One of those days I’ll never forget

STATS

Cambridge, Idaho to Halfway, Oregon

Distance: 56 miles

Elevation: +4,413 ft/ -4,452 ft

The air has definitely become warmer recently, which reminds me of so many restless nights back in Kansas. I didn’t sleep extremely well last night, but just enough. I noticed my legs were definitely feeling a bit jello-y from all this climbing as I moved them around in the bag. The sun peaked right through the open fly on my tent, which made for a beautiful awakening. Again, I took my time packing up, for I am in no rush to leave the crew. Wayne and Patrice were heading back to Bend, so we said our goodbyes. I hope to see them again there! I ate some oatmeal, washed off my pot and spoon, and hit the road around 8 AM.

The road was pretty quiet, a benefit of leaving early on a Saturday morning. Today’s first climb started off the bat, but the ascent wasn’t the worst part of this particular climb. The worst part was the Mormon crickets. They were the size of a large thumb, and there were THOUSANDS crushed or alive covering the roads. The noise of my bike caused mayhem amongst the large critters, and regularly I would hear them be splattered by my tires. After riding and riding through infested roads, I couldn’t help but be disgusted by the plague of the cricket prophecy. Fortunately, as I ascended higher and higher to the pass, they began to thin out. By the time I had reached the top, all had vanished, and the only thing in front of me now was a downhill. I flew down on smooth, silky road, once again feeling like I was on my own roller coaster. I’ve become much more attuned to how my bike handles at certain speeds and turns, so now I know exactly how to adjust on my descents. After miles of zero pedaling, I rolled right into the first stop, a cafe/convenience store for a cup of joe. I walked in and scanned for outlets, but was immediately caught in crossfire of questions from locals. Delighted to answer their questions, I sat right between the couples and dunked a two-day old scone into my coffee as we all interacted. Ron and Annie took particular interest in my trip, and Ron offered several times to buy me breakfast during our convo. I politefully declined, and we continued to talk about the trip and their interests in rescuing wild horses for use in Wounded Warrior programs. By the end of our conversation, Ron stood up shook my hand. Then he suddenly placed a $20 bill on my table and said to buy drinks and food. He insisted after my initial decline, so I graciously accepted his offer and thanked Ron and Annie for such a pleasant morning conversation.

Feeling great about the morning thus far, I got riding through some awesome roads towering over the Snake River. Winding roads on cliffs offered spectacular views of the smooth river below. Vacationers fished, boated, and kayaked all along the way towards the next town; it truly reminded me of vacationing with my family in Maryland. At that moment, the right songs were shuffling, and I was blowing through miles like they were nada. This was another moment I’ll never forget, just crushing this road while watching the fish from above enjoy their mosquito snacks. Eventually, I noticed a dam approaching, and after the dam I knew a special milestone was coming. OREGON, my last state of the trail. Bittersweet, sure, but awesome to see nonetheless.

At some point, I reached a very small town with a gas station and store. I popped in and ice cream stood out like a raging pimple on a bare forehead. I pulled the trigger, and left with a generous amount of huckleberry and caramel something. With the temperature close to 100 degrees, this absolutely hit the spot big time. I quickly devoured this snack, and continued to prepare lunch. A group of motorcyclists approached me and questioned my trip. I informed them of my blog, and they were enthused to be able to understand and see more of the trip through my lens. I finished off some leftover coffee, pulled up just to where the shade stops from the patio, and psyched myself up for this heat.

A quick pump-up sesh from the owner of the convenience store got me amped to hit the last hill out of Hells Canyon. Immediately, I started to sweat profusely, but I was feeling good. I quickly was reminded of what ice cream does for the body, especially for me on this ride. I powered through the canyon, and with some good pump up music, was already halfway there before feeling thirsty. I made the pass over the last climb, and rolled a few more miles until I came to a sign for a detour. Either I took the detour and bike another mile or two, or take an adventure and examine the route through the construction site. It’s all about the adventure, right? It was perfectly fine! A few bumpy sections, but I saved myself from additional miles. I hit up the grocery store, breathing a sigh of relief once in the A/C. I snatched a chocolate milk and chugged it like a fratstar. I made my way over to a little coffeeshop and hung out with a local as he talked and talked about his working days. I was glad to listen though, always a fun part about the small towns.

Later, I caught up with the big crew, and we set up our tents in an RV park right outside of town.

After hanging out in the shade and showering up, we all walked to town and went to a nice restaurant. This group is seriously a blast to be with, and Dex and Kylie are awesome kids to hang around. I performed some more tricks with silverware and coins for them, and the riddles made their way around the table. I ordered a mushroom and Swiss burger with a sweet potato for dinner and a piece of mudslide coffee ice cream cake for dessert. It was so heavenly.

We all walked back with what looked like an impending storm, but nothing came of it. The wind was warm as we all settled into our tents. I can’t believe how fortunate I am to have met all of these wonderful people. I am having the time of my life with them. I couldn’t have asked for it any better than this.

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