Bouldering with Joe was absolutely awesome! I'm not exactly sure what the name of the area is, but there were some pretty difficult problems on the gigantic granite boulders. I've only ever bouldered outdoors once before on sandstone out in Moab, UT over spring break. It's something I really enjoy and would like to do more often.Cycling for twenty straight days destroyed my upper body strength though. I fell embarrassingly flat on some traverses that I easily could have gotten three months ago. Also, I've recently acquired some light nerve damage in my index finger and thumb on my left hand so crimping was a lost cause.We bouldered for around three hours and then Joe drove me back to his place so I could pack my stuff and head out for Missoula, a short 40-ish mile ride. Of course, I almost left without my helmet. Had I not run my bike into his kid's car seat in the garage, my helmet would not have popped out from underneath it. So my klutziness actually came in handy for once.
Since I left his house around 2 PM, I knew I wouldn't arrive in Missoula until 6 or 7 with my lollygagging ways. So I decided to use warmshowers.com for the first time. For those who are unfamiliar, Warm Showers is an online community of touring cyclists who host each other when they're not on the road. I plan to host when I get back to Columbus, but, for now, I'm just starting to use it.
I picked the one option in Missoula who said he would be able to accommodate on extremely short notice (common courtesy is at least a day in advance notice). He's a great guy named Brent. He said it would be perfectly alright if I stayed, as long as I was okay with another couple who was staying too. I knew before he even said it that it was Matt and Jessie. I swear I can't escape them anywhere! Just kidding, I love seeing you guys :). |
| For Julia and Luis |
And then, the greatest thing in the world happened: I MET CYCLISTS MY OWN AGE! There's a group from the University of Illinois who's doing a van-supported tour from New York to San Francisco. They're raising money for cancer research and doing about the same number of miles that I am. They invited me to sleep in the church they're staying in tonight so I'm definitely going to take them up on the offer. I haven't met anybody else touring within five years of my age since I started so I'm excited to spend time with them, even if it's only a night.
ROUTE CHANGE*****ROUTE CHANGE*****ROUTE CHANGE*****ROUTE CHANGE*****
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| Original plan. I'm just going to describe the changes. |
Everything up until Vancouver and Seattle will be the same. But now, instead of taking the Pacific Trail route west of Seattle, I'm going to take the orange Sierra Cascades route through southern Washington and all of Oregon. I'm joining that route in Mt. Rainer National Park and taking it all the way to Crater Lake National Park. From there, I'm heading to the California border and rejoining the Pacific Trail. Matt and Jessie have maps for that trail so they were kind enough to let me photograph them so I wouldn't have to buy them. Yay for being a college student on a budget!
I'm off to have a final dinner now with Matt and Jessie since I'm headed north tomorrow and they're headed west. Afterward, I'm having a second dinner with the U of I kids and then headed to the church. Farewell!
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| I love Montana |
Hoooray for bouldering!!!
ReplyDeletewhats the matter with your finger and thumb? Did you get a cut or something? Be careful it can get infection?
ReplyDeleteNo, it's internal nerve damage from my entire upper body weight pushing down on my hands on the handlebars. I'm gonna put another layer of tape on them to make them more cushioned.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the gloves? Are they not providing enough support? Do you need another pair may be? We can send it along with other stuff.
ReplyDeleteKeep it up Shahmeer!
ReplyDeleteAndy Schleck did this once in a road race: resting the forearms on the part of the handlebar that is perpendicular to the stem. Keep your palms facing the ground and relax your hands.
ReplyDeleteIt makes steering difficult (so I suppose you should only do it if you have a long straightaway), but it really helps conserve energy (you have less air resistance in this position) and it saves your hands.
Hi Shahmeer, you don't know me but I heard about your blog through the grapevine at Southwest Airlines. I've enjoyed your account of your trip. As a fellow cyclist, I can tell you what you probably have with your hands is a basic case of ulnar neuropathy or "handlebar palsy" as its sometimes called in cycling circles. I suffered from this a few months back, and found some great stretches on youtube that helped clear it up when repeated several times a day. Ultimately, prolonged rest is what will make it go away, but the stretches will help you manage it for the rest of your ride.
ReplyDeleteBe careful of that Andy Schleck handle bar trick. Without the benefit of aerobars on your bike, its an extremely unstable way to ride on a bike - especially one that is loaded down like yours. And depending on the way you lean, it can still put pressure on the ulnar nerve that runs up your forearm. I have fallen before trying it, and its probably a move best left to the pros.
All the best on the rest of your trip!
oooooo! somebody is counting days (20) to return home!!
ReplyDeleteLove
A
Purdude, I tried to give the Andy Schleck method a try a couple of times yesterday on long straightaways. I couldn't maintain any semblance of control though so I had to give up. Thanks for the tip, though!
ReplyDeleteMiles, I'm at the library in Columbia Falls, MT looking up some stretches on Youtube. Thanks for giving a name to my condition. I'm definitely going to start some of these stretches.
Thanks to both of you for reading!
happy to see the adventures moment of young shahmeer keep it up.(your uncle saeed and aunty sultana).
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