Brian Richardson

At the end of our ride yesterday, we dropped into Hells Canyon, a section of the Snake River near the Seven Devils Mountains. Given these sinister names, we were prepared to face grueling roads and harrowing conditions. So we were pleasantly surprised to get some smooth riding along the water, shaded by the canyon wall.

This morning, the 2000 ft climb out of Hells Canyon gave us a taste of what it’s named for. Due to a time-zone-change-related mixup, we got off to a late start. The sun was already fully out, and there was no shade to be found on the climb. Even with the relatively mild temperature, we crested the rim of the canyon tired and sweaty and sunburnt. It’s hard to imagine doing this climb later in the summer—as many Trans-America cyclists do—when temperatures in Hells Canyon regularly reach 110 F.

The crew crawls their way out of Hells Canyon

Snake on road near the Snake River

The descent along Pine Creek into Cambridge, ID did not give us much chance to rest. The gully around Pine Creek created a wind tunnel, and, unlike yesterday, the wind’s direction was not in our favor. To manage the headwind, we rode in a tight line, with the person in front “pulling,” or pedaling extra hard to block the wind for the others.

After a nice lunch in Cambridge, we pressed on for another 50 miles and 2000 ft of climbing to our destination of New Meadows. There are days on this trip where I get lost in the joy of biking and hardly keep track of the miles. Today, however, I found myself counting down the mile markers to New Meadows and stopping often to shake out tired legs. We finished the day around 6pm, windburnt and sunburnt and all around beat.

Friend naps in the New Meadows town park after a long day

In New Meadows, we set up camp at the town park, bought groceries, and took some time to call friends and family. At dinner, sitting around a picnic table and macro-dosing spaghetti and Almond Joys, we commiserated about the tough day.

I’m thankful for these three great friends, and thankful that we’re able to laugh about our suffering and keep our chins up for tomorrow.

Usher and Michael fuel up for another big day tomorrow