Thursday 6-28: Day 4

Start: Odessa, WA

Woke up at 3:30 this morning to the sound of yipping coyotes, off in the distance. Just a bit alarming on so many levels.

I started the day with the tandem team; Greg and Trish, and the Mocha Express as we've started to call ourselves. We had to take a detour from the regular route due to road construction and this had to be the most scenic detour I have ever taken. It really should become part of the main course, lots of long rollers. The scenery changed from scrub brush to farmland, in someplace the fields are plowed and planted for as far as the eye can see, Which out here is quite some distance. After stopping for our usual coffee/mocha, we started the sprints. Iron Mike won one, Sean won three and I managed to get 1(Leading the line on a long down hill and just built up a big gap that Sean couldn't bridge) This was our fourth day of riding and my quads were starting to feel it. While they didn't hurt with "normal" pedaling, if I pushed it on those sprints, or climbing up a hill too fast, they seemed to be just on the verge of pulling or cramping, so I would back off, and then they would be fine.

Coming into Spokane was a bit tricky with some last minute route changes. There was a long steep descent into town and we were hoping it was the right way, cause the climb back would have been very difficult. We are staying at Gonzaga University. Alma Matter of Bing Crosby and John McGlocken. Dinner at the Student diner was good and plentiful, but UW-Whitewater had them beat at the MS150 rides. After dinner, went for a walk and them met up with some of the other riders for a beer or two. Tomorrow is a non-riding day, so will clean and lube bike, and will update the blog with the first few days

Schedule miles: 78.1
Actual miles: 85