids inside cool and make hydrating – even later in the afternoon – manageable and even pleasant. I’m going to throw down a bottle of water with electrolytes before bed tonight in the hopes that I can replenish my body as I sleep overnight.
Tomorrow, we have 99 miles with several incline stretches between Walla Walla and Lewiston. The upside is that we will enter into the land of trees which will hopefully improve the experience and reduce the crazy wind we had across the rolling desolate hills the last couple of days.
Tomorrow’s theme will be start out easy and relaxed. It’s a long day of mostly uphill. Managing the effort early on will allow me to ensure I’ve got what I need in the tank for the entire day.
For now… movie and bed. Time to start winding down to rest and recover for tomorrow.