New Meadows, Friday, August 7

Well. we're stuck here for the day. There is a severe weather warning for thunder storms and lightning with an inch of rain and the temps are in the low 50s. Not riding weather for sure. Especially when you add in tandem tractor trailers on our route. So here we are. Fortunately, the place we're staying has a very nice coffee shop (even tho the rooms are below basic)so it's way better than stuck in our tent somewhere.
Not much more to add today.
I'm posting two pictures from yesterday's trek in the rain. Two to be fair, if I'm putting up Judith's, I ought to post mine. Pretty silly looking, but it worked somewhat. We actually have rain covers for our helmets that don't look quite as silly but couldn't dig them out quickly and used the covers to our handlebar bags instead. Certainly made us highly visible, right?

Thursday, August 06, McCall to New Meadows, ID, 15 miles

Wow, what a difference. Today was the living proof of the maxim about being careful what you ask for. We’ve been suffering in the heat and wished for cooler temps. Surprise! We spent most of today’s ride in a pouring rain at 50 degrees.
Anyway…we started out at the campgrounds in McCall. Stopped for breakfast at a huge touristic place where the service was so bad and the servings so sinfully huge that I will never mention them by name (ok, it was The Pancake House and Christmas Shop). The sky was dark and looming when we entered and it was raining hard by the time we finished. We waited around as long as we could and then suited up in our raingear and headed off. First couple miles were easy in spite of the rain and then we began climbing, ending up over a mile up in elevation. We then began a 3 mile downhill where we violated a basic principal of cycling – we walked down hill. Unreal. We had no shoulder at all, traffic was heavy with both RVs and logging trucks and it was pouring. Discretion being the better part of valor, we walked.
We have a very basic, cheap room where we can get dry and plan our next segments. New Meadows was shown in tourist materials back in McCall as having at least three different restaurants and an outdoor equipment store – everything here is closed up and out of business. We ended up with sandwiches from a grocery store that also had a full hunting gear shop and everything from moose heads to rattlesnake skins mounted on the walls. Pretty good sandwiches considering.
Not sure what tomorrow will hold. We need to do either a 35 or a 70 mile day (almost all downhill) but there are severe weather warnings out and even if we can ride in rain, we can't ride in lightning. We'll see what the night will bring.
Side note: we had another night of violent thunder and lightning, listening to the Forestry Service planes and helicopters across the street at the McCall airport as they are fighting many fires back near Cascade (which we passed thru 2 nights ago). I’ve been entertained and impressed by the storms, not really considering the fire damage. Even more so not considering the lightning as dangerous. We learned at breakfast that the night before lightning struck the airport and seriously injured 4 fire fighters working on a helicopter. Two are hospitalized in serious condition. And last night I was lying in our tent listening and watching as it was striking fairly close and saying “how cool”. How stupid is more like it.
Michael

Wednesdays, August 4 – Cascade to McCall, ID, 30 miles

Wednesdays, August 4 – Cascade to McCall, 30 miles
Last night was pretty exciting. We had a fierce thunder storm early in the night and then a pretty good rain during the early morning. I was really encouraged by how well our tent held up in very heavy winds. When I first got up I had the presence of mind to throw some of our things in a drier and we broke camp and left both early and in pretty good shape. One more time I want to complement the Arrowhead RV and Camping Grounds, Cascade, ID for a very tidy little operation and a nice value.
We are sort of like frogs jumping from lily pad to lily pad now, in that, as much as possible, I want to plan our days so the worst of our climbing comes early. That obviously won’t be possible thru out but it lays out pretty well for the next few days. It means we target a short day today, with a hard early climb and the same thing tomorrow, followed by a long day. We’re headed into an area called Long Valley, so I’m pretty optimistic about the day. So we started out early under very heavy threatening skies, got a good breakfast and put in some miles under cooler temps. About 5 miles in we hit our climb. ( Looking back towards Cascade at one point, we can clearly see a lot of smoke and we’re thinking that last night’s lightning has started a fire) Some parts of the climb were quite steep and we did some walking but then as promised the ride opened up into a large open valley that looked somewhat like the Champlain Valley at home. We rolled into our half way point at about 11:30 where once again there was heavy construction going on, one way traffic, etc and once again the road crew was really great in terms of giving us all the chance we needed to get ourselves through successfully. We saw many more osprey and lots of cattle, some of which was very curious about us and came to the fence lines to greet us and followed us along the road. I saw cattle with actual brands on their sides which I think is a first. A very pretty ride also. We reached McCall at around 1:00. McCall is a very big tourist destination so traffic was pretty nasty, but all in all it was a nice ride despite temps once again climbing to around 100. We looked around some and chose a campground and settled in. The campground is a real bargain and has pretty good wifi so I’m able to catch up on some of these postings and on some email. Campground is right across from the McCall airport and there are Forestry Service planes and helicopters coming and going constantly so apparently our early morning view of the smoke really is a fire of some size.
Got some dinner in an okay Mexican restaurant and settled in.
All in all it was a really great day. Tomorrow should be very similar but shorter still, taking us a little past New Meadows which should then set us up for a long day following. I hope I’m not being deluded but based on the climbing we’ve already been doing and the time we have to get some more hard riding in, I’m feeling more optimistic about us going over Lolo Pass. That’s a huge target and who knows how it will actually work out but it’s a week away so far now I’m a happy camper.
Separate note: I haven’t been able to get any update on Bob Daniels so I am concerned about that and hoping to hear something tomorrow.
Michael

The Ride 8/3, Boise to Cascade, ID, 67 miles

Today’s ride was great and inspiring in multiple ways. We took route 55 out of Boise and it was both amazingly scenic and very challenging. And we made it.
We were finally able to get an early start and were on the road by 7:15. We’re at the far western edge of mountain standard time so it wasn’t light much earlier than that. At that point it was still cool and we knew we had a climb coming early so it was especially important to get going. We had a great first 5 miles and then began a 7 mile climb that gained 1500 feet in elevation and took us up to 4270 ft. It was very hard but the fact that we started it early in our ride and that it was initially cool helped us finish. By the time we finished it was back up to 95 degrees, but getting some significant progress in some cooler temps was really rewarding. We then had a downhill of almost 6 miles into Horseshoe Bend.
This was really interesting as the entire downhill shoulder was littered with bungie cords. I was ripping along thinking that if I were closer to home I could have collected dozens of perfectly good bungie cords (for what who knows, but you know how that works) when it occurred to me that everyone of them had flown off a descending vehicle, probably at some sort of ballistic speed. After that I braced whenever I was over taken by anything. At some point in this stretch I added to the debris when my (newly purchased at REI in Eugene) tail light shook itself lose and left the program. I heard something but was in no position to stop and only figured it out later in the day.
Horseshoe Bend was kind of bleak. The convenience store we stopped at had heavily barred windows and a prominent sign out front offering to take WIC coupons. We got a 5% discount for paying with real cash. I hit the post office as we left town to ship my first culled stuff home and drop my pannier weight. The clerk was more interested in telling what I saved with their flat rate shipping program but also told me I was sending home almost 6 lbs, so that was a great thing. Leaving the PO, we ran in to an old farmer who was very curious as to where we were headed. He told us what a beautiful ride we were going to have and then headed over to his pickup. Before we had ridden off, he came back over handed Judith a beautiful fully ripened tomato he had just picked that morning. “Here, you might like this later today.” And we did at lunch time.
Our ride followed the Payette River north. The river gorge is very scenic and a big time attraction for white water rafting and kayaks. Which means, of course that it was a steady climb the entire distance.
More Americana – early on we passed a shop that made us think of our good friend Jan. A “sportsman’s shop and general mercantile”. They had prominent signs for Lugers, Glocks, survival foods, ammunition and Amish quilts (!). The special of the week was 1/3 off on Amish quilts with purchase of an on sale handgun. You can’t make this stuff up.
Back to the ride. Long, beautiful, steady hard work in temps that once again went up over 100. Yuck. But beautiful. At lunch time we enjoyed our tomato near a rafting company in the shade near the river and then headed back out. The day went on forever. With the temps so high even our drinking water was getting unbearable and just about then we passed a state campsite named “Cold Springs”. I saw it in time to stop and reload all our canisters and that helped. A short while later we found a state site where were able to get to the river and cool now for a while. Another godsend. At the site, we ran into a fellow about our age who had grown up locally and was bringing his family back to see things. He was full of useful info about the areas we’re headed into over the next few days.
Back on the road, more of the same: some of the most beautiful scenery you could imagine, steady heat and climbing that made it very hard to appreciate anything.
Finally as the day wore towards an end we reached a large construction project taking traffic down to one lane and using a guide truck to take groups thru. Tough for us. As we struggled thru this one of the guide trucks pulled over. The driver looked like a bedraggled Jesus, full beard, long hair, very lean. He suggested we load our bikes into the pickup and he would drive us through the mess. And, oh by the way, might as well take us to the top of the climb. We weren’t saying no. I rode in the back with the bikes and Judy talked with him as he jumped us ahead about 3 miles. Turned out he was a lay minister (holy roller, as he said) and felt obliged to help us out. He offered some good advice to us as to how to deal with Lolo Pass when we reach it and told us somehow greed is spoiling the high country of Idaho. Thank you, Reverend Hershel Coulter.
Another 6 miles took us into Arrowhead Campgrounds in Cascade (very tidy, great value) where we did the subs and collapse thing. Great day in many, many ways.
Two more notes:
Wildlife – we continued to see many osprey throughout the day and also saw an ermine as roadkill. I’ve never seen one in the wild, dead or alive so I’m counting it.
Totally different – we heard this morning that my good friend Bob Daniels may have suffered a stroke. Bob is a special person, who created Copperfield Chimney Supply (in his own image in many ways) and has been a key figure in the American TM movement for the last 25 years. I had the chance to work with him for several years and we became good friends. I’m sending good thoughts to him while we wait to hear more.
Michael

More catching up

A couple of things I didn’t mention in the last posts that I should have:
For our good friend John Neun and for Aaron, Dan and Jesse – I neglected to mention that OR is in contention for having the best beers in the country. When we were in Eugene, we ate at a Steelhead Brew Pub and their stuff was awesome. The only other I specifically remember is a Black Butte Porter, but I didn’t have a disappointing beer in the state. And we all know that beer is the perfect cycling restorative – quick carbs and rehydrating all in one.
Also, while still in Boise I was able to do the multiple minor bike repairs I needed to. That was a good thing. The pavement we’re dealing with has been very rough and the bikes are literally shaking themselves to pieces. It will take regular attention just to go over them and retighten everything needed every other day or so.
Michael

Catching up - the REAL story

What Michael has neglected to mention was that on each of these first three days of riding I would frequently stagger off my bike and throw myself down on the pavement to keep from falling off from exhaustion. I didn't care if I was off the shoulder of the road or not, I just needed to be off my bike. I have pine needle sap in my hair and I smell like road tar. I have (what I'm sure is permanent) bike chain marks all over my legs and bruises all over my body in varying shades from purple to yellow. And all this time I'm wondering, when does the fun part start???? Oh,well....this is a real test of perserverance and fortitude.

Battered but not broken, Judith Joy

Catching Up - Mon. August 3, Boise, Idaho

I went back and added a shot of Sahalie Falls which was near Belknap Hot Springs in OR. How much complaining can you do when you're seeing sights like this?

Boise? How'd we end up in Boise? Well...
Read below on the days since my last post. The heat has continued to be relentless and has deflated us substantially. We paid a real price for giving into our optimism and adrenaline on day one and riding the 61 miles straight up over the freshly laid blacktop. And have sagged since. When we finally reached Belknap Hot Springs (posts below) we decided that we needed to regroup if we are possibly going to be in Missoula by August 13th. So we back tracked, rented an SUV and drove us diagonally down across OR to Boise to leap frog forward and get a running start towards Missoula. Fall back to move forward kind of thing. So, we're in Boise and are all set for tomorrow when we are going to ride 70 miles north on route 55 to the town of Cascade. It's still 100 degrees but finally about to break. Tomorrow and another 2 to 3 good days after that will put us back on the official route to MT thru Lolo Pass. Which will be it's own story. Stay posted, I may not have a connection again for awhile but will update as soon as possible.
Neat story: last night driving over, there was a huge electrical storm and sections of rain all the way over. Heat lightning lighting up the entire sky, cloud to cloud lightning (which I've never seen) and your standard western sky to ground bolt that stands your arm hair on end. Awesome stuff, our own persoanl fireworks for hours.
Another neat side story: as we were camping at Belknap Springs on Sat morning trying to figure out our options, a big white van rolled into the campgrounds with a bike on top and multi-bike rack. As he turned in I noticed the Adventure Cycling logo on the door and it turned out to be a guided and supported transam group traveling west with 11 riders. What a coincidence? Interesting, very mixed group. All more our age, a couple even in their 70s (!). Also mixed response at this point, three days from their end. A couple have had the time of their life and a couple were much more than ready to be done. A lot of bike comparison and envy went on amongst us all and they told us many harrowing stories about traffic, trucks, RVs and dogs. Has us thinking twice about some parts of the mapped route. All were very encouraging about our challenges with the heat and recounted their own struggles to get started 76 days ago in VA. Some good advice from the official guides about some equipment we have with us that we might want to send home for weight lose. We were really glad to have run into them and we both feel better for it as we go forward.

Friday, July 31, Nimrod to Belknap
First mechanical failure – I notice mounting my front panniers this morning that two nuts have vibrated off the mounting. I’m able to steal a nut from elsewhere to get by but will have to fix this properly when I can. Today will be a short ride but will start to bring us to Santiam Pass thru the mountains so we’ll get our first real view of what’s to come. The first day’s ride and the relentless heat have taken its toll and I’m concerned about climbing through the passes ahead. We are making this trip to have an adventure and ride as much of the country as we can, but not to kill ourselves. Our plan all along was to ride ourselves into shape but this upcoming segment – the high desert of OR – may not be the best place to do so. After Belknap things get very sketchy for a long chunk in terms of support. So we’ll take a good look at what we’re headed into and then organize from there.
Fairly easy ride thru Finn Rock, Blue River and to McKenzie Bridge. We pass a solo rider headed west pulling a trailer and then another sole rider, a young man with serious blonde dreds who looks like he’s been on the road for quite a while. No stopping to talk but friendly greetings across the road. Steady pull up river, not steep but steady and it takes a toll. Another mechanical failure from the heavy vibrations on the pavement – one of Judy’s pedals has shaken itself apart. Of the four screws that hold the cage on the pedal core only one is left. I back track searching the road and get amazingly lucky, find one and borrowing one from her other pedal am able to get her back together. Something else to fix properly when I can. (Note to self – check over the bikes and retighten anything and everything.)
At McKenzie Bridge we stopped at a general store and ran into two young men headed west. They’re part of a loose group that includes the rider with the trailer we saw earlier and a girl who joined them shortly. They started out in VA. They were doing Sisters to Eugene today, about 80 miles including a pass but they are at the end of three months on the road and look like civil war re-enactors between beard growth and zero body fat. Youts. Great kids to talk to, they’re near the end of their journey. Both said the MT thru ID section was the most beautiful of the entire trip. We’ll see.
A sad sight in McKenzie Bridge is a hitchhiker who is very badly wasted, drunk before noon, out here in the middle of nowhere in the scorching sun. Dangerous situation but the folks in the general store have an eye on him, so we’ll hope for him from there.
The last segment after McKenzie Bridge is only five miles but once again it’s gotten close to 100 degree, the road is out in the full sun and we stop after about 3 miles at a ranger station and information center just for a break. Reached Belknap Springs campgrounds/resort after putting in 25 miles. Two pools here but both fed by the hot springs. Must be great in the winter but not so great right now. Tent sites are also pretty yucky, but that’s seems to be a regular problem with so much “camping” being RV oriented. The showers, etc are good though and they do have a snack bar where we’re able to get some good burgers. We’re both somewhat discouraged by the heat and the challenge of the ride at this point and thinking hard about some way to make things more bearable and the trip more doable. We’re going to take a rest day here and explore options tomorrow.

Thursday, 7/30, leaving Eugene, targeting Belknap Springs
We were too whipped to get the early start we had hoped for but it was very pleasant leaving Eugene. Bike paths for a good part of the way and then a beautiful ride along McKenzie View Drive to skirt around Springfield. We saw a deer and her two fawns and later an osprey nest (very close) with young. We stopped at a grocery store in Walterville to get something cold and eat some left over subs. We ran into a father and son from the Buffalo, NY area headed west. Both riding recumbents, Dad with a trailer. They have been on the road since sometime in April and ridden +5000 miles (!) most of it along the Adventure Cycle routes. They were both looking pretty road weary and were within about two weeks of finishing up but having an awesome time. Riding was quite pleasant again and very scenic, we’re following the McKenzie River. The McKenzie is clearly a big tourist site for the Eugene area with a little kayaking and a lot of rafting going on. Once again the temp began climbing rapidly and although we had no steep climbs we were pulling steadily uphill along the river. Traffic heavy but a pretty good shoulder everywhere. Once again, as the afternoon drew on, the heat took its toll and we regrouped. Called ahead and pushed off the arrangements at Belknap and found a cottage along the river somewhere near Nimrod. Stopped in Vida at a general store and loaded up with sandwiches and drinks. We had noticed the air getting very hazy or smoky and all the talk in the store was about a forest fire somewhere around Bend (80 miles away). The rest of the ride was beautiful, steady pull up river and we ended up riding 49 miles. The cottage turns out to be perfect with a small deck hanging out over the river and we sat and watched ducks, ospreys and fishermen. There is a big thing going on in this area of the river with wooden dories and aluminum facsimiles thereof. Pretty neat. Great evening.
Michael