Today we left our hotel at 5:30 and biked 30 miles to eat breakfast in Washington! We were quite excited to finally be in Washington after 50 long days. However, our excitement didn’t last long when we realized that we had 5 passes in a row, starting today. To prepare for our first pass, we ate a hearty McDonalds breakfast.
We then biked 20 relatively flat miles to a gas station in Usk. We all ate a lot and stocked up on food and beverages for the pass. The pass started with 5 miles of flat country side riding, then quickly devolved into a gravel detour that burned everyone out, right before the roughest part of the pass. I biked up the gravel section with Max and Wyatt. We were all gasping for air when we turned onto the pass road. Once we got onto pavement, Wyatt dropped Max and I, and sprinted up the hill. Then Daniel G caught up to us, forming the group I would finish with. The pass was slow and exhausting, but seeing the top, knowing we had a large downhill to go until the end of the day.
We had an early dinner because everyone was hungry after the tough day. Everyone enjoyed their meal.