River Valleys and Mountain Tops

In the late evening after finding out that my headlamp was missing, I wandered around the city chasing wifi and adventure. When I was on the stoop I. Front of the ACA, once again abusing their free wifi, four cyclists showed up. Only one of which was one a bike, but they were good people regaurdless.

I found my way to the rhinoceros with this group and had a couple beers, where I met some of their friends. I spoke with them for a while before they invited me back to their couch for the evening. In the morning, Evan and Racheal directed me toward a bakery by the name of Le Petit.

Le Petit produced some delicious goods. I had a tiny brioche, one of my favorite products, as it is the missing link between pastry and bread. My Vanilla Creme Scone and my brioche were spinkled with coarse sugar. They were both products of many years of artisan baking and enticing to my pallette.

When I got on the road, the air was hot and the sun bright. I rode to Lolo Hot Springs before catching a long break, and enjoyed a Pattie Melt. I love fried onions and believe they should accompany every burger.

At some point, my tire got a puncture from one of the many sharp rocks in Idaho. If I have to start avoiding all rocks, I might never make it to Oregon. I stuck out my thumb and got a ride back to Missoula as it contained the closest bike shop. Never would I have dreamed that I’d be in Missoula another night. I was already getting ansy after 3 nights.

I visited Missoula Bicycle Works to fix my puncture. They were very helpful, and provided me with another 29er tube to replace the last one I had precariously installed onto my 36 inch wheel. By that time, leaving Missoula seemed risky. One of the bike shop employees, Ryan Payne(appropriatly named, being a tri-athalete), offered me his futon. This is great because, I sleep on a futon back home and was assured a pleasant unconcious evening.

After the bike shop had closed, me and Ryan arranged to meet back at his studio in an hour. During that interim, I wandered over to Zoo Town Brew. I forgot to ask about the name. The mocha I ordered came out adorned with microfoam and a espresso/chocolate swirl. I complement my Barista.

I met back up with Ryan at his apartment. I had a chance to shower, and wear clean clothes. Ryan prepared a salad and pizza. I ate slowly as my lower left gums were inflamed for who knows why. He was practicing his cocktails for an upcoming dinner party, so that evening I sipped on a Mint Julep made the southern way and a Manhattan.

Ryan pulled his bed out of the wall and layed the futon flat. We retired on our individual sleeping modes, and in the morning I was woken by him making coffee. He gave me a ride out to the area where I got my flat, and I rode on.

The ride off Lolo was spectactular. Aromatic Cedars were everywhere, and the air was cool. I rode down to white sands campground, thinking food was available, but I only found some pretty ponds and a steep gravel hill to climb back up.

I did get a real breakfast at Locsha Lodge, just down the road. I ordered two pancakes, which exited the kitchen the same size as the plate they were on. Delicious and hardy with a strong taste of the eggs that made them so thick.

I passed many pack bridges along the ride through the valley. Following the river, the windy road was lined with colorful rockfaces, conifers and wildflowers.

I stopped to take a break at the nine mile river pull off. I let my bike shorts dry off whilst I went for a swim in the Locsha.

I stopped in Lowell with the intention of moving on that evening. I ended up talking to a couple in the dinner there for a while, and their friends showed up whom own a Bed and Breakfast in Kooskia[koose - kie]. They gave me a ride back to their place and I stayed on the second floor of their B&B. I had a shower, internet and very friendly company. Any other touring cyclist coming through the area should definitely check them out.

Welcome Home B&B
421 Pine St
Kooskia, ID 83539
(208) 926-4683

In the morning they fed me a hard breakfast with fruit, bacon, eggs and blueberry banana muffins. I left the B&B and got lost at first, I headed towards town and sat on a stoop in front of a gas station. I talked up some locals and got a hitch back to Lowell. I continued riding, witnessing the basalt covered buttes in every direction. By the time I rode through Kooskia and Stites again, It was hot out. I stopped and got a drink from the grocery in Stites, then continued on.

I climbed up the grade into Grangeville. It was a long slow climb into Grangeville, where I found the Pizza Factory to stop for lunch in. My climb wasn’t finished in Grangeville. I climbed another 1000 feet or so up 95, called White Bird Hill by the locals, and descended on Old 95. This was a beautiful ride down, with only one car the entire 12 miles. I’m not surprised as the maintainence was non existant. Though the cracks seemed to have been recently tarred and sanded. I’ve got these little black spots on me that I don’t suspect will be disappearing any time soon.

In White Bird at the base of the hill, I took another breather in the Sport Shop, the local general store. I’m happy I did, as the other grocer on my map was no longer existant. I moved on to a rest stop/recreation area a few miles down the road. I decided to stop there for the day as there was a beach and a rest room. I slept on the beach because the breeze off the river kept the little green insects off of me. I still have no idea what those little buggers are called. Neither do any of the locals.

The last section has been mighty stressful. I’ve been getting a lot of sun and the saddle sores appear way quicker than they disappear. Probably because hygiene can be hard on the road. I’ve taken to the habit of using an antiseptic every evening, but my gear, including my clothing is still ridden with bacteria. All this is trumped by my thoughts during the day about my relationships back home.

In the morning I continued my ride next to the Salmon river all the way to Riggins, a town solely dedicated to its rafting companies. I stopped at a couple coffee shops, one as part of a rafting outfitter. No suprise there. And another owned by a guy who roasts his own beans. I sat in the second for a while and watched the nat-geo special on a very large prehistoric fish in the amazon that can breath the air.

Before ascending what appeared to be a right angle on my elevation profile to New Meadows, I stopped at the Riverside Cafe for buscuits and gravy. This meal got me all the way to New meadows, and wasn’t that bad price-wise either.

I hung out in a coffee shop for an extended period of time in New Meadows. They had just opened three months ago, but had everything down, like they had been there for years. I got a cheap dinner and tomorrow morning’s breakfast at the grocery down the street before heading on.

At first I camped on the side of the Weiser River Trail, but a large animal was purusing my site, so I moved on, in the dark to the campground down the road. In the morning I woke up and rode downhill into Council, ID. That’ll be the second city named ‘Council’ on my adventure. The last one was on the VA/KY border. That was such a long time ago.

I just found out that I have a flight back to Baltimore on the morning of the 21st from Portland. The journey is definitely coming to a close but is not over yet. I’ll be entering Oregon later tonight and still get to ride through the arid side of OR before I get to the fun part.

If you have enjoyed reading my blog during my ride across the country, please consider donating to my savings so that I may create another blog during my hike from Canada to Mexico in 2011.