Although we knew we had a very long day ahead of us, we decided we would all try to move faster in the morning and wake up at 5AM, instead of 4AM (which is when we wake up on really hot or long days). So the reason today was supposed to be such a difficult day is that aside from being long (111 miles), we would have to pass through Hell's Canyon. No need to go into incredibly specific detail, but at some point in the day we descend into the Canyon (although technically it's a gorge, not a canyon), and then we spend a long time in the second half of the day climbing back out. The most important detail being that although it would be gradual, we would be climbing over 9,000 feet.
I think everyone on the team was both somewhat dreading today, but at the same time looking forward to it. Because Hell's Canyon lies just on the Oregon side of the border (yes, finally Oregon!), it's kind of a 4K rite to complete it. For some complicated reasons, it was decided that Chelsea and I would be in the water van for the first half of the day, and then two other teammates would swap out after lunch so we could ride. The reason for the midday switch is that pretty much everyone wants to ride across states (so you can get state sign pictures in your 4K jerseys / chamois), and as our final state, Oregon is probably the most important of all. Although I was a bit disappointed about not being able to ride into
Oregon directly, I actually enjoy being in the water van, so I was looking forward to it.
Everything in the morning went very smoothly. The first water break went by with no problems of any kind. We wanted to setup the second water break at the Idaho Oregon border (so we could get a team picture at the sign). Unfortunately, as everyone was waiting for the team to assemble, the last team just wasn't pulling in at all. We saw two out of the four come down the mountain (not Hell's Canyon yet, but still a great downhill from what I saw in the van). However, we didn't see the last two teammates coming down, and when we saw the food van stop about a quarter mile up the mountain (no trees to block our view), we became slightly worried. We thought perhaps they might have a flat or something, but when Chelsea and I drove up to check to make sure everything was ok, we were immediately asked to pick up Caitlin (who is a nurse) from the bottom of the mountain.
Long story short, one of the teammates skidded off the road on a downhill and fell off of her bike. Fortunately, she is going to be okay and actually has already been discharged from the hospital. It was a bit touch and go for a bit, especially when we realized that the EMTs had called in a helicopter. Turned out that it was only because they wanted to take her to Boise, which is the nearest city with a level one trauma center. Unfortunately she broke her collarbone and it seems extremely unlikely that she will be able to rejoin us on the route. At best we're hoping we can see her in Portland. Thankfully the injury turned out to be less serious (still serious of course) than we all initially feared.
Every 4K team has its share of injuries, but after Jamie's passing and Joanna breaking her ankle, it was incredibly obvious how sensitive we as a team have become to any incident (which seems well warranted, of course).
After our teammate was airlifted out (again, by this point we knew that she was almost certainly okay, she was responsive and laughing here and there), we were fortunate enough to meet a group from the local power plant (via dam on the Snake River I believe) who offered to help shuttle our entire team to a nearby park, where would have water and shade and bathrooms. I'm not even entirely certain who these people were, but if you ever read this blog post, please know how grateful I am for your kindness (they even offered us homemade cookies, cookies!).
Once at the park, we decided that the majority of the team should stay together (the day was called and there would be no further riding), and that the van drivers would move as much of the luggage, gear, food, bikes, etc. to the host in Baker City, and then return for the rest of the bikes and all of the team. So began my drive through Hell's Canyon with Chelsea (my water van partner), Margrethe, and Ashley. In addition, Max and Walt came along (As ride director, Max wanted to go to meet our injured teammate in Boise, and Max needed Walt to rent a car since Max is under 25).
It's strange, after all the bike riding this summer, I can't help but feel like I see the terrain so differently, even when I'm in a car. You notice every ascent and descent no matter how gradual, you notice places you could stop and make a water break, etc. So as we went up and down the hills of Hell's Canyon, I was trying to picture what would be like to bike through there. On the one hand, it was incredibly beautiful, with the river constantly to our left. However, I couldn't help but worry about the road. There were a lot of hairpin turns and switchbacks. So many blind turns, around which a car might come flying at 45 mph would no thoughts of cyclists. Although we saw very few other cars, I still couldn't help but wonder if we were actually better off not riding on the road anyway. As I've said before, it's a major rite of passage for 4K to come through Hell's Canyon. But within the context of our team and everything that has happened to us in the past 60 days, I still felt very hesitant. If the road had somehow been closed off to traffic, I think the ride would have been amazing (a lot of climbing, but great descents as well). But obviously that's an absurd dream (except for the RAGBRAI...check it out on a google). It's days like these I wonder what it would be like to be in a bike race, where they actually do shut off all the roads to cars, aside from support vehicles.
Once we arrived in Baker City, we met up with a very kind man from St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Mike. I was worried that we would inconvenience the host way too much by arriving early with just our stuff, but Mike was incredible kind and even helped us unload our gear and bikes. After both vans were unloaded (a process that ALWAYS takes longer than I think it will), we made the drive back to the park where our teammates were waiting. Although it took us quite awhile to go back to them, it turned out to be quite alright since apparently they had all fallen asleep at the lake (surprise surprise). And actually once we arrived back at the host with the entire team, the reverend from the church, Aretha Boneracke, surprised us with a great dinner from Subway's. As always, thank you so much to our hosts for being so generous.
So while it was definitely disappointing to not be able to finish (or for me, ride at all) the day, I think the entire team was happy with the way everything was handled. It's too bad that we've had so many incidents that we're almost used to them, but I suppose there's not too much we can do but pull ourselves together and continue. We will be back on the bikes tomorrow and riding. It's really too bad see another teammate forced to discontinue riding, but hopefully we will see her in Portland.
Hell's Canyon... looks beautiful, but would have been extremely dangerous I think on a bike
Made it to the last state...
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