Idaho---"Not exactly...Sparkling Muskatelle...one of the finest wines of Idaho...would you like to smell the bottle cap?"

I am guessing that most of you realize by now that I have been posting to this blog a day late...that is, what I am posting is actually yesterday's ride. I will be riding Washington on Monday and will be at Panera Bread on 164th at 7 a.m. if you want to say "hi" or better yet, come ride with me for awhile. I will be finishing the day at my parent's house and heading to the airport from there to catch my 5:30 flight to Anchorage.




Last night t'was another cold night...another good night's sleep. We had about 8 miles to drive to Lolo Pass where the first thing Karen had to do was change her flat tire. Lolo Pass is at 5233' and Kooskia, where we ended the day, is at 1263'. You get the idea...it was a lot of downhill...and very pretty downhill at that. I have been wanting to ride this stretch of road for a long, long time. Highway 12, and Lolo Pass have been mentioned in numerous Crazyguyonabike journals.




Karen and I scared up 5 young bucks within the first 5 miles, and we saw numerous deer throughout the day. We stopped for breakfast at Lowell and got into a short conversation with a couple who were out riding their Harley. Seems there have been black bear sightings along here. Great.
We saw suspension bridges across the Lochsa River, and sometimes a harness-like contraption that is held by a cable above the river to propel you across. I would have liked to have tried one of those.








Laura and I have perfected our motorcycle buddy wave. You know...you pass a motorcycle and nonchalantly stretch your left hand down and out to the side...and they do the same. Sometimes, the waves we got back were a little low on the excitement scale.




I ended the day with 100.1 miles, a stellar average of 16.0 and only 347' of elevation gain.
We drove through Lewiston and stopped at Clarkston for groceries and to do our final load of laundry. We're so efficient, it's scary. I say that humbly, but I am also convinced that few teams could have pulled off what we have done. There is so much teamwork involved...so many tasks have needed to be done...and they were, all without grumbling or complaining. I would not have wanted to do this trip without these women...they have been wonderful.












We drove into Oregon...to Milton-Freewater and up the Walla Walla river to Harris County Park. It was so far out in the boonies that we thought there might not be anyone there...and I had not made any reservations. Boy, were we wrong. The campground was nearly full. There had been a thunderstorm and one couple decided to pack up and go home...we got their spot. Serendipity. It's a nice park...but no showers. :( And whoever designed the bathroom (one for over 40 campsites) ought to have ice dropped in his pants...the toilet bowl was one of those stainless steel numbers...enough said.












maybe you can't...because you won't...