When we were checking in at yesterday’s hotel, the breakfast
hostess was cleaning up from the morning meal.
She asked if we planned to leave early the next day, and when we told
her that we did, she said she could have breakfast ready at 5:30 , one-half hour earlier than
scheduled. Sure enough, at 5:30 we had fresh coffee, real eggs, sausages,
etc. Our hostess is from Hawaii
and provided a wonderful start to our day with her good cooking and warm
personality. We regretted not getting
her picture.
Shortly after leaving Orofino we got into the high desert
area of western Idaho and eastern
Washington/Oregon. It was very desolate. Back home trees are as common as
pennies. Here, there are no tress or
much brush; just baron nothing. However, getting to Pomeroy started with a fast
40 miles to Lewiston/Clarkston. We
averaged 14.7 mph. In Clarkston we
stopped at a Fed Ex store and sent some of our unneeded gear home. Next we stopped at a grocery store for lunch
and to stock up with snacks for the rest of our ride. While sitting in the shade eating our lunch,
a young boy (on a scooter) and his father (on a mountain bike) stopped to
talk. The boy stared at our bikes for a
few minutes then peppered us with questions.
One question was “what was the fastest that you have gone on your
bike.” Joe answered that he reached 50
mph going down hill on his tandem. The
boy was impressed! The father, perhaps
feeling inadequate, told his son that “he has gone 65 mph by catching the draft
off an 18 wheeler.” Since this is
something Joe could never do, he was quiet and just watched the boy look
admiringly at his father.
At Fed Ex, Joe left 14 pounds and Jeff 12 pounds. Having less gear was a good thing. Leaving Clarkston we had another easy 10 miles
before we hit the hill from hell. It was
a 10 mile climb of over 2,000 feet in the heat of the day. It took Joe 2.5 hours for his climb and Jeff
about 30 minutes more. Jeff could have kept up with Joe if he only got rid of 2
more pounds of gear. It was the hardest
climb on this trip and one of the hardest we have had over the years. After the climb, we had a “supposed” down
hill into town, but with the head winds, we had to work all the way. While we are tired from 75 miles of cycling,
hill climbing, and the heat, we looked forward to a shower and 2 beers. Cyclists know that after the beers and
shower, adversity becomes adventure.
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