Day 50: Cambridge Idaho to Richland Oregon

Today we crossed into Oregon. It was crazy to think that this was our last Tuesday together. We should have known by now but the ACA groups are very early risers. Although we got up at 6:30 the ACA people were gone. I stopped at a gas station in town to use their bathroom and brush my teeth. There was a slight climb to get out of town. I had fun running over these giant black crickets until one jumped on my leg and caused me to almost crash. I avoided the crickets after that (I should have learned to leave them alone in Kansas). At the top it was a 12 mile descent to the Snake River. About halfway down there was a rest stop were I bought some ice cream. If I’ve learned anything from this trip it’s that ice cream can be eaten at anytime of the day. The rest of the descent was incredible and hands down one in the top 5 descents of the trail.

49: Riggins Idaho – Cambridge Idaho

I woke this morning with a mouthful of sand. Actually it wasn’t just in my mouth, I was covered in sand. My hair, my eyes, my sleeping bag, everything. It’s not just me either, everyone is covered in sand. Feeling gross I packed up and headed back to the route. Soon the map said to turn off the road but the road had a sign that said it was closed. There were some ACA members ahead and I decided to follow them. Looking closer at the map later the route regrouped with the road so I didn’t end up off route too much. Scenery was excellent as usual and despite being dirty and sandy I was in high spirits. However something was wrong. I was soon felt like I was peddling twice as hard for what the terrain looked like. I checked my elevation map and was confused to discover that the steepness wasn’t that much. Thinking I was just tired I pressed on but the slowness of my progress started to get frustrating. I soon found out why. Mark and Jolee came up behind me and informed me I had a flat tire. My luck had run out and it was the first one I got all summer. I decided against changing the tube and just pumped up the tire. (Actually Mark did since his tire pump was faster)

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Day 48: Sities to Riggins, camped by the Snake River

It was nice to sleep inside since the dew fell pretty heavily. Michelle was headed in the opposite direction so we got our hear back. It was nice to find out that one of Brent’s relatives or friends offered to carry our fear to the top of the next hill. Brent was familiar with the area and said the road to the next town was probably the steepest climb yet. He proved to be right. I think if I had my bags with me I would have walked part of the climb. It was very pretty though. I enjoyed the rolling hills filled with hay bales and what not. It reminded me of Kansas only a lot hillier. Near the top it flatten out and I ran into some of the ACA tour. Unlike the people I was talking to the days before, she didn’t seem all that happy how the tour was going. It was somewhat discouraging to talk to her as it seemed she hated everything I liked about bicycle touring. There were a few more rolling hills before arriving in Grangeville. I arrived slightly behind my group because I was talking with the ACA tour. Unfortunately I missed Brent’s relative/friend dropping off our stuff so I didn’t get to thank him. I made a mental note to send their family a thank you postcard. I still can’t believe how friendly they were, inviting us to stay and letting us play the corn-hole but not actually corn-hole game. I was pretty tired after that climb despite not having my gear. Everyone else was sitting around so I bought some food and hung around a bit. Ellen was nowhere to be found but I knew she had to be close to the ACA tour. Leaving Grangeville there was another climb but it looked a lot more gradual compared to Lamb’s Pass (that’s what the climb we just did was called). I headed out and soon noticed an increase in grade. It wasn’t so bad and I was able to stay in my middle ring for most of it. I lost cell service pretty quickly. It amazed me that the landscape was still Idaho.

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Day 47: Locus hot springs/Powell – Sities
Woke up at 6. I was glad I had another hour to sleep so I rolled over in my sleeping bag and suddenly my alarm went off. I was confused as I just checked my phone. I must have set the wrong alarm. I turned it off and saw that it was 7. Did I just fall asleep for another hour? I was the weirdest time jump that I had experienced. I couldn’t hear anyone else so I laid in my tent trying to hold on to the warmth. I could see on my rain fly it was heavy with dew. Or maybe it has rained. I called out if anyone was going to boil water. Mark said yes so I knew I had a bit of time to get ready. I grabbed my clothes and shoved them into my sleeping bag to warm them up. While they were cooking I gathered up my sleeping pad and random items to pack up. Getting out of my tent was difficult as the grass was soaked.

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Day 46: Missoula to Lolo hot springs/lotsa lodge 
I heard someone’s alarm go off at 6 but didn’t hear anyone get up. I fell back asleep until I woke up feeling hungry. Good thing there was continual breakfast. I wasn’t surprised to see Evan already there. We discussed the dynamic of the group while enjoying waffles, yogurt, biscuits and way too much hot chocolate on my part. We weren’t in a terrible rush as the adventure cycling headquarters didn’t open until 8. Last night we had debated on leaving our stuff in the motel room. We would have to bike past it again to get out of town. In the end it wasn’t worth it. The ACA takes your picture and puts it on the ‘wall of fame’ and I wanted my bike to have its gear. The headquarters was about 4 miles away. I really enjoyed biking through Missoula. It was a bike friendly city and we rode on a bike path all the up to the front door. Inside we signed the guestbook and got a tour of the building.

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Day 45: Sula hot springs to outside Missoula

It wasn’t as cold as it has been but still chilly. Everyone else wanted a hot breakfast so they fired up their stoves. I don’t like oatmeal so I headed down the road. We still had part of the descent from yesterday so the first few miles I didn’t have to peddle. However it felt like the temperature dropped 10 degrees making my ears burn. At the base of the descent there was a gas station and a small cafe. I was really craving eggs but the restaurant was pretty pricy so I skipped a hot breakfast and settled for a clif bar. It wasn’t that far to the next town, Darby. The road was rather narrow but there wasn’t a ton of traffic so I wasn’t concerned. I got to bike along the Bitterroot river all the way into town. I really like it when there’s something to look at. I usually listen to my iPhone but it’s more enjoyable to look around at the landscape. In Darby I bought a huckleberry flavored soda even though it was still early. Hamilton was only another 17 miles away. I bought some banana chips to snack on. Continue reading Day 45 →

Day 44: Dillion to Sula hot springs
Woke up at 6 thinking I had another hour to sleep. Unfortunately I really had to pee so I got up and immediately regretted it as it was cold. I was really getting sick of the morning weather. Coming back from the bathroom I saw everyone else was awake. So much for going back to sleep. I packed up my stuff and headed back to McDonald’s for breakfast. Even though it was cold outside it didn’t stop me from getting a large caramel frappe. We had a big day ahead of us so I wanted to get started. We were headed to Sula: 107 miles away. Three passes stood in our way. The first one didn’t look so bad on the map but the last two were going to be rough. I rode about 10 miles to the base of the first one. I called my mom to distract myself but had to hang up with two miles left. At the top I ran into the Chinese couple who gave me a high five for making it to the top. I smiled and said good luck and let’s go in Chinese. I’ve picked up a couple of words from them. So far my vocab includes yes, no, hello, shower, sleep, hard, good luck, downhill, bison, pretty scenery, thank you, let’s go, and food. 

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Day 43: Ennis to Dillion Montana
Mark and Jolee wanted to have a lay in so everyone else packed up and hit the road. The Chinese couple gets up ridiculously early so I wasn’t surprised to see them gone when I got up. I wasn’t looking forward to this climb as it was one of the steepest ones on the map. At the base of it Brent and Evan caught up to me. I was feeling discouraged but after fist bumping them and promising to see each other on the other side I attacked the climb with renewed vigor. It wasn’t long before I climbed to the top. The view was spectacular. The last hour or so hardly seemed relevant as I stared at the landscape before me. The descent was trilling. I tried to get a new speed record but it was too curvy to really fly. I ate up the miles until I hit Twin Bridges. I stopped at the park for a snack break and to refill my water. I met an older man who said his daughter was biking the continental divide. I was impressed as that route is really challenging. It’s almost all in complete backcountry. Continue reading Day 43 →