Day 8: Priest River - Troy
Distance: 87.5 miles (including a massive detour)
Woke up to another amazing fruit smoothie and breakfast, showered and packed up the bikes.
We met Cindi's Dad, an ex school teacher, and had a chat about schools and the education system in the States before we said our goodbyes to Rick and Cindi and thanked them for all their help. They really have gone out of their way to put us up and help us in any way they could. It was not only a godsend that Rick found us on the side of the road but it has been a pleasure to stay with them.
Before we left, Rick and Cindi made sure we were stocked up on food including our first peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and mac and cheese - American delicacies we had never experienced before. They also very kindly let Dave have a backpack to carry his gear from the front panniers until we can find a shop that sells front pannier racks - potentially Whitefish, three days ride from Priest River.
In Sandpoint we stopped for our PBJs - superb - and went into the bank to get out some more dollars.
While Dave was inside, Dean Karnazes look-a-like, Laith, came over to say hi. An avid cyclist himself, he had cycled around the States for 7 months when he was in his early 20s and offered to take us for a beer, invited us to a house party at his friend's after a local festival in Sandpoint and even had a set of front panniers he offered to fetch for Dave that he hadn't used for some time.
Instead, having had a rest day the day before, we chose to cycle in the wrong direction for half an hour and ended up having to reroute to make it back onto the correct route up several big hills! Dave will still need to find and purchase a set of front panniers and after all, who needs free beers, free equipment and to be the British guys cycling across America at an American house party.. In hindsight, a terrible decision but good dedication to the cause.
We got in late to the campsite and it started raining as we put up the tents. Ate macaroni and cheese in the dark and went to bed. We had to laugh at the situation or I think we'd have cried.
Day 7: Chewalah - Priest River
Distance: 50.6 miles (shortcut over the Flowery Trail and Dave's accident)
Packed up camp and set off up Flowery Trail Road from Chewalah to Usk - interested and slightly hesitant as to where this shortcut would take us. It had been recommended by Bob and Herb, two cyclists we met a few days ago, and a number of people in Colville.
On the one hand, as far as distance was concerned, the detour saved us a few miles and it was great to get another Pass in before heading on to flatter pastures on the way through Idaho and Western Montana. However, the gradient was horrendous, much steeper than anything we had experienced so far. Not great after the 4 days of hard climbs we had just endured. (Think the Pass is more gradual coming from East to West). We plodded on and eventually made it to the top.
From the summit we shot down into Usk, had a celebratory ice cream, and shot off towards Newport.
Final destination for the day was Sandpoint but on the way Dave was caught off-guard by a bump in the road in Priest River which jarred his front pannier rack into his spokes causing it to wrap around the front wheel axle. He managed to keep control of the bike but came to an abrupt stop on the other side of the road.
We got off the road and had a look at the damage. It was too bad to cycle on or fix on the spot - the pannier rack had completely bent out of shape and all of the spokes on one side were damaged.
The nearest bike shop was in Sandpoint, 25 miles away, so we tried to hail passing pick-ups for about half an hour to get a lift to Sandpoint. No luck, most of them stopped but weren't going to Sandpoint.
In a moment of desperation Dave jumped up and started waving down an oncoming pick up. Luckily the driver, Rick, was happy to help us out and offered to take us in for the night and accompany us to Sandpoint the following morning to try and get the bikes fixed.
We pulled up to an amazing wooden house on the river where Rick introduced us to his wife Cindi and their dog Oliver. Cindi got us some dinner and we had a few beers and a good chat in the garden before having a well needed shower and a good nights sleep.
Day 5: Riverside - Republic
Distance: 60.4 miles (up Wauconda Pass)
Woke up reasonably early and set about packing up camp, cooking breakfast and giving the bikes a well needed clean and general check-up. Met Linda and Jim at the campsite and had a chat about our respective travels and their love of football (soccer as they call it over here). They kindly let us borrow an adjustable spanner to make some adjustments to the bikes.
Made up the distance from Riverside to Tonasket and continued on up Wauconda Pass for most of the day. At our stop off point for lunch in Tonasket we bumped into Bob and Herb, two cyclists making the Transamerica journey from East to West. They had started in Connecticut and joined the Northern Tier through to Washington.
The passes on Route 20 in the Cascades are closed early in the year due to snow which makes crossing from East to West along the Northern Tier hard for those wishing to do so earlier in the year.
Bob is raising money and awareness for Ostomy Awareness - for more information on the condition, Bob's progress and how to donate please visit www.ostomy.org.
The climb up to Wauconda Pass was variable with intermittent steep and gradual uphill gradients. At the time it seemed never-ending.
When we eventually made it to Wauconda we had a nice surprise at Wauconda Cafe and store. Bob and Herb had told us about its perfect position just before the summit - a welcome break on the long and arduous trek up from Tonasket. Owners Neil and Maddie were friendly and helpful, catering especially for cyclists with their menu and food products. Well worth a visit.
We made it to the summit in good time and shot straight down into Republic and our campsite for the night. Ferry Port Fairground, good facilities and a steal at $10 a night.
Sherman Pass, the last of the four passes we encounter in the Cascades, lies in store for tomorrow.
Day 4: Twisp - Riverside
Distance: 46.0 miles (over Loup Loup Pass)
We were rudely awakened early this morning by a tick ticking sound and the intermittent spraying of water on our tents, a rather unusual alarm clock.
In the midst of the confusion we discovered that, whilst setting up in the pitch black, we'd had a bit of a nightmare and erected our tents beside the park sprinkler system. There wasn't much we could do so we tried to get back to sleep and eventually the sprinklers shut off.
In the morning we headed into Twisp to do some Laundry and have a spot of breakfast at one of the local cafés before setting off up Loup Loup pass. It was a good climb but a lot hotter, more consistent gradient-wise and shorter than Washington.
After a hot climb we were met by a treat at the top in the form of a Milky Way bar and met mountain biker Glen who worked for highway maintenance. He gave us some insight into the local roads and bike routes in the area.
Another great descent - steeper and faster than Washington.
Cycled over to Omak where we met Chay, ex-roadie for Ozzy Osbourne.., who doused us in copious amounts of mosquito spray and gave us some advice on camping. We found out why that night when we were eaten alive by thousands of bee sized mosquitos.
Ended up in Riverside rather than Taskonet due to setting off late but will make up the ground tomorrow on the way to Republic.
Woke up to another amazing fruit smoothie and breakfast, showered and packed up the bikes.
We met Cindi's Dad, an ex school teacher, and had a chat about schools and the education system in the States before we said our goodbyes to Rick and Cindi and thanked them for all their help. They really have gone out of their way to put us up and help us in any way they could. It was not only a godsend that Rick found us on the side of the road but it has been a pleasure to stay with them.
