We left Sandpoint campground at 7. First stop. Breakfast! An unusual treat to have a sit down start to the day. Stuffed my face with pancakes and a little bacon. Coffee and OJ was perfect. Bill had pie and other stuff. Pam had a veggie omelette. Surprise! We left after food and some quality phone charging time. Right out of the lot, up up and away we went. Maybe eating a big breakfast wasn't such a great idea when you gotta climb a lot. Ugh...
Yes today wasn't going to be flat. At all. Of course it had some flat sections but that didn't seem to be the norm. Not only that but man oh man did it feel hot! 90 degrees hot it was. A tailwind is ALWAYS GOOD. The problem that creates it there is no cooling effect. It just blows you along. What's a rider to do? Drink. As much as possible. Dump some on your back and head. Soak your shirt when possible. Remember lots of sunscreen too! I prefer 50 rating.
I wear one of those funny little cycling caps under my helmet. The brim keep the sun out of my eyes and is compatible with my helmet. Helmets are well vented so a cap keeps my noggin from getting fried. I don't have as much hair as I used to.
About an hour after lunch, we made a long nature break in the shade. The breeze felt awesome. I wear a thin long sleeved shirt to keep the sun off my arms. It gets kind of sweaty, which is good. The breeze had a real cooling effect. It totally envigorated me! Despite the hills and heat, my day went surprisingly well.
I had one little incident. I was riding close to a guardrail when I hit something and skidded into the rail. No bodily damage. My front pannier rack worked loose. My wheel was out of kilter a bit. I had to stop and figure these things out before I could proceed.
I didn't yell at my team. I was in back. They didn't see me as they went around a corner. Apparently they took a while before they figured something was wrong. I didn't hear Pam's phone call. They were nearly back when my smiling face appeared. All's good.
While the up and down continued, the scenery improved. Dramatically. We traveled along a wide slow river with impressive peaks in the background. Made suffering worth it. We stopped for pictures at one pullover. A nice man went to the back of his trailer and pulled out some fresh cherries and strawberries! Talk about lifting spirits.
We had turned on to a side road which was dirt. It lasted 5 or 6 miles. Hilly but very scenic. We kinda got cheated though. This road took us into Montana but there was no sign to capture the landmark. We also moved an hour closer. Time zone change. No signs. Oh well.
In a few more miles after the dirt road ended, we reached Two Rivers RV Park & Campground. Really sweet lady looked after us. Gave us shower and washing machine access codes. Wifi included unlike Ms Cranky Pants at Newport. This lady even provided towels!!
We cooked a fun dinner of tacos using lettuce for wraps. A pasta side dish added depth. Sandy brought desert from a wonderful bakery next to where we had lunch. I'm not so sure I would have been able to share that treat. Thanks Sandy.
It was a long hot hard day. We lost an hour to the time change. The ground is soft under our sleeping pads in the tent. Mosquitos are hungry but we work to deprive them..
Today- 60 miles
Tomorrow promises to be beautiful but more climbing is in store.
Thanks for reading.
Cheers!
Kim
Please remember that I'm tapping this out on my phone. Excuse any obvious errors as my proofing leaves something to be desired.
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