A lesson in nutrition

DAY 54
Oxbow, OR to Baker City, OR

An angry looking heat rash began to appear on Becky's lower thighs a few days ago. With the direct intense sun that part of our bodies has been experiencing the past week, it's no surprise. What to do? Online home remedies include: stay out of direct sun, stay indoors in an air conditioned room, and avoid physical activities. OK... There's no way of avoiding the sun in a barren, treeless place like this. To stop riding isn't an option, and remaining in an air conditioned room is a joke. Becky's solution is to channel her best Jennifer Lopez In-Living-Color Fly-Girl. What I mean is, she has begun to use both our Buffs to wrap around her thighs, essentially shading her legs from the knees up. Her Buff, which shields her right leg, is white with purple lettering repeating the word FUNK. My Buff, which shields her left leg, is a mess of crazy colors in a scene resembling the Starry Night painting only on acid. Wearing her new neon multi-colored tank top, along with these makeshift retro gangster shorts, it's a perfect ensemble straight out of an old school hip-hop video. Needless to say, she looks good... "That girl is poison... Poison, poison." - Bell Biv DeVoe

We're up by 4:15 and on the road by 5:30 in order to take advantage of the cool morning air and lack of unforgiving sun. What did our eagerness get us? A whole 30 minutes before the sun was on us. Still, it didn't have the same brutal heat as it would later in the afternoon. The morning would be spent climbing out of the Snake River Gorge and Hells Canyon, followed by an afternoon of following the Powder River up and over a Pass before dropping into Baker City.

Becky's new look

The day was definitely cooler than the previous two boiling mercury days. Also a breezy headwind dried our sweat before it had a chance to accumulate. The morning climb had gone fairly uneventful, while the afternoon slog seemed to have no end. Our only town stop had come too early in the day, leaving us 50 miles with no water or shade before Baker City. In a land with apparently no trees or clouds this creates a problem. We had packed extra water, but long before we reached our destination it was running low and unappetizingly warm. With the sun reaching it's apex high in the cloudless sky, no comfortable spot for a rest break presented itself. Therefore we had no other options than to continue on. 

The lack of sleep from the exhaustingly hot night before, the physical strain from the constant elevation gain of the day, and most importantly our inadequate amount of food intake had all but paralyzed us in the last 20 miles. It goes to show, you put nothing in, you get nothing out. Just short of two months into this trek, you'd think we would have known better. Nutrition is key to success in all physical activities regardless of ones desire or motivation. We haven't filled up the tank and we're paying for it.

With absolutely no energy, I struggle to continue pumping my legs. I could tell Becky was in the same boat. What were we to do, stop and eat a snack under the relentless scorching sun or continue on? Both seemed direr options. I guess we just continued on because at the time it seemed the easier of two painful choices. In retrospect, we should have simply stopped and eaten something, even if it meant a couple extra minutes in the sun. After all, we were baking in the sun as we continued on the bikes. Hunger and lack of energy have such a puzzling effect on the body. All the obvious physical characteristics are traumatizing enough, however, it's the mental aspect that really can be a nail in the coffin. Not that this was remotely a life or death situation, but I can completely agree with what the experts say about keeping a positive attitude. It can be a game changer and potentially save your life.

The only shade we could find

We rolled into a campsite in Baker City and each downed three ice cold sodas. After a meal of bagels, cream cheese, and salami, we napped under the shade of a tree for two blessed hours. A zero day is in order after that experience. A zero day and a pizza. A zero day, a pizza, and beer. I must be feeling better!

Keith trying to hide from the day

Two large pizzas should do the trick :)

Stats:
Miles: 69.49
Average speed: 9.8 mph
Max speed: 34 mph
Odometer: 3840 miles