Long and Strenuous

Long and Strenuous

Right from the beginning days were often long and strenuous. The 80s and 90s had yet to be blessed by Google Maps, GPS, or even easy-to-find paper road maps, so each day was kind of a mystery. I usually knew the town I was aiming for, but rarely knew how far it was to get there. There was too much daylight to just pedal 30 or 40 miles then stop and wait for the night. On some days, that would have been a good plan, but there was too much to see and do to be satisfied with only half days.

Looking back, I believe I was convinced that days had to be long and strenuous. Why, I'm not sure, but eighty-mile days were satisfying and generally easy. Rarely though was my destination only eighty miles away. More often they were a hundred miles or more, which meant a lot of pedaling and a lot of water. Food was less of an issue as I would eat when I could. Getting in twenty or thirty miles before breakfast was the best way to tackle a long day of pedaling. Eating nothing but bananas and watermelon all day was fine with me. The thought of a great meal in the evening was all I needed to keep going on those really difficult days.

What made some days longer and more strenuous than others were long winding mountain passes, steady headwinds, and making wrong turns with nobody around to ask for directions. Nightfall ended some days with too many miles left to go and not enough light to see the road. Flashlights in the 80s used big batteries with short battery life, leaving no choice other than to find some bushes to hide behind and call it quits for the day. Lying on the ground, dirty and hungry, swatting mosquitos most of the night was not the destination I had been imagining the entire day.

Eighty to a hundred miles a day may not sound that long and strenuous, but mountain bikes are not that streamlined and the bags strapped to it were bulky and heavy. The camera bag alone weighed over twenty pounds and with two completely full panniers, I was hulling quite a heavy load.