Day 4 Report - Oak Harbour to Silverdale

Total Miles 55.7
Average speed 13.4mph
Total Ascent 897m

Hello again from the west coast of the United States. I'm making my way down Washington State and it feels like I'm making some progress. Although, today was a tough day - the toughest so far by a margin. Tough because I've been cycling for 4 days now with no training behind me and because this was mini Cornwall! Those of you who followed Gavin and I on our LEJOG blog last year or have maybe done it yourself will know what I mean.

900m ascent doesn't tell the full story. I lost count of the times it was a flip flop from granny gear to top gear and then back again into bottom gear.

Have you ever climbed a Munro (or any decent sized mountain)? Normally you're starting to get tired and your legs are aching ... oh look, there's what appears to be a summit ahead. Must be the munro peak ... WRONG! False summit - when you get there you realise there's still a long way to go. Imagine that sinking feeling 10 or 15 times in a day (or more)? Then you're on your way to understanding Cornwall.

So how do we deal with this? I have my approach as follows...

- lose your pride - engage granny gear and get into a steady, sustainable rhythm
- keep to your routine - it's easy to get distracted / lose track of time. Missing scheduled breaks means missing out of food, water and rests.
- Take breaks at the top of ascents rather than bottoms- much easier to get going again with a nice descent to follow
- Use the descents to recover - tempting as it is to blast downhill (and it's good to have fun too occasionally) there will be another climb just around that corner, better get used to the idea and use the descent to recover.
Finally - accept this will go on until the end of the day - any respite is then a bonus.

This might all sound a bit desperate. Believe it or not there was a 6 mile stretch that could've been classified as torture and it's called Paradise Bay Road!

Would you believe that after saying all of the above I really enjoyed today? Terrific views, sun shining and the open road.

Late start today, got my phone troubles sorted(ish) at the shack of radio and just made the 12 noon ferry sailing to Port Townsend. So it was nearly 1pm with only 15 miles on the clock. Scorcher again and entering much more rural areas. There's big stretches now between towns / motels / diners. So I need to be careful with the navigation (more on this later)

Thus far I've done the lion's share of cycling in the mornings and it's good mentally to have the back of it broken before lunch. Today was the other way round.

There were noticably lots more cyclists on the roads today as it's Saturday and it was good to have a quick chat with a few fellow bike/other travellers. Some of them took a note of this blog - hi again if you're reading this!

Navigation - I have 3 tools at my disposal for navigation

1. Cycle maps from the Adventure Cycling association of america (these can't be recommended highly enough)
2. Garmin Edge 800 GPS
3. Gut feel

I could've got all my routes saved onto the GPS but I couldn't be botherd with the hassle (Garmin does not work well with imac) and I don't really fancy a GPS beeping at me all day long anyway. So I use the map mostly and get myself comfy I'm on the right track or get myself back on the right track using the GPS. When to engage GPS is usually governed by gut feel. If it feels not quite right, it probably isn't - time to consult the GPS. I've made a few wrong turns but usually get back on track without losing more than a few miles.

The GPS is actually useful for many more things - when I'm coming close to my end-day destination it can lead me to the nearest motel. It also has restaurants, chemists, and loads loads more. Great gadget!

Last word of the day is not for the prudish, I'm afraid. Yesterday saw my first I.P. and today there were several more - this is a good thing!

What is an I.P. ? It stands for Illegal Pee! I'm not sure it's actually illegal but when you've got to go, you've got to go! Be rest assured that a suitable and secluded bush is used for cover. Why is it a good thing? Well, needing a pit stop between scheduled stops means I must be doing a good job of keeping hydrated.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to get an earlier start so I have more time left in the evening. Hopefully then I can get some photos on here. Until then ...