Week 7

Hi everybody! This is Molly here, reporting to you from Lewiston, Idaho. I think we've had our best week yet and we can't believe that we are getting ready to cross into Washington state on our next ride. Here's the low-down on our last few days:

Day 46: After an awesome day off in Missoula, we woke up and started off our next week of riding, with cloudy skies. The first 15 miles were pretty flat with gorgeous mountain views. We saw some buffalo (these were the first we've seen- when Lewis and Clark passed through, there were hundreds of thousands), and stopped briefly at Traveler's Rest. This was where Lewis, Clark, and their men camped for a few days to prepare for their ascent of the Bitteroot Mountains. The Missouri River had come to an end and much to their dismay, they discovered there was no all water route to the Pacific as they had hoped. Instead, they would have to pass these mountains overland on the horses they traded the Shoshone Indians for. They almost starved to death on the arduous journey and eventually resorted to eating a couple of their own colts to survive. Sacagawea carried her new born infant over the Bitteroot Mountains on her back the whole way- now that was one tough chick. Fortunately for Nick and I, there is a lovely road that now weaves up the mountain pass and along the Lochsa River on the other side. For us, this journey was MUCH more enjoyable! After our stop at Traveler's Rest, we continued our day with a gradual climb which was quite peaceful and beautiful. Rain sprinkled on us most of the way but wasn't very bothersome. Although by the time we reached Lolo Hot Springs, we were pretty wet. It was a nice surprise when upon our arrival (about 40 miles) the clouds parted and the sunshine dried us off quickly. We had a picnic lunch and then paid $7 to soak in the hot springs and then lay out in the glorious sun. After a couple hours of relaxing in the sun trying to even out our embarrassing biker's tan lines, we peddled another mile and a half to a National Forest campsite. The camp was very pretty- tucked back in the woods by a babbling brook. We read in the tent in the evening listening to the pitter-patter of the rain which came back again to say hello.

Lolo Mountain

Moose!

The pool at the hot springs- not bad!

Day 47: Today was the best day yet! We started the ride by biking 6 miles to the summit of Lolo Pass (5,235 feet) which still had snow on it! We stopped at an awesome visitor's center at the top and enjoyed some free coffee before coasting downhill into beautiful Idaho! And just let me tell you, Idaho is more than just potatoes! We hooted and hollered as we rode down into a mind-bogglingly beautiful, never-ending valley which follows the deep blue Lochsa River. The river was alive with wild rapids and, on each side, mountains of evergreen towered above. The air smelled like Christmas and we were so happy that it may as well have been! This ride was truly exhilarating. The cloudy, drizzling morning morphed into a crisp blue afternoon. We pulled over along the way to chat with a couple of 20-something east-bound bicycle tourists. They recommended that we stop at mile-marker 142 and hike back a mile to a hidden hot springs. They gave this hot springs a rave review, so we decided to check it out. We parked our bikes and hiked back to a true hippy paradise. There were 4 happily naked folks already enjoying what one of them described as "the most beautiful place on earth". I might not go that far, but the hot springs really was remarkable. It was blockaded in stone and was perched overlooking the beautiful creek below. We joined them in the steamy water (in our bathing suites) for about an hour before drying off and hiking back out. Feeling totally refreshed and invigorated, we biked another 14 miles to a beach alongside the river where we set up camp then cooked some pasta while we sat on a log and watched the sunset with contented smiles. I don't think today's 54 miles could have been any better. Lewis and Clark were probably killing and eating one of their own horses around the same place we were recounting the highlights of our day and drifting off to sleep. Sorry guys- but thanks for paving the way!

Brrrrr!

Nick is happy to be at the top!

Is this Heaven? No, Nick, it's Idaho.

Then again Nick, maybe it IS Heaven!

Happy.

I found this little prairie dog in our tent! He was very friendly!

Day 48: Woke up to rain. I guess we used up all of our good luck yesterday. We laid in the tent and read a little while trying to wait it out. Unfortunately, it just rained harder, so we packed up and biked 34 miles to Lowell, Idaho. It rained pretty much the whole way with the exception of about 30 minutes in the middle where we saw a glimpse of blue sky which was only false hope. We made a stop at a historic ranger station from the 1920's which was still in tact with furniture, telegraph, tools, kitchenware, and all. It is crazy to think of the rangers and their families living in this National Forest, so far from civilization before the road had even been built. Back then it was true wilderness. Once we made it to Lowell (which isn't really a town, but a stretch of road with a restaurant, gas station, and R.V. Resort) the rain finally subsided as we ate a late lunch of BBQ Pork and Chili Burgers. At the restaurant, we met another east-bound bicycle tourist couple who were riding from Portland, OR to the coast of Maine. Once we got to the campground, we met 6 more bicycle tourists! We met more in one day than we had met on our whole trip! It was fun to exchange battle stories, tips on routes, and check out everyone's gear. It's prime bicycling season now and our comrades are all out on the road. Neon spandex clad, we are warriors together! We made a nice fire with the help of our new friend Michael (he was bicycling from Eugene, OR to Boston, MA). We had a couple beers and enjoyed some good conversation and laughs. Despite the rain, today was another great day.

Wilderness in the rain.

One of the buildings at the old ranger station.

Day 49: Biked an easy 30 miles into a light headwind to Kamiah, Idaho. The day from start to finish was full of beautiful blue skies, rolling green hills (we exited the National Forest today), and butterflies everywhere! We had a picnic lunch by the river and silly Nick made pretzel and Nutella sandwiches- but I gotta give the man some credit- they were delicious! We camped in a city park, watched an adorable little-league game that was happening there, and had pizza for dinner. We are really enjoying these shorter days!

Yay for a sunny day!

Can you see all the butterflies?

The master chef at work.

Sunset at the city park.

Day 50: We woke up to cloudy skies but we were ready to tackle the 2,000 foot climb out of the valley. We got up the pass without a problem as it was long but pretty gradual. Surprisingly, it was after the big ascent when things got tough. There was much more traffic than we had anticipated (mostly logging trucks) and the foothills were steep and seemed never-ending. We stopped for lunch in a small town and as we pulled in, a downpour of rain followed us. We felt quite satisfied that for once, we didn't get stuck in the rain. The storm passed as we finished our peanutbutter sandwiches under the awning of the city hall. Our luck didn't last long as just a couple miles after hitting the road again, another rain storm caught up with us and this one brought strong headwinds and a cold stinging hail. Fun, fun! We pushed on, up more steep hills and finally reached our destination, Winchester, Idaho, after 45 miles. We were tired and cold and were lucky to get a room in this town of 300 as it had been overtaken by an Adventure Cycling bicycle tour group. We were greeted by a troupe of spandex wearing, white-haired, bicycle tourists who had arrived earlier in the day and were curious to hear about our ride as they were going in the opposite direction (Portland, OR all the way to Jacksonville, FL!) and wanted to hear what's to come. Even though they were doing a supported credit card tour (their belongings were hauled by a vehicle and they stay in hotels every night) I am still very impressed by these guys especially as most of them appeared to be in their 70's. I hope I'm still doing this type of thing when I'm 70! We finished our day with diner food at the town's only restaurant and 2 scoops of huckleberry and chocolate ice cream. A good end to a hard day!

Still happy- before the rain.

Escape from the rain- for now!

Winchester, ID. Home for a night.

Day 51: Woke up after a good night's sleep and got the morning started with coffee and free donuts (the ice cream shop was going to throw them out after closing last night and Nick sweet talked the nice lady into giving them to us instead). We already knew that today was going to be better than yesterday because it was going to be almost all downhill. After 6 miles of gradual rolling hills, we approached the longest and most dramatic downhill of the trip. It was 10 miles of hair-pin switchback turns with stunning views of the valley below. There was almost no traffic at all and wild flowers all around gave off the most amazing variety of sweet smells. We couldn't help but smile the whole way down. Nick commented on the way that this bike trip mimics "real life" with its good days and bad, uphills and down. Maybe they balance each other out and keep life interesting. Yesterday was an uphill struggle, today was a downhill joyride- we are certainly enjoying the very literal ride- and we all know you can't have the down without the up. Following our descent we had a picnic lunch at the Nez Perce national Historic Park, toured the visitors center, and watched a short film on the Native American tribal history in the area, before riding the rest of the way to Lewiston, Idaho. We treated ourselves to Indian food for dinner (Indian-Indian, not American-Indian) and a couple glasses of wine to celebrate being on the border of another state and tomorrow's day off!

The long and winding downhill.

The sides of the roads were carpeted in wildflowers- oh the smells!

Day 52: And that brings us to today's day off! We plan on taking a walk, tuning up our bikes, reading by the hotel pool, and resting up before we climb a huge uphill into Washington tomorrow. We've got about two more weeks until we (hopefully) arrive at our destination on the coast of Oregon and are looking forward to the changing scenery and finally meeting family and friends at the finish line to celebrate! We hope all is well with all of you and we will check in next week! Ciao!