An Epic Descent

To Pollock, Idaho -- 58.8 miles, 13.1 mph, 2625 ft

Today, sadly, was our last morning with Laurie. We will no longer have the benefit of her cheery disposition, plus hot water and coffee ready as we crawl out of the tents. We said our goodbyes, then soon turned our attention to the morning climb up highway 95. We had intended to take the old highway up to the top as shown on the bike map, but somehow missed the turn... and the only thing worse than missing a turn is backtracking.

Since the shoulder was reasonably wide, we all agreed to continue up the pass on the main highway. After only three miles of serious climbing, we came upon a sign warning of an eight mile 7% grade. Woo hoo! That is great news when you're heading down. As we veered off the main highway to take advantage of the non-existent traffic on Old Highway 95, we met up with two other riders, Bobby and Biff, also heading west along the TransAmerica trail. We've been on the TransAmerica route since Missoula and clearly, the it is far more popular than either the Northern Tier or Lewis and Clark route, as we've started to see quite a few other cyclists in the last few days.

Although we were worried about the dozen hairpin turns on the old highway, it turned out to be an epic nine-mile decent into the small town of White Bird. The road featured amazing views of the valley and wide open sweeping turns -- a fantastic twenty minute thrill ride.

Meg and Dex enjoying the ride

Our plans for a second breakfast were unfortunately dashed when we found Red’s, the only food option in town, closed till 11:00. Instead, we filled up on some snacks and headed off following the Salmon River the thirty miles to Riggens. On the plus side, by the time the group finally got there, we were more than ready for a proper meal. We stopped at the first joint advertising burgers, cold drinks, and ice cream.

Food at last, the Back Eddy Grill

Cooling off inside

When we made it to the Canyon Pines RV Campground, Bobby was already there. He was a great addition to our group. After dinner he performed a couple magic tricks for Dex and Kylie who were an enthusiastic and attentive audience. They, of course, were more than happy to show their card trick.

Comparing biking tans

Good guy, Bobby, from Richmond, VA

We’ve inexplicably found ourselves back in Mountain time after having switched to Pacific time just a couple days ago. We took advantage of the extra hour of daylight, by playing a few cut throat games of horse shoes. Perhaps we can compensate for our overdeveloped and overworked leg muscles with some upper body exercise.