One of the things I love about cycling is that perseverance is almost always rewarded. Getting to the top of a big hill rewards you with fast ride down, and pushing to finish today's 75 mile ride makes tomorrow's easier. On a bike, I'm constantly being rewarded for trying my best.
I don't know why the cycling part of life operates differently than the rest of it, but I'm grateful.
Yesterday, the campground I planned on staying at was closed,
and there was kind of a fork in the road there.
One way would have taken me back to Eugene (and Amtrak). The other went on to the next town. Either way meant 30 more miles of riding on my shitty ankle.
It would've been prudent to head to Eugene in case my ankle got worse. Then, I could hop back on the train and go home and let it heal for a couple weeks and maybe try again next year.
But I went on to Junction City because I suspected that if I put forth my best effort (in yesterday's case, lowering the seat and pedalling on my heel to reduce the flexing of my ankle and taking aspirin to reduce swelling) that preserverance would be rewarded.
And it was! This morning the ankle was sore, but no longer painful.
So it's night now and I'm 70 miles further down the road in a wood cabin by a big river feeling very thankful.
I am reading this on Friday afternoon 4:15 p.m. at the library so there is a lag. Hard for a lesser mortal like myself to imagine pedalling seventy miles further on a gimpy achilles and questionable drive train but ... that's why you are you. I just hope you were able to find and feast on a really big steak in Junction City! For as good as the pictures are, I am enjoying the commentary even more.
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