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4.15.2024

A Day in The Life

Happy tax day!? Did you do your taxes yet? I had to pay and I set mine up to pay on the 14th, as I am not paying any earlier than I absolutely have to! I hope that you got money back, or did not have to pay too much! 

I know I said I was not going to just talk about the bike trip. but Nicole's post about normal every day life the other day inspired me (plus Engie asked me for the nitty gritty about every hour of my day). I love hearing about other people's different days, so I thought I would do one for my current "routine." Each day is different, but on this day (April 7, 2024), I had wild camped near Lava Bed National Monument. I am going to do this day as a 24 hour period instead of the standard "awake" hours; you will see why in a minute. 

9:30 pm: After falling asleep while reading around 6:00 pm (oops), I wake up, thinking it is morning. Realizing it is not, I puff a few puffs of air into my sleeping pad (it seems to have a very small leak) and I go back to sleep. 

11:00 pm: Wake up, roll over. 

1:00 am: Wake up, roll over. Sometimes sleeping while camping is not fun.

3:00 am: Wake up, realize it's pretty cold out, put sleeping bag over head, roll over.

4:30 am: Wake up, hear snow hitting the tent, roll over.

5:00 am: Alarm goes off, hear snow hitting the tent still, decide to not get up yet, put on a podcast.

6:45 am: After listening to several podcasts, it is still snowing. Thermometer shows that it is 31 degrees inside the tent, so I can only assume it is in the mid 20s outside. After a period of hemming and hawing, I decide to get up and face the music.

Frozen tent

7:00 am: Mobilization tasks include (in this order generally): put on contact lenses, socks (in sleeping bag so they get warm), beanie, long sleeve shirt, hydration pack, buff (on neck), wired earphones (use to save battery, better if they are under jacket) and rain jacket. Take off sleeping shorts, put on hated diaper pants (bike shorts), and long pants. Deflate sleeping pillow (this is a new luxury for me), and sleeping pad and put in bag. Put sleep liner (adds about 10-15 degrees of warmth) in bag. Stuff sleeping bag in bag, filling all cracks. Lastly, put electronics, sleeping shorts and Kindle in the bag. 

7:15 am: Put on shoes. Exit tent. There is snow on the ground and on Bob. It is very cloudy and I am hoping that it does not snow all day. Pee in bushes, which involves removing two layers of pants, peeing, pulling up two layers of pants and tucking in two shirts. Brush teeth. Put on gloves, tighten wrist Velcro on jacket. The less wind getting in, the better. Eat a granola bar and skip coffee due to cold/snow and lack of extra water. Deconstruct and pack up tent. Strap bag with sleeping items on back rack. 

7:45 am: Start Garmin Inreach (this is a satellite tracker and SOS messenger), start Garmin Edge (this is a bike computer that tells me which way to go), start Coros watch (this logs my miles, elevation, heart beat etc.) Plug headphones into phone, start audiobook. Drink water. Leave camp, start pedaling. 

7:45 am - 8:30 am: Pedal, take photos, beat my hands on my handlebars and feet on the pedals because they are cold due to snow and 28 degree temps (according to the bike computer, this may not account for the cold, cold wind though). On this day I go through Lava Bed National Monument, who most of you have probably never heard of, as it is kind of in the middle of nowhere. It is full of lava and caves and is probably pretty cool to explore, but I do not do it this time, as it is very cold and I need to get a permit from the (closed) visitor center to be able to go into the caves. However, check out Skull Cave; isn't it cool? It may be worth coming back someday! 

Lava

8:30 am - 10:30 am: Pedal, take photos. Am kind of glad when there is a small (read: small!) hill as it gives me a chance to warm up a little. I go through the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, where I am sure there are normally a lot of birds, but today there is not much. It snows most of the time, but at least it is not rain! I am craving a coffee, and the road has been a bit straight and I need a break, but there is nothing! I have literally seen no services for the last ~ 80 miles. 

Still cold!

10:30 am: Finally, I get to the Oregon border and there is a liquor store/bar/market on the corner and I fling down the bike and go in! It reminds me of home; there is nobody inside but the bartender points me to the coffee machine and lets me sit in front of the fire. As I sit there, I hear the cook or someone in the back talking about his night last night and it is entertaining to say the least. I look at the map, book a room in Klamath Falls, and warm my toes. A few locals come in and sit at the bar and they start asking me where I am going, and upon learning that my next stop is KF, the proceed to give me advice on which route to take that is the most scenic (and flat, I hope!) I end up taking their advice, because why not!? 

My new favorite bar

11:00 am: I pay for my coffee and drag myself outside, where the sun has come out! It is probably still in the high 30s, but having the sun at my back is priceless. I can hear three guys in trucks admire my bike set up as I leave. I follow the route that the bar guy told me to take, and he was right! It is pretty and there are not many cars, and the ones that do come give me lots of space. 

Lower Klamath Lake Road

2:00 pm: I arrive at KF and after having a bit of a harrowing ride along the main drag in town (no bike lane, fast cars), I get to my motel and check in. They do not have a room on the first floor, or an elevator, so I drag Bob up the stairs. He probably weighs about 75 pounds without me on him. I get into my room and complete my normal room review. Does the room have: a coffee machine, a refrigerator, a microwave? In this case it has the last two, which means I can buy cold things from the grocery store! 

2:15 pm: Before leaving to get food, I do the following: remove bike shorts and wash, hang to dry (they are thick and need time), put on sleeping shorts, remove wet tent from bike and hang to dry, start charging my power bank, get my Chico bag. I walk to the grocery store and buy too much food. This is very common. I always have eyes bigger than both my stomach, and my bike bag capacity. I will figure out a way to make it work though. I do buy a salad and some frozen peas, which I will have to eat right away. The rest, even the cheese and brats, can be stored on the bike the first day, as the temps are supposed to be pretty cold the first day (25 - 45 degrees). My weakness is tortilla chips, AND they take up too much room, but I buy them anyway. I also buy ice cream, which I will eat for dinner later. :) However, to my credit, it all fits in the Chico bag! Not only that, but this food, along with a few other bars and things that I already have, need to last me for the next four days, until my next grocery store.

Grocery haul!

3:30 pm: I am back in the room. I remove all of my clothing and wash it in the sink, and hang it up in front of the heater, which I have put on full blast. Even without clothing on, I am sweating, but needs must! I need my clothes to be dry by tomorrow. I eat the salad and some peas, and repackage some of the food (rice, coffee) so that I don't have any boxes. 

Dinner #1

4:30 pm: Done eating. I swap my charging item. I only carry one square, so need to do one thing at a time unless there are USB ports in the motel. Luckily, this one has two of them, so I can charge three things at once! Yay. However, I have eleven items that need to be charged! Isn't that ridiculous? What ever happened to going out in the wild with a map and a compass and a hunk of jerky? Actually, several of these items will last a few days, or can be charged with the power bank, but I always fill them up when I do have power just in case. 

4:30 pm - 6:30 pm: I shower and put on the game show network. Who knew there were so many games that are just like Family Feud? Also, when did all of the hosts become so annoying? Also, clearly older people are watching this channel, as there are a lot of commercials for medications, some of which may give you pain or swelling in your perineum! Really? All you need for that is to ride a bike for several days in a row. I go through my route plan again for the next week, while eating ice cream. I note down where the water sources are, how far it is between towns, possible reroutes I may need or want to do. I check the weather for the next few days. It is supposed to get warmer, with highs in the 60s in a few days, but it is supposed to rain after that. I hope that the second part is wrong. 

6:30 pm - 8:30 pm: I do some administrative things (write a blog post, pay my property tax, make sure everything is running smoothly with the house etc.) since I have WiFi and probably will be camping in the wild for the next several days. I also download some new books from the library, and make sure they are usable offline, and back up my photos that I recently took. However, the WiFi is NOT fast, and it ends up taking over 12 hours to upload my recent photos to the cloud. Annoying, but at least I can get some things done. I have some nachos (tortilla chips with melted cheese - I love having a microwave!) for dessert. 

8:30 pm: Brush teeth, take out contacts, pee (in a toilet! Yay!). Get in bed to wind down. Send a few text updates to people since I may not be in service for a while. 

9:00 pm: Put on a podcast and fall asleep. 

Is your normal morning or evening routine the same every day? What is the most random national park or preserve that you have been to and loved? 

30 comments:

  1. Best DITL post ever! Bikie is only 30 pounds but he's still a handful to haul around. Yes, some people have to take medication to get perineal (sp?) swelling.

    You know it's a good day when you have nachos for dessert.

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    1. Bob is also about 30 pounds when he is naked, and let me tell you, it feels light in comparison! The first day I rode fully laden, I was braking on the downhills because the weight felt weird, but I have gotten used to it. However, going up stairs is not super fun! And yes, nachos for dessert, ice cream for dinner. I love being an adult.

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  2. I love how this post makes me feel as if I live Like A Queen because I can use an indoor toilet any damn time I want to.

    There are so many parts of my day that are routine, and that's what I love about it. I find the routine comforting.

    I do hope you escape the rain, but there has been so much around lately. We've been inundated with it in Ohio, and the lakes and rivers are muddy and swollen. Yards and fields are squishy, if not full of standing water. It's been an odd and slow spring, considering its early start.

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    1. Nance, I don't want to jinx myself but forecasts are looking good for the next few days....it is VERY windy though, and it is a headwind, so that is another challenge all together. However, anything is better than rain! I hope that you guys dry up a little soon, as it is time for spring to be here already! (also PS I don't take a toilet for granted, that's for sure)

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  3. Um...just wow. The snow and tent thing - Kyria I would lose my mind in an instant. You are made of much tougher stuff than me, my friend. I need a microwave without arm's reach at all times (basically year round) for my beloved Magic Bags.
    This was fascinating and I am just amazed I am cool enough to know someone much cooler than me THAT IS DOING SOMETHING LIKE THIS. I watch documentaries (with a warm Magic Bag at my feet) and read memoirs (with a warm Magic Bag at my feet) about things like this. But I know someone actually doing this. Mind blown <3

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    1. It is not as bad as it sounds, really! I liken it to running; if you just start by doing a mile at a time, you will be to a marathon before you know it. I just start slow and do one mile (or minute) at a time! I can't worry about what may happen and can only face it when it comes. Although I am sure it would be much better with magic bags, that's for darned sure!

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  4. This is so interesting and seems so scary to me!! I would never be brave enough to do this. Just think about how brave some rando in Wisconsin thinks you are when things are hard!

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    1. Excuse me! You are not some rando! But thank you! I think everyone has their own form of brave. For all my friends with kids, I think they are way braver than me. You have a pup, you moved to some random town in WI to support your hubs, you brave the negative temps in the winter, you posted on your blog EVERY DAY; I could go on and on.

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  5. This was so fascinating and fun to read! I really admire your adventurous spirit, courage, and endurance! I love love love Badlands National Park. So beautiful and strange.

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    1. I always wanted to go to Badlands! Did you know that the Dakotas are two of very few states that I have not yet been to? Now I need to do that!

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  6. This made me laugh out loud and wow did I need a laugh. I laughed at you having 11 things to charge! And then I laughed at the perineum comment. We used to watch wheel of fortune every night and the ads are definitely directed at the sr citizen population. And people with RA so I guess I fall into that category. But good lord, who are these people making drug suggestions to their doctor about a different med to take that they heard about on tv? But I digress…

    I am a total creature of habit so my mornings and evenings are typically carbon copies although my routine varies between week days and week ends.

    By the way - you sleep in shorts!! How!! I would freeze. I can’t even bare to wear shorts to bed when sleeping in a heated home with flannel sheets and a heavy comforter. Phil sleeps on boxer briefs year round and I wonder how he doesn’t freeze to death (ok I am being dramatic but it seems uncomfortable to wear so little to bed in the winter!!).

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    1. I am glad I could give you a giggle when you needed it! I can talk more about perineal swelling any time you need a laugh. Actually, all joking aside, I have not had any saddle issues! Knock on wood! I have heard such horror stories, so I was a bit worried, but so far, so good, thank goodness! You said "used to" watch Wheel...you mean you guys don't do that anymore? What has taken its place? Do you still have the apple? Are the boys getting too old for that routine now?

      My routine is normally very much the same, and these days aren't that far off, it just depends on where I am. So basically a camping night is usually about the same every time with slight variations. I also keep each item in a specific place so that at night I can grab the things I need easily, therefore keeping my routine and trying to be efficient even though I don't have my normal home.

      I sleep in shorts, and when I am at home, I do not use the heater. I stayed with K in OR and they put the heat at 68 at night! I was sweating so bad I had smelly pits! I told K's mom it had been a little hot, so she turned it down to 66! My house is probably generally about 48-52 degrees at night.

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    2. We still have an apple every night (I love that you know about this routine!) but now the boys want to watch this show on Netflix called ‘Grizzy’. I do not love it but they are so entertained by it. It’s about a bear and a bunch of lemmings and the lemmings are basically trying to make the bear’s life miserable. There is no dialogue. It’s kind of like a tame/modern Tom and Jerry situation.

      We keep our house around 63 at night. So it’s probably cooler than the average house but not as cold as yours!! I can see how you were warm with the heat set so high! We generally have the heat at 68 at the most during the day which is also cold compared to other homes I have been in locally. Phil likes to ‘experience’ the seasons so in the summer we set the temp pretty high… I think 78? But since I run cold I don’t mind it - except at night I will sometimes turn it down to say 75 because I don’t love sleeping in a hot room.

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  7. Wow, you are tough! Biking and camping, in the snow, by yourself! I loved this DITL, you made me chuckle. I hope you will do some more of these posts. My routines vary a bit because I work casual hours from home. I sohuld follow more of a routine but I am being slack.

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    1. When I am home, I have a pretty tight routine. It is not always at the same exact time, but each day pretty much is the same. I would say that now it is not that far off, but it does depend on the day and the time on the bike and whether I am in town or not. However, I still need the basics, food, sleep, shelter, and I still have to have hygiene and I like to read before bed etc. So those things are similar each day.

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  8. This might be the most fascinating DITL post I've ever read! It's cool to get a breakdown of your day like this, and I'd love for MORE DITL recaps during different parts of your journey. What a mind-blowing experience!

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    1. Done! Maybe I will try to do one each month and we can see if it changes or not. I like everyone's DITL! I find "mundane" things to be fascinating! I love seeing how other people live and what they do each day.

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  9. Woof, as I was reading this I kept thinking "better you than me" because I don't even like camping in a cabin unless it has a full bathroom and running water available. Your adventurous spirit is astounding to me! Go you! That's really remarkable. Here's a question: what do you write your blog on? Your phone? Also, what podcasts do you listen to?

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    1. You sound like my Mom! She is not high maintenance or anything, but she does NOT want to poop in the woods and also doesn't really want to sleep on the ground. My Dad is happy to do both, but probably appreciates "catering" to my Mom's wishes more and more as time goes by, as he also then gets a comfy experience.

      I brought my computer! I am going to do a gear list as I have had a few questions about that kind of thing. It is definitely a luxury and it weighs a lot and I do worry about bouncing, but I brought it anyway. The reason I ultimately decided to bring it is because I HATE typing with my thumbs on a phone. No bueno! I need a keyboard and feel so much more motivated and efficient with one.

      Podcasts! I lean more towards audiobooks now, so I only listen to a few podcasts, mostly about money, adventures and travel. My latest binge is All The Hacks, where he sometimes talks about travel hacks, but also hacks on how to retain your memories, or how to organize your life better, or how the health insurance system works, etc. Also my old standbys are: This American Life (OG), Planet Money, Freakonomics, The Moth.

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  10. this is fascinating, the most unusual day in life post I've read!!! Please share more!

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    1. I will do another one in a few weeks and we will see if it is any different!

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  11. I'm so glad you did this post, and that you are going to do more of them. SO interesting to those of us not on this journey with you, and will be fun for you to look back on someday.

    I hate sleeping on the ground. It's cold and hard and miserable. Glamping=Yes. Camping=No. I haven't been since my daughter was a girl scout, and she probably didn't camp for the last few years there either.

    I adore Ashland, I wonder if you went west to head there? I think I would need some restaurant or pub meals whenever they were available, but probably not the best for the budget for such a long, open ended trip.

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    1. I have never been to Ashland but have always heard good things! Our HS drama club used to go there so I guess I always thought of it as an artsy place? I did not get that far west this time, but I will add it to my list!

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  12. That was an awesome DITL post... hard to beat by most people's standards. You really are a tough cookie. What do you think about when you pedal on the lonely roads?

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    1. I would like to say that I think profound thoughts, but usually I think about food, or my audio book, or how hot or cold I am, or when I am going to eat next!

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  13. Lava tubes are really cool. Stopped there years ago on way back from Crater Lake. Used to visit Ashland quite a bit, but didn't realize our HS drama club went there.

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    1. I very well could be misremembering, but I swear I used to remember people talking about going up there for drama. I was never in drama though! I do want to go back and explore them when it's not so cold, but they are definitely in an out of the way location!

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    2. I was never in drama either, but I think you're right about Mrs Gallagher's class going up there. Good memory. Never been to Portland. Looks like a great town!

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  14. I agree with Birchie- best DITL post ever. You could do this every day, and we'd all be very happy. This post reminded me why I don't like camping, and I don't like to be cold. I like when you stopped for a coffee, and I liked your stay in the hotel. This is why my life isn't adventurous like yours- I would only want to stay in hotels, and that really wouldn't work for you. I suspect you like the camping as well.
    Please write more of these!!!

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    1. I do love the camping, but some days less than others, that's for sure! I am currently in the middle of a rainy period and that is WAY worse than cold or snow. I can only be wet for so many hours/days and then I have to surrender to the motel life again!

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