TransRockies Day 6 - Purple Haze

We started just as the sun was rising this morning. The air is filled with haze from all of the fires raging in the area, which made the sun appear as a perfect crimson circle. I already feel a thousand miles away from everything I know, and the unearthly quality of the sunrise felt like a physical representation of that. The smokey air was less than ideal for the deep cough that I've developed over the past few dusty days, but it did offer some welcome protection from the sun.

We had three climbs totaling approximately 2300m of vertical over 116 kilometres. Most of the ascents were ridable - it's funny how an infected blister on your heel can help you find the strength to stay in the saddle and grunt out the rest of a steep hill, rather than getting off to hike.

Rather than offering an opportunity to recover, the descents were very physically demanding, with stretches of large rocks, some switchbacks, some overgrown atv track, some deep ruts and some water bars, to name a few of the challenges. To add insult to injury, I forgot my gloves at the third checkpoint, which made the last descent even more challenging.

It was a tough day. Cindy really pulled me through it. I'm so glad to have a partner and so lucky that mine turned out to be so awesome. This is the first day that I feel like I had to really dig deep. It isn't a pleasant feeling - but that's what I came here for. In a twisted way, I like it. Digging deep has a way of bringing you absolutely into the moment.