Second Leg: Baker City to Missoula

July 1

Baker City to Halfway

(Day 8 - 51.36 mi, Elevation gain: 2946 ft)

(This section was written by (Mitch) ). The day started with really nice riding for about 40 miles to Richland, OR. We enjoyed the downhill ride but had a tough climb waiting for us after a lunch break. We absolutely demolished this climb. We put our heads down and pushed ourselves to get up the mountain before the hottest part of the day. Pushing ourselves and overcoming literal mountains is part of why we decided to go on this trip. As far as expectations, climbing still sucks and downhills are always welcome.

Another reason to bike is to meet people along the way, and we met an eccentric individual named Cliff Crego (he gave us a business card). He is a biker, mountaineer, composer, and photographer. He had many stories to share and advice about routes to take.

Shortly after our encounter with Cliff, we decided to stay in a local motel with a warm shower and bed for the first time in a few days.

Pretty barren riding from Baker City to Richland

Stopping for a snack break after some nice downhill riding

Stopping to adjust the rear rack storage

Break #1 on the climb into Hell’s Canyon

July 2

Halfway to Cambridge

(Day 9 - 60.33 mi, Elevation gain: 3632 ft)

Worried about the heat in Hell’s canyon, we got packed up and on the road before 7:00 AM. It wound up being a great decision because it made the riding along the snake river fly by. The downside was that we had to climb out of hells canyon during the heat of the day. Regardless, we made it to Cambridge in the early afternoon and enjoyed a late lunch from the only restaurant that was open, Li’s Chinese Kitchen. Not the place I was anticipating eating at in rural Idaho, but I was pretty good. We considered pushing on to New Meadows but decided against it since it was really hot. We camped at Mundo hot springs. The “hot springs” was really just a big pool that had the hot spring water pumped into it from a few hundred feet away. Mitch and I have been to the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, so we had decent expectations. Turns out, a 97 degree soak is far more satisfying after changing out of your winter clothes compared to changing out of your sweaty bicycle touring gear (we did shower before entering the pool bc we’re semi-civilized). We tried going to bed early, but it stayed light out past 10:00 PM.

Got an early start today headed towards Oxbow

Action shot of Mitch signaling a left turn while I illegally use my phone

Li’s Chinese Restaurant was the only open place in town but was fantastic

July 3

Cambridge to Riggins

(Day 10 - 81.11 mi, Elevation gain: 4389 ft)

(Mitch) Brutal head winds were the theme of the first half of the day, and we also had a long climb to boot. Amazingly, we made it to our anticipated campsite early in the day and decided to rest during the heat of the day, grab an all American dinner at A&W, and then nap in the city park.

Revitalized from our nap, we pushed on to Riggins which was another 35 miles away. We were greeted by a change in scenery from New Meadows to Riggins as we descended slowly into a valley alongside the Little Salmon River. We were a mile away from our intended campsite when Mitch got a flat so I rode ahead and pitched camp around 9:30 and Mitch fixed his tire. We then fell asleep almost immediately despite several rather bizarre noises coming from the mountains. (Likely/hopefully just deer or elk)

Some gravel roads to get us back on route

Adjusting the rear rack storage on our way to New Meadows

Great views along the Little Salmon River

Getting into Riggins a little later than we would have liked

July 4

Riggins to White bird

(Day 11 - 29.45 mi, Elevation gain: 823 ft)

We stumbled out of the gate today. We slept in a little late and enjoyed the view from our campground in the morning. There were no amenities besides two vault toilets at the camp site. The bead of Mitch’s tire was not seated properly when we replaced the tube in a hurry last night, so he re-installed it such that the tread had a cleaner grip on the rim. Before that, we got coffee and breakfast burritos (microwaved) from River Rock Cafe. The cafe has some books about Idaho’s mountain men on display. After fixing the tire in the parking lot, we got snacks, and I added air to my tires.

(Boring aside about my user error using the hand pump. Probably worthy of skipping) However, as I was unscrewing the pump from my valve, the presta valve core came off with the pump connection. This has happened before with this hand pump. We decided to add some bike lube to the hand pump presta connection to prevent it from clinching down too hard on the presta valve core. This surprisingly worked and I was able to fill up my tires while keeping the valve core installed. However x2, my same tire went flat after a few miles of riding. Since I am running a tubeless setup, a small gap between the tire and rim formed when my tire went completely flat after the presta valve core was removed. I refilled my tire with air and tried again. It held for the next 20 miles until we got to White Bird. I’ve read that it’s normal for flats to occur before the centripetal force of the tire spinning forces the sealant into the crevices. So I’m hoping it holds. (End of boring aside).

None of the 3 restaurants or grocery stores were open in White Bird, so we had some snacks from the convenience store. We camped at the Salmon River Resort and got the steal of the century for only $27.

Checking out the big Salmon River from our campsite

“Van life” people have gotten out of control. We’ve seen 100 of these

Mitch re-installed his tire to try and get it seated properly

Having a great time at the Riggins gas station

Finally back on the road towards White Bird

The little Salmon has now joined the big Salmon River

Going for a swim in the Salmon River near our campground

Relaxing before a big day of biking tomorrow

July 5

White Bird to Wild Goose Canpground just before Lowell

(Day 12 - 64.96 mi, Elevation gain: 4626 ft)

Will we complete the climb without mechanical issues? Will red river cafe be open?

It was open. And the kitchen sink skillet and French toast were very good.

(Mitch) Stormed/marched up white bird hill despite it being one of the longer climbs of this section. Listening to some Sam fender and twentyone pilots, we completed the climb in a little under 3 hours. Dare I say it was even FUN to climb. I am happy the climb was fun because the descent into Grangeville was a white-knuckle experience with tons of switchbacks. There was no time to relax.

We stopped in Grangeville to get a small lunch of General Tso’s chicken with ranch dressing, not our best decision. The ride out of Grangeville was filled with unexpected climbs over long rolling hills which really made us regret eating Chinese for lunch. Again, it was another physical challenge to overcome though.

The rolling hills eventually gave way to the steepest descent of the trip in which we approached speeds near Mach 10 as well as put years worth of wear and tear on our brakes in minutes. The descent took us to the 45 mile mark for the day to Kooskia. Here, we refueled at a local market and met an elderly couple that kindly offered us a place to stay for the night. We declined as we were pushing on a little further.

We finally did arrive at Wild Goose campground nestled alongside the Lochsa river and met a fellow biker going from Tucson to Vancouver as well as a bike enthusiast camping with her sons.

Long morning climbing up White Bird Hill

Over the hill and on the way to Grangeville

Don’t know why they didn’t install this sign 1 mile sooner when the road was definitely still winding

Aspiring to match the creativity level of this River Access name

We saw a few of these private cable car systems

July 6

Wild Goose to Powell Campground near Lochsa Lodge

(Day 13 - 67.50 mi, Elevation gain: 2448 ft)

(Mitch)The woman we met the night before offered us pancakes this morning which we gladly accepted. These kind gestures are surprisingly common, and I partially wonder if people think we are homeless.

(Jimmy)With no defined climbs or descents, today was kind of a blurr. The mountainous landscape blanketed with endless evergreens made the consistent 1-2% grade unnoticeable. With the beautiful scenery in the background, we had a lot of time to think about other things. I was thinking a lot about difference between bicycle touring, driving, hiking, and motorcycle touring. There are trade offs to all modes of traveling, but traveling by bicycle slows you down just enough to see more of the landscape. It is also inconvenient enough that it forces you to interact with the people and environment more than if you were in a car or motorcycle. In addition, a bicycle is a fairly simply device. Within reason, Mitch and I can fix a decent chuck of mechanical issues that we may encounter (knock on wood). Being more self-reliant when traveling is a plus for me. Lastly, I don’t think I’d have the patience to hike anywhere close to this distance. I think I’d just get bored.

Looking for a spot to swim near our camground

July 7

Powell Campground to Missoula

(Day 14 - 57.17 mi, Elevation gain: 2858 ft)

With camp packed up, the bear canister retrieved, and red bulls consumed, we were ready to start the final climb of this section: Lolo Pass. I remember first looking at the route and being concerned about the grade and length of this pass, yet Lolo Pass didn’t really phase us. Mitch and I steadily made our way up within an hour or so. It felt good to finish this one without too much trouble. We know we have some tougher climbs at higher elevations coming up, so we’re not getting overconfident.

Some people relax most in nature, but I think I relax most while in an city. Knowing we had a rest day in Missoula coming up, my attention gravitated there during the second half of the day. We faced some annoying headwinds on what was supposed to be an easy descent into Missoula. We had to spent about 45 minutes looking for a place stay as most decent campground and hotels were booked for a Friday night. Eventually, we found a cheap motel with vacancy, and after seeing the place, we understood why there was vacancy. Despite the rundown outside, the inside had a clean bed and a shower. We’ll take it.

Made it to Montana- only 35 more miles to Missoula

Facing some annoying headwinds on the descent into Lolo

Today's ride: 408 miles (657 km)
Total: 760 miles (1,223 km)

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