Day 16: Heavener, OK to Caddo Valley, AR
Strava Link: Petoji Day 16
In the beginning, I created the Petoji route under 3 basic conditions.
(1) The start point must be near the Bay Area. (2) The route must pass
through the Talimena Scenic Byway. (3) The mileage must be down near the
3,000 mark.
Day 16 was the coveted Talimena Scenic Byway day. I did some riding in this area of Oklahoma and Arkansas in the summer of 2014 and really enjoyed it. I decided to come back during Petoji and I'm glad I did. I could have avoided the mountains and used a less difficult route, but what fun is that?
It was nice to be climbing again. I hadn't done a long climb since Day 10. The climb forced me to ride hard again. Throughout Petoji I was so concerned with conserving energy that I didn't ride hard enough. It felt good to get the heart pumping and get a nice sweat going. Mix some endorphins with some beautiful scenery and you have the perfect recipe for a ride.
Day 16 was the coveted Talimena Scenic Byway day. I did some riding in this area of Oklahoma and Arkansas in the summer of 2014 and really enjoyed it. I decided to come back during Petoji and I'm glad I did. I could have avoided the mountains and used a less difficult route, but what fun is that?
It was nice to be climbing again. I hadn't done a long climb since Day 10. The climb forced me to ride hard again. Throughout Petoji I was so concerned with conserving energy that I didn't ride hard enough. It felt good to get the heart pumping and get a nice sweat going. Mix some endorphins with some beautiful scenery and you have the perfect recipe for a ride.
It couldn't have come at a better time. I had been fighting headwinds
for 5 days and I was in that strange zone where I was confident that I
could finish the ride, yet there was still more than a week to go and
looking that far ahead was counterproductive. On Day 16 I did a lot more
living in the moment. There's an interesting balance to strike as you
ride across the country. On one hand, you want to take it one day at a
time and just enjoy the ride. On the other hand, there is an end goal in
mind and there are times when it pays to look at the big picture. How
do you enjoy the moment yet still have a solid plan for the future?
Riding a bike in the mountains must be the answer.
