Day #2 Unstoppable Junkie Enters the USA

Článek je k dispozici i v češtině 🇨🇿.

I didn’t sleep very well as a cough kept me occupied. I don’t usually sleep through a first night of the race because my body isn’t able to rest properly anyway. And this was no exception as I couldn’t enter my beloved dream state.

I woke up just before the sunrise, or rather, my alarm clock did it for me. It was a warm and cosy night in the pit toiled and now I understand why accommodation is so famous on Tour Divide. It’s hard to resist the temptation of a concrete floor, four walls and a roof.

In the morning, I made another stop at a gas station. When I wasn’t racing, I had the luxury of wasting a little time. There were three major climbs between me and the USA border. But there will be one obstacle I wasn’t prepared for.

The morning was chilly, just above freezing, and I found myself wondering how the guy that passed me, could ride with fingerless gloves. I thought that soon, he would be fingerless too.

I was in the valley and even though there was a light, the sun was licking only the peaks of the mountains. It took a long time to lick my face and just by feeling of this I felt a little bit warmer.

After three hours, I got to the top of the first pass. I was at a higher altitude than anything I could find in my country. That is something I really can’t train for.

I put on my jacket and went for a long descent. On other races, I’m used to short descents when you’re moving fast. Not this mild stuff when you don’t even need to use your brakes. The road was chunky from time to time, and I was glad I was on the mountain bike.

I don’t even remember how the second pass was. It wasn’t anything serious. But the third pass … that was when the shit hit the fan…

⚔️ This is Madness!

The temperature dropped by 15°C and dark clouds conquered the sky. I saw how it was pouring on a nearby mountain peak and not long after, it hit me. I few drops have changed to an infinite supply of water.

I wanted to put on my rain jacket, but guess what? The zipper was broken. It kept opening in the bottom and when I was fighting with a slider I tore one of the teeth. I was able to close it somehow thinking I would need to buy a new jacket. Having a closable jacket is a big thing on Tour Divide.

I was just about to make another mistake. When it’s bad weather I usually put my jacket on and suffer through everything. It’s usually doable. I thought it was going to be the same. I hoped that the rain will stop soon. It didn’t.

So, after a while, I stopped and put my waterproof gloves on. Then I stopped to put my waterproof pants on. And then I stopped to put on the second layer of gloves. I was very unpleasantly cold. I had some emergency clothes, but I wanted to have them dry as long as possible.

Next time difficult weather conditions approach, I’ll go full gear right away. I won’t just assume I can push through. The lack of an internet signal was also a complication of the situation because I couldn’t check the weather.

And then there was another surprise. From the wide road, I had to turn onto a narrow singletrack with wet roots. I followed the river and suddenly there was a sharp climb. Oh. This must be that famous the Wall. I forgot about it.

🏂 Winter Hug

Fortunately, with enough will and muscles, it’s doable. One guy in front of me had fallen back to the trees and bushed, but he was OK. After a short fight, it was rideable again. And rideable meant I was faster and that meant I was colder. The rain wasn’t stopping.

As I climbed higher and higher on the Galton pass, the rain was changing into the snow. The road had turned white, and I saw tracks of racers that were ahead of me. I was exhausted and it was exactly that kind of weather, which you want to avoid when you’re sick. I’d been dealt a really bad hand in this game.

When I got to the top, the worst part was just about to come. A very steep descent that started on a slippery sloth. Falling there would be a terrible decision. In the middle section, I was able to fly through as the road was dryer, but faster speed meant a bigger cold. I should have put my overshoe, but it wasn’t my biggest problem. My core wasn’t that cold, but my hands were completely numb. It could have been an enjoyable descent, but I kept braking to check that my hands were still functioning.

It was a big lesson about the weather on Tour Divide. I’m not afraid of cold in freezing temperatures. I’m afraid of being just above freezing and encountering heavy rain.

👮🏿‍♂️ Can you let me in?

Crossing the border was very slow. There was a line of at least 10 cars, so I had a few episodes of cold shaking. No movement = no warm. As I have never visited the USA I wasn’t as welcomed as the others. They took a picture of me and my fingerprints. I feel uneasy about how my photo looks in a police database. The thing is that with a runny nose, I was constantly rubbing my nostrils and with all the cold it became bloody. And what did I look like? Like a junkie. I could be glad that they even let me in.

The road to Eureka is paved and I thought it would be a piece of cake. But this cake had a very windy taste as I battled for every meter.

Before entering the town, I went directly to the Gas/Subway/Shop/everything station. I ordered two sandwiches and I wanted to reassess my situation.

It wasn’t getting any better, maybe even a little worse. It was bad when I stopped or when I spoke. I tried to avoid both things. My situation wasn’t good, and I wasn’t alone as some other racer was getting pep-talk on the phone.

I could sleep in Eureka. I could do it. But I didn’t reach my daily quota to catch my flight. Weather conditions were unstable, but my chosen application has shown me that I could reach Whitefish without any rain. If I wait too long it might be worse.

A warning about snowstorms and cold ahead had already been issued. I was questioning if I could make it through. If the weather in Galton Pass didn’t deserve any warning and I was going for something much worse, I could be easily risking my life. I wanted to be as far in the south as I could be before this warning would be effective.

I dried a little in the Subway and I put down some waterproof clothes. The warm food gave me a bit of strength. I bought a pair of gloves in the shop to keep me warm. I decided to push on. It’s not always the best tactic but it’s my thing.

🚽 Game of Toilets

As I was riding in flats I was looking at the mountains and I saw a pouring rain. I was hoping I wouldn’t go there, and I was checking the direction on the compass. After an hour or two I passed by a sign where was a list of pit toilets in front of me. I couldn’t resist calling these luxury cabins and I planned to occupy one of them.

When I was at the first one It was too early. At the second one, I thought about it, but it was still too early and I wanted to get as far as I could. At the third one, some people were camping. That was a problem. I felt it was inappropriate to block the toilet when some people were around. I didn’t want to get back and I wasn’t in that bad condition that justified using the pit toilet.

I concluded I would push through. It was going to be very cold, so I put on my warmest clothes. The problem was that my zip was broken once again, and I couldn’t fix it. Finally, I used pliers to squish a zipper slider and it was working once again. Maybe I won’t need a new jacket.

I biked uphill for about 20 minutes, but the weather was getting worse. It started raining and I was hit by a few waves of hay. No way! I’m not doing this shit again and in the night! I turned back and decided I would sleep at the campground. I missed a few confused racers as I was flying downhill.

🔥 Lucky me

I got lucky. As I got to the campground, there was a big fire where I could warm up. Some backpackers were camping there, and they offered me a hand. They told me to warm up at the fire and they gave me a warm soup. I reluctantly said I wanted to sleep in a pit toilet, because there is warm, and they said yeah, sure. The lady even swiped a floor so I could have a cosy room. Great and kind people. They boosted my mood.

I went to the toilet for about 5 hours of sleep. I wanted to eat half of the sandwich but had to fight hard to put it inside me. It’s not an easy task to get over all these passes without a proper appetite.

There wasn’t a lock on the door, so I kept my rear light on to make sure no one would step on me. It was a good decision. In the middle of the night, some other racer was trying his luck and I only whispered: “Sorry.”