07/02/24 Entering Montana, it seemed people had a lot to add to the welcome sign. Another Yellowstone picture - no one crossed the street to say I couldn’t take a picture. And the house where we had a family reunion 3 years ago is still standing, and the green scum on the pond was minimal.
07/03/24 Stayed at another Traveler’s Rest at Darby, MT. The last one was in Pittsburgh. Today we rode into Missoula. While there is a bike path along the highway, Paul and I opted to take as many side roads as possible to avoid the traffic noise. We found some beautiful spots!
07/03/24 When we arrived in Missoula, they had a party for us at Adventure Cycling headquarters. We got our pictures taken, had a barbecue, and a tour of the facility. Paul and I are proud to be supporting such a fantastic organization.
07/03/24 If you go to the headquarters, you’ll find us archived forever in their memory box.
07/04/24 Took the day off to visit my cousin Chuck and his wife, Dawn, at their lovely home in the woods. We didn’t take any pictures, but the time Paul, Jon and I spent with them was special.
07/05/24 Today we travelled up and over Lolo Pass! Stayed at a forest service campground on the other side, where we listened to a very good lecture about bird sounds. We are following the Nez Perce Historical Trail. What a sad story that is. The whistling squirrels were very interested in my bike!
07/06/24 Today was a long ride downhill along the Lochsa River. It got a bit warm, and we had a little headwind. But it was a lovely glide all the same. We found a bridge to sit on for lunch and watched an expert negotiate the rapids below.
07/06/24 We stayed at the 3 Rivers Resort at the junction of the Lochsa and Selway rivers, where they formed the middle fork of the Clearwater River. We sat in the water to get cooler. Surprisingly, that night there was a reggae concert at the RV Park. In the Idaho panhandle. Go figure.
07/07/24 After going downhill yesterday, today we climbed to a high desert plateau. The road was named Lamb Grade, and it was easily the steepest grade on the entire ride. Plus it was hot - over 100 degrees by mid-afternoon. Some guys at a construction site took glee in telling us it got steeper….
07/07/24 We met Mark at the top, then rode on to Grangeville. Saw white tail deer in the wheat fields. Rhe was really affected by the heat before we reached the RV campsite for the night. At least there was a cool indoor lounge area available afterwards.
07/08/24 Today we went up and over a pass on a tiny road. At the White Bird Summit, you can buy a business that may or may not include goats.
07/08/24 Then it was a steep descent past a memorial to the White Bird Battlefield where the Nez Perce wiped out a contingent of soldiers, setting up the battle of the Big Hole. We have followed the historical trail of the Nez Perce since Wisdom, MT. It is a fascinating and tragic story.
07/08/24 Then we travelled along the Salmon River, stopping at one of the many lovely parks, boat launches, and campgrounds along the way. It was another scorcher.
07/08/24 We passed some very nice cabins with saunas attached, but those were not our accommodations. Instead, we stayed at an RV park with one shower, no running water available to us at the campsite, and a nasty smelly porta-john for everyone to enjoy. Of course, most of the men avoided it…
07/09/24 The next day we took the van 20 miles down the road to hopefully beat the heat. Even so, it was a long, hot day. We ended in Cambridge, ID, where we stayed in Water Tower Park. One toilet, no sink (who built that!?!?) and four huge stars shining from the top of the tower.
07/09/24 The pastor from a nearby church offered to let us sit inside the air conditioning until he left two hours later. But the church council wouldn’t let us sleep there. “I was a stranger and you welcomed me…. Truly…as you did it to the least of [my brothers], you did it to me.” Jesus
07/10/25 Finally we are out of Idaho and into Oregon, our 15th state (plus DC)! Today we cycled through Hell’s Canyon, where the high temps were predicted to be 114. Paul had a mechanical issue with his bicycle, which set us back about an hour behind the others. So we took a van ride at 107 degrees.
07/10/24 We stayed at a very sad RV Park with little shade. Paul surprised me by getting a motel room to help me to cool off. The heat seems to be bothering me a lot more than the others. I took a nap in the air conditioned room while Paul worked on his derailleur issues.
07/11/24 To beat the heat, we got up at 4:30, ate breakfast at 5 am, and tried to get out of the chute by 6:00. Some days it helped. Today the ride to Baker City was scenic but hot. 🥵 We were excited to see the actual ruts formed by the wagon wheels of settlers traveling West.
07/11/24 Trail ruts and our day in Baker City. The van took us to the Pioneer Museum way up a hill that no one wanted to climb by bicycle. Then we went for a beer in the middle of a Harley Davidson fair downtown. Two-wheeled vehicles Unite!
07/12/24 Rest Day in Baker City.
07/13/24 Three passes to ride over today! Up and out of camp by 7 am. No excuses. Except this heat wave continues….
07/13/24 We stayed at the fairgrounds in John Day, where there’s no place to get out of the heat. Rhe is just about done-in, though no one else seems to be as bothered by it. We spent about half an hour at the grocery store preparing for the next day’s meal and to cool off.
07/14/24 We rode through a fissure in some strange butte-like hills where some of the John Day Fossil Beds are locatedted. We have to come back here because there is so much to see and do, and we only passed through on our way to Mitchell. Brielle provided us with a water fill up.
07/14/24 Our accommodation in Mitchell was the Spoke”n Hostel. An amazing place set up for cyclists and other travelers willing to share space. Upstairs are huge bunkbeds with curtains for privacy. Downstairs are private rooms for the two married couples . The shower was in the gazebo out back.
07/15/24 This is a day we have all been waiting for. 93 miles and more than 4,000 feet of elevation gain. With the heat, Paul and I opt to take a van ride 18 miles up the road to make it 75 miles. We started seeing the mountains in Prineville. Passed a plethora of alpacas.
07/15/24 We were one of the first riding groups to make it to camp. Took advantage of the cooler air and napped a bit before dinner. There is a marvelous bench here. And it is so nice to be able to enjoy the water again, away from the livestock-fouled rivers we have been near recently.
07/15/24 Time to show you our sleeping system. We have a 4” double-bed pad that self-inflates (mostly-we do have to pump it a bit). We cover that with two fitted sheets (to keep them from slipping off), one regular sheet, and a red blanket. For a trip this long in this heat, it has been perfect.
07/16/24 From Sisters, we rode up and over the McKenzie River pass. Rhe woke up with a cold and wasn’t sure she would ride, but we both did it in grand style. It was a small, windy road that the van and trailer could not use. Light traffic, great scenery, and the best downhill ever made it perfect.
07/16/24 We spent the night at Belknap Hot Springs. Unfortunately, it was too hot to go into the pool. Instead, we went to the lodge and enjoyed the grounds.
07/17/24 On to Coburg! A long day of riding on a highway. Finally turned off on a smaller road, but the traffic remained. We were sitting on some rocks at a boat launch and a fire truck backed in to replenish its tanks. Also saw a helicopter towing a water bag. Looks like they have a wildfire.
07/17/24 Because we will have family members joining us later, we held our celebration of completing the ride this evening. We went to a fancy restaurant where our dollar limit was NOT $15 and enjoyed a lovely meal with people we have gotten to know well. Brielle created a “talking point” list.
07/17/24 We got in line to sign the trailer, an Adventure Cycling tradition.
07/18/24 Ride with GPS led us astray today! It directed us up a steep gravel road. Thankfully a gravel truck driver (apparently they were building roads up there, because there were big gravel trucks on the road) stopped and redirected everyone back to the main road, where the GPS corrected itself.
