Winchester, ID - Clarkston, WA: 20 mile downhill! Life is good. - Following the Lewis and Clark Trail 2005

July 10, 2005

Winchester, ID - Clarkston, WA: 20 mile downhill! Life is good.

Last night in camp we spoke with a couple on a Counterpoint tandem. The captain is on a diamond frame bike in the rear and the stoker on a recumbent in the front. The man said to think of them as we rode down Winchester Grade as they had worked all day to ride up. Of course, if Grade is right in the name, you know it must be pretty good. At first I started downhill and thought, "Why this is no big deal. They must have had an off day." Then the road took a turn and dropped out of sight. One curve after another, down and down. I stopped many times for photos, trying to get a shot of the patchwork effect of the fields. I kept one eye on the clouds. So far so good.

Can you believe going downhill can get old? After awhile my hands got tired of braking. My legs wanted to do at least SOME pedaling. I was actually a bit relieved when I got to the main highway. I rode on Hwy 95 for six miles and then got off on a country road. It was nice country riding.

Lewiston has a population of 30,000. I was happy not to get lost. I stopped at a Pizza Hit. They didn't have a buffet, so I ordered an entire pizza. I sat for a long time and read the newspaper. I had about half a pizza left for snacks later. Pizza was a great change from PB & J for lunch.

Our campground for tonight was eight miles out of town. The cooks couldn't carry all of the food and their own gear. We divided up the shopping list, everyone selecting a few items. We had 'carry days' several different times on the trip. It made things a bit easier for the cooks as they didn't have to shop. A bit harder for Ryan as he had multiple receipts to deal with. Generally on carry days Robert volunteered to buy the juice as he had plenty of room in his trailer. I usually volunteered for bread, with the same reason. I also volunteered for oatmeal. I had an alterior motive on that one. I'm not a very big fan of the sugared individual oatmeal packets. However, the apple and cinnamon flavor was pretty good. When I was in charge of the oatmeal I bought a box of just apple instead of mixed variety if it was available.

We camped at Chief Timothy State Park next to the Snake River. It was a nice campground with good grass, shade, and quarter showers.

I attempted to capture the patchwork effect of the fields from Winchester Grade.

This is such a classic pose from our trip, it makes me smile. Every day Bob(on the left) and Robert would get up late and ride hard. I seldom saw them on the road. When they got to camp, after showering, they could always be found in this position. Bob listening to his iPod and napping and Robert, napping.

This was another classic pose. As commonly as Bob and Robert could be found napping, Carlton could be found journaling. Carlton was an early riser and we frequently rode together. He was one of my favorite trip companions.

Today's ride: 52 miles (84 km)
Total: 696 miles (1,120 km)

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