September 1, 2024
Thank you Montana! Welcome to Idaho.
Today started on a low. Last night going to bed I noticed some numbness on my middle finger on my right hand only. I figured at first it was just end of long ride. Unfortunately it didn’t improve overnight so when we got up I told Peter. He was super supportive and we talked about options (rest, clinic, quit). Of all the options quitting was the one that had me down.
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But, I did say that in this story we are the protagonists. When we started riding the hand felt fine but we decided to try switching bikes and right away we both noticed a huge difference in our hand positions. I had my bars set up so I could ride more upright but now I know it was having my wrists slightly bent and I think that was ultimately cause a bit of nerve pinching with such prolonged exposure. Left alone I’d probably develop some carpal tunnel and I don’t want that at all.
We made some big adjustments to the angle so that my wrists are now straight to my arm into the bars. It feels comfortable and the numbness is subsiding, although I’ll watch it closely. I don’t want to end up injured returning from a fun trip.
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Breakfast this morning was peanut butter on bread. Not exciting but full of calories to get us started on a very long ride. We have our sights set on cabins 240 km out for night 2. Our goal for the day was to do 140 km which we thought was achievable since we’d done 137 km already and the elevation was minimal.
We started riding at about 7:45 and the sun was already starting to come out. That meant that we’d warm up fast which was welcome news as it was still a cold start. The morning ride was gravel roads that were pretty rough in sections. The kind of road where you move all over the road to find the one place that’s not loose gravel or washboard. We were passed by more vehicles today than other days, especially later in the morning as we approached more and more recreational type areas.
We stopped at a campground to use the restroom and as I was filling up water another camper came over to chat and ask us what we were up to. She offered us snacks which was super nice. And the. As we were leaving another camper pointed us towards spring fed water to fill up our water bottles. Another nice touch and the people of Montana have been kind to us.
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As noon approached I asked Peter how we were doing. He has the Garmin GPS and Ride with GPS (phone) and he always knows how far we’ve gone. It’s a blessing and a curse because he has to see the kilometres tick by slowly when we get exhausted. Me, I’m in blissful oblivion and then sometimes when I ask I want him to downright lie to me. “Yes, almost there.”
We had managed 60 km by noon which is well ahead of normal and made our goal seem plausible. We decided to try to get to a campground and picnic table for lunch. When we arrived at the campground it was a nice RV one so we thought maybe our hopes were dashed but I rolled up to the guy in the golf cart and asked if we could use a table. He pointed me to the nicest spot yet right under shade.
We were having wraps with refried beans and cheese and they had a store so I thought they might have salsa. No luck with salsa but my eyes lit up when I saw a Keurig. I popped the little pod it, slammed the lid and had no luck with it. I asked the ladies at the counter and this nice lady says “oh, that’s thing is dumb.” She slammed the lid harder and pow Out coffee was brewing. She was sweet and charged me half price for the hassle.
While there I asked if they had any Montana state stickers and she replied “oh, you are in Idaho”. I laughed because I had no idea. I knew it would happen today but we were on backroads the whole time with no signs.
Lunch was great! We lingered and had ice cream and filled up our bottles again with really nice cold water.
Back on the grind. The afternoon was interesting riding and mostly downhill. We discovered what people like to do in Idaho and the border of Montana. They love side by sides. They do look fun. Basically a 4 wheel vehicle that can go on and off road with really good suspension and 4 seats. They also have roll bars. We were dusted by them all afternoon all though a lot of the drivers were curious to slow down.
We rolled into our first proper grocery store for a long time. I was excited to load up for 2 full days and grab a cold drink to keep us going (3 pm). Fueled up with food we started down a quiet paved road that turned to gravel quickly. We had a nice mix in the afternoon between gravel, double track and some sandy trails.
The final descent to the campground was fantastic. We started high above a river and headed all the way down to the campground only to be super lucky to grab the very last sight at 7 pm. The host gave us a place to charge our battery banks overnight.
We ate salad, ramen and chips and then cleaned ourselves in the river. That felt great to have the cold water on the skin after mashing the sunscreen in with the dust.
Tomorrow we’ll cross our fingers on the cabins as the long weekend ends. We officially completed 1/3 of the distance early this morning so right on track.
Highlights:
-hopefully solving my hand position
-kindness of people all day
-great weather 23-24 C
-riding along above the river into camp
-great campground
-real groceries
Distance - 146 km / 762 elevation gain
Today's ride: 146 km (91 miles)
Total: 1,640 km (1,018 miles)
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