We were up at 4 and out the door at 520 for the ride from Riggins to Council, 63 miles, and hoping to get it done by early afternoon before the heat kicks in. We had a glorious ride in the dawn hours in the deep, Little Salmon River canyon. The road ascends gradually over many miles, something like 2000 feet over 25 miles, and while that might normally feel totally doable in the cool morning hours, today V was not in her best place. We SHOULD have taken a rest day in Riggins but we didn’t as we want to get home, and this mornings ride turned out to be terrible for V. She was trying her very best but her body and mind were just not into it. I was feeling good and it didn’t help that I kept trying to be encouraging, talking about how pretty it was, or how many miles we’d already made without the sun coming over the ridge. It didn’t help when I suggested we stop somehow could eat or drink to get calories or hydration on board. Basically I needed to just shut up and ride. Eventually I did that. But I stayed behind her because I wanted to be with her and not leave her alone out there when she was not feeling at her best. There’s not much to say: it was beautiful, it was cool, and when we made it the 35 miles to New Meadows at 945 AM, V threw in the towel and said she needed to get a room and rest for the rest of the day. I was disappointed because I hoped we make it to Council at 62 miles, but I totally agreed with her. She needed to recharge. So we got a hot coffee (decaf for her so she can sleep this afternoon) and I checked out the two motels in town. We picked one that’s cute, clean, and basic for $81 including tax and we checked in. She got showered and immediately went to bed to relax, while I rode around the corner to go to the store to replenish our on-bike snacks and get some food for us to eat in the room (nothing special: beans, cheese, yogurt, morning coffee drinks for tomorrow, and at V’s request, Cheetos puffs and Hostess chocolate donuts probably for psychological benefit more than physical benefit). I came back and showered and washed our chamoises, which are now drying outside as I write this. I’ll chill today and finish my ride summaries, maybe take a little nap, let my saddle chafing heal a bit, and maybe even watch a movie. We have another short 48-mile day to Cambridge tomorrow because there isn’t much after that for a while so we basically need to stop there. We’ll get a motel tomorrow too, since we’ll need to sleep in the afternoon to rest for a VERY early departure the following day as we have to ride further, with more climbing, even as temperatures are going to be climbing to the 90’s. Later: yes, V did crash hard, sleeping from about 1-5 pm, and then we went to bed about 730-800 and woke at 3 AM with our alarm. She needed the restorative sleep badly, it seems! I never watched a movie because my semi-broken iPhone won’t turn the display into landscape mode since it fell off the bike going down a big hill in Yellowstone…so I just listened to music on my tiny, old iPod shuffle for a couple of hours and documented the rides here.