Today was a great day of climbing and changing scenery from 1 mile to the next. After a great group dinner last night and a quick breakfast at the Hampton Inn this morning, we kicked off at 7:15 on cool, crisp and sunny morning. We started the first series of rolling climbs and descents as we made our way out of Lewiston into the sun rising quickly in the east.
After about a 4 mile descent we started the first big climb of the day and refilled our water bottles at Mile 17. A good part of the day had us on a busy part of State Highway 95 and once again the trucks and cars provided at least a little bit of a tailwind effect. The scenery was widely varied today as we rode in wooded valleys, rolling wheat and hay fields and through 2 small towns. By late morning we started a never ending 16 mile climb of 2600 feet which took us to a SAG stop at Mile 34. Due to some construction along the road, we had to share the east bound lane while hemmed up against concrete barriers to our right which was a little hairy. Thankfully, most drivers gave us some leeway but I did get at least 1 flipped bird – for what? Riding a bike?
Anyway, it was a long day of climbing and most of it was done by lunch at a small park in Nezperce, ID which is part of an Indian reservation. It was in Nezperce that I finally got some lip balm. The sun has been beating down us for days and we’re getting a little weathers so hopefully this will help.
After lunch we had another 3 mile 500 foot climb and after a series of a few rollers and yet some additional small climbs, we started a fast 8-9 mile descent into Kamiah. We are staying at the fabulous Clearwater 12 Motel and the shower I took today after a 6 hour, 80 mile ride with 5,748n feet of climbing felt like I was in the Ritz Carlton. After a day like today, a bed and a bathroom is all I ever need.
Another quick profile of a fellow P2P’er is Lisa, a retired nurse educator from Ohio. This a bucket list trip for her as well and she is one of the strongest climbers in our riding group.
Tomorrow will be a big test for us all as we head into a rest day in Missoula in 2 days. We have 115 mile ride on tap with 6,400 feet of climbing as we head to Lolo, MT!
FYI – Web and Cell access may be very limited for the next 2 days – at least until we get to Missoula.