June 22, 1996
Republic, WA to Colville, WA
Feel my power!
I spoke too soon, rain all day (until we had committed to paying for a motel room) but it was not ever heavy.
It was cold up on Sherman Pass but for once Dave had gotten out of bed early enough and we weren't stranded at the top at night! We met Andrew and Allen, a father/son team who are cycling to Boston. Another friendly retired couple stopped to talk to us, even offered us food and a place to stay. I'll have to stop writing about all the wonderful people we meet, there are too many! Wait, one more! Peter, owner of a fabulous Italian restaurant in Colville; he was very attentive and friendly. I've discovered a similarity between cycling in WA and in WV, it's still unnerving to look in your mirror and see a huge logging truck barreling down on you! These trucks are much bigger and are carrying huge logs. The forests here, that we cycled through today, are exactly how I pictured WA/OR, dense forests of tall "pointy" pines covering the mountain sides. We rode through the area of the 1988 White Mountain fire.
RHONA HAD PROBLEMS GETTING HER CLIPLESS PEDALS TO RELEASE TODAY, MEANING SHE COULD NOT DISMOUNT FROM THE BIKE. SHE SHOULD BE ABLE TO JUST TWIST HER FOOT OUT. SHE TOLD "FEEL MY POWER" WHEN SHE TRIED, PROMPTING VISIONS OF 95 LB. "POWER RANGER RHONA" IN MY MIND. I FIXED THEM TONIGHT. THE TEMPERATURE AT THE TOP OF SHERMAN PASS WAS 38 DEGREES AND IT WAS RAINING. WE HAD LUNCH UNDER A SMALL ROOF AT THE PASS WITH FOUR OTHER CYCLISTS, TWO OF WHOM WERE GOING CROSS COUNTRY. THE MOMENT WAS THE TYPE OF ENCOUNTER I HAD HOPED FOR, ADVENTURE SEEKERS ENJOYING THE COMPANIONSHIP ENHANCED BY A SHARED EXPERIENCE.
LATER, AT THE COLUMBIA RIVER, WE WERE WALKING ACROSS THE PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY. RHONA HUMMED OUT LOUD. I THOUGHT IT SOMEWHAT INCONGRUOUS THAT SHE WAS CROSSING THE "FAR AWAY" RIVER, 4,000 MILES FROM HOME, WITH ONLY A BICYCLE TO GET HER HOME, AND YET SHE WAS AMBLING ALONG LIKE SHE WAS WALKING ON THE STREET IN FRONT OF OUR HOME.
Today's ride: 54 miles (87 km)
Total: 338 miles (544 km)
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