Today was maybe one of the most important days of my life. At about 10:30 AM, outside Colville, WA, I had something of a spiritual experience. For just a moment, I had this sudden moment where I realized that I was going to be OK. It’s hard to describe, but the closest I can think of is the feeling when you’re watching a scary movie or a documentary and a friend walks in and tells you that the main character lives happily ever after. It’s like, “Oh, OK, I guess that’s OK then.” Douglas Adams tells an anecdote about an alien making the trek to find the meaning of life, and when he finally finds it, he just says “Oh, I think I’m OK with that,” and just dies. Not that I’m in a hurry to die. But it was one of those moments.
Riding-wise, today was a mountain to climb. Literally. The dominant story of today was the 4200 foot climb up to Sherman Pass. It was, predictably, exhausting.
