We successfully got over the first hurdle (the heat) by leaving our camp site early in the morning. We were up before dawn, packed up our stuff and ate a quick breakfast (sandwiches made with canned deviled ham and pineapple - not bad...really!) We were able to get on the road by 7:15, which is lightening speed for us.*
The climb out of the canyon proved to be as steep as advertised. We were in our lowest gear for virtually the entire 9 mile stretch from our camp site to the top of the unnamed pass between the canyon and the town of Cambridge. (Prior to this point on this part of our trip we had not needed to go into our lowest gear for extended period of time.**) But we were pleasantly surprised to find that we were able to ride the entire way without stalling out/being forced to push the tandem up the switchbacks. The road out was built along a side canyon that, due to the sun's low angle in the morning sky, remained almost entirely in the shade the entire time. That made a huge difference. We were thus relatively cool all the way out, despite working very hard for the 2+ hour duration of the climb.
As we were coming down off the top of the pass we met the couple on the 3-wheeled recumbent tandem going the other direction. They were from Canada but, like most of the cyclists going west, had started in Yorktown, Virginia (i.e., they were riding the TransAmerica route
across the U.S.) They were the only other people we've seen on a tandem, but told us there is a family of 3 behind them (mom, dad and a 10 year old boy) on a 3-person tandem. Since the family is also pulling a trailer we all agreed the family wins the contest for riding the biggest rig.
We ran into Devon again in Cambridge and she announced that she planned to stay there tonight rather than go on to Council like us (it was only 11 am at this point). It seems that she met a forest ranger who invited her to the town fair and rodeo tonight. We felt like surrogate parents warning her to watch out for herself, especially around cowboys, but she really didn't need our advice as she obviously knows how to handle herself.
We stopped to eat at the local cafe (I had not yet had my coffee this morning and was looking for my customary caffeine boost). By the time we got going again it was noon time. The 22-mile stretch from Cambridge to Council proved to be more challenging than we had expected. There were a number of short hills and the temperature had gone from warm to hot. We've learned to watch for even little bits of shade along the roadside and take advantage of them at breaks. In this manner we got to Council without a real problem, but were certainly tired, hot and ready to call it a day.
Tomorrow will be a rest day, when we'll do laundry, check out the town and enjoy the air conditioner in our motel room.
*However, we could not get ourselves moving faster than Devon, who camped with us at the same site along Brownlee Reservoir on the Snake River. She beat us out of camp by a good 30 minutes.
**Those of you who don't ride bicycles may wonder why we wouldn't ALWAYS ride uphill in our lowest gear. It's a good question. The answer is that as you lower the gearing, you obviously spin the cranks faster which makes pedaling easier. But it also makes steering harder because there is less resistance on the pedals, and part of what keeps the bike balanced is adequate pedaling pressure. This is particularly true when the bike is loaded down with stuff.*** When there isn't much traffic you can take up more of the roadway weaving from side to side in an effort to stay upright. But when traffic forces you to stay on the edge of the pavement or the shoulder you have to sacrifice pedaling ease in favor of better steering control. It's a balancing act - like most things, they are more complicated than you might think upon closer examination.
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