Day 52: Forest Fires (Kooskia, ID to Riggins, ID)

Total mileage: 75

We were a bit sad to leave the town of Kooskia in the morning, after having such a wonderful experience there the night before. So we took our time getting on the road and stopped at a local cafe for a coffee. In retrospect, we probably didn't do much to help the town's economy, since each cup (with unlimited refills) cost only 50 cents. Cheap coffee = yet another reason to visit Kooskia, ID.

Our ride that morning took us uphill on a winding back road. For the first time in weeks, the road was actually steep! We climbed up and up until we reached a rolling plateau covered in freshly harvested fields of wheat. We saw a harvester at work in the distance. Suddenly it felt like we were back in the Midwest.

The morning climb

The plateau: a radically different landscape

 We stopped in Grangeville for lunch after working our way along the farmland grid. On our way into town, we ran into a couple who was eager to talk to us and hear about our trip. They gave us directions to the library, the grocery store, and a funky little coffee shop that they recommended we check out.

The coffee shop was indeed worth a visit. It was cool and cozy, and their iced drinks and tasty muffins were a welcome respite from the heat of the road. Not to mention that the shop was full of friendly people! Alix enjoyed chatting with both barista and customers while Alice for some work done at the library next door. The barista even gave us directions to some choice swimming holes down the road. Alix is quickly falling in love with northern Idaho.

Our afternoon ride had us climbing again, this time at a much more reasonable angle. The road was gloriously shaded and empty of cars, winding through a hilltop forest.

At the peak, the landscape changed dramatically once more. The trees disappeared and we were left with a sweeping view of a deep, dramatic valley. The mountainsides were loosely wrinkled and tan with dry grasses. The descent ahead of us twisted along the mountain's edge, without even a guardrail to protect us from the drop!

At the peak

Riding on the edge!

 Our descent into the valley was both breathtakingly beautiful and a bit nerve wracking. It was long and steep, with numerous switchbacks that we couldn't navigate without slowing down. But, it was also fun, and we both made it safely to the bottom without seeing a single car the whole way down!

We arrived in Whitebird to a smoke-filled sky. Apparently a nearby forest fire has been raging for a couple of days. The plume of smoke it produced blocked out the sun and gave it an orangish hue. We had been riding through haze for days, but hadn't yet seen a fire so close.

The next thirty miles brought us along the Salmon River to Riggins, ID. There we found a tourist town squished between the river on one side and steep mountains on the other. Annoyingly, we also crossed back into mountain time zone! Oh well. We stopped at a lovely riverside park and went for a swim before eating dinner and setting up camp.

Dusk on the river, hazy from nearby wildfires

Day 51: A Small Town that Really Cares (Powell, ID to Kooskia, ID)

Total mileage: 89

Today we descended gradually along the Lochsa River through a beautiful wilderness area. It wasn't totally vacant - there were plenty of cars, a few campsites, and even a historic ranger station, where we stopped to fill up on water. The view was consistently lovely. It looked a bit like this:

A highlight of our day was stopping for lunch at one of the trailheads advertised by signs along the road. The bridge we took across the river to the trail was quite lovely, contributing to the scenery rather than detracting from it.

We ended up climbing diwn the bank and picnicking on rocks right next to the river. As we ate, we watched several cyclists go by! Unusual because we had already seen several that morning. Best of all, we had time to take a dip in the (rather quickly moving) river and sun ourselves on the bridge before continuing on.

View from our picnic spot

Taking a break in Lowell, not too far from Kooskia

We made it within 11 miles of Kooskia when disaster struck! Well, not really. But Alix's rear derailleur snapped leaving her rather shiftless and stuck in high gear. Unfortunately, because Alix plans a lot of things that she never ends up doing, we didn't have an extra cable with us. So we rode the remaining 11 (flat) miles into Kooskia, hoping that we could hitch a ride to a bike shop the next day.

Further inspection of the map revealed that there wouldn't be a bike shop on route for a couple of days, at least. Inquiries revealed that there wasnt one off route nearby either. And riding without gears wasn't an option since the grade the next day would get up to around 8%! We even used a phone book (yes, they still exist!) at the grocery store to see if any of the hardware stores nearby carried a cable we could use. Negative/unlikely. The employees there were very helpful, but basically told us they didn't think anyone in Kooskia would have extra bike parts.

We headed to the city park rather discouraged. We were pleased, however, to find LOTS of people in the park (mostly kids, participating in a game night). The park itself was lovely, too, being located right along the river. A nice place to break for dinner and make plans for hitchhiking the next day!

As we got out our food for dinner, we decided to ask a group of women sitting near us if they knew anyone in town who might be able to help us. It turned out that they were the town's Saddle Club, having a meeting. "Hmm, not off the top of my head," one woman said, "but let me make some phone calls." We waited until their meeting was over and she called a friend in a nearby town who liked to bike.

Four or five phone calls after that, she had tracked down the two people in Kooskia who might know something about bikes. I was pretty amazed by her dedication to the task, and the speed with which you can get these things done in a small town (thank you, Louise!!)! A man named Lucky came over right away to check out the situation. He returned a bit later with a spare cable, but it wasn't quite long enough to fit the bike. He told us that a guy named Greg would probably have what we were looking for. Louise had called Greg already, but he wouldn't be free until around 9.

It was dark by the time Greg showed up at the park, wielding a whole bucket full of cables and tools. After a few tries, we finally found a cable that was long enough! Installing it wasn't a problem at all, and we got Alix's shifting working in no time. We were so, so grateful to him for coming to help us out! And, of course, he didn't charge us anything for the cable. We were totally floored that we could just ride out of there the next morning. To Greg and Lucky and Louise, and all the wonderful people we talked to in Kooskia, ID: thank you, thank you, thank you!! We genuinely thought that fixing the bike that evening would be impossible, but y'all made it happen. You are now at the top of the list of Alix's favorite towns on the TransAm.

Day 50: Over Lolo Pass (Missoula, MT to Powell, ID)

It was so much fun to have Karen, Alice's mom, join us for our first day kn the road! After a luxurious night in a hotel room, we got breakfast at a local bagel shop before heading on the road (thank you, Karen!) Here we are posing on the street in Missoula.

It was a little sad to say goodbye to Missoula (an exceptional town, indeed), but good to get back on the road. The climb out of Missoula took us into Idaho via Lolo pass, a route that Lewis and Clark found to be one of the most difficult parts of their journey west. Thankfully, they've put in a paved road since then, so we didn't have too much trouble. The grade wasn't too bad either, as is typical for all these climbs out west. 

The visitors' center at the top of the pass was well worth a visit - a lovely picnic spot, interpretive trails, a well-done history exhibit, helpful rangers, free tea/coffee/WiFi, and a rather nice gift shop.

Riding over Lolo pass

Alix was incredibly pleased to be riding through lots of trees for the first time in weeks. To make things even more exciting, we came across a special grove of cedar trees on our way down the mountain! They were huge, beautiful, and incredibly old. And there was a cozy little trail leading into the grove so that you could stand among the giants.

Trees at last!

In the grove of cedars

Wild ginger

The cedar bark was a work of art

A path we didn't have time to take

Alix almost started crying because the trees were so magical

After leaving the cedars, we rode to Powell, where we (gasp) paid for canping! It seemed like the thing to do, since Powell was literally just a campground and there wasn't anything else for 67 miles down the road. We ended up sharing the site with two other cyclists and paying less than $2 each, so it worked out all right.

Alice's sister had driven over from Missoula to pick up Karen, so we all ate an early dinner together (thank you again, Karen!). The restaurant at the lodge there was really quite nice. A bit overpriced, but made from scratch and quite tasty all around.

After dinner, we bid Alice's family farewell and headed back to the campsite. Not a bad way to start the final leg of our trip!

Day 48 & 49: Missoula (and farewells)

Darby to Missoula: 72 miles??

Around Missoula: 19 miles

Things we like about Missoula: 

• It's very bike and pedestrian friendly (bike lanes, bike/ped specific bridges, well signed bike paths, conscientious drivers)
• Three very well-attended markets on Saturday mornings (two food, one craft)
• Surrounded by the foothills (with lots of hiking and apparently excellent mountain biking trails)
• Good selection of grocery stores, coffee shops, etc. (And no food tax!)
• Lovely parks, including one with a beautiful, volunteer-built carousel
• A river that people play (tube, SUP, float, surf, etc in)
• The Adventure Cycling Association is headquartered here (we visited right after we got into town for the requisite photo/visit to the cyclist's lounge)

We were on our own for dinner Friday after visiting the ACA headquarters, so we went downtown and shared an appetizer. Then we dinnered picnic style after treating ourselves to groceries at the local nice/natural food store. Olives, nuts, and nice peppery cheese to celebrate our last day on the road together!

Herbed and battered onion rings.

The next morning, we visited the three(!) bustling farmers markets downtown, explored the bike paths in the city, and hung out in some of the parks. Definitely a city designed for living!

Its a thing to sell veggies by the bowl

Quite the bustling market!

Oh, happy carrot!

Huckleberries: the most heavily advertised product in Montana

Free stickers might've been the best part of the visit to the ACA headquarters

"A carousel for Missoula"

We enjoyed a great dinner Saturday night with our host in her backyard. She is an inspiring and energetic woman who has lots of touring under her belt! A pleasure to get to know her, and to sample the fresh berries and produce from her garden.

We were sad to part this morning (Day 50) when Sonja met her airport taxi, yet also exited for our coming individual adventures and, of course, future bike tours together. (Also, Sonja did get a glimpse of the Oregon mountains out the airplane window this morning... Alix and Alice definitely have some excellent scenery in their future!)

Alix hung out in Missoula a bit more today while waiting for her new riding companion to arrive. Please keep following my and Alice's adventures on this blog :)

Day 47: Jackson to Darby

Total miles: 79

Sonja woke up a little early this morning to talk on the phone (in the very cold, ensconced in a sleeping bag!), then both Sonja and Alix had a small snack before biking down (literally, all downhill) to Wisdom for breakfast. We'd heard of this cafe back in Missouri, so we were pretty excited to check it out. Luckily there was only one eating establishment in town (population: 120) so it wasn't hard to find.

If you're ever in Wisdom, MT, we would highly recommend eating there! We had four courses: buttermilk pie, veggie hash browns, veggie omelette, rhubarb pie. The omelette was especially impressive, though everything was really good. (Pies were a bit too sweet, but what else is new...)

Apparently we decided that pie was the most photogenic of all our food

After our extended breakfast, we climbed up The Last Hill (well, last big hill of our trip together anyway). The climb was awesome--fairly gradual, full of diverse trees, sprinkled with some historical signs, and, satisfyingly, another continental divide! 

We went downhill for the rest of the day, though of course there was a pesky headwind.

Ground squirrel attack!

We stopped to swim right before arriving at our host's home. Given how hot and sweaty we felt pre-river and how invigorated and refreshed we felt post-river, the dip was absolutely a good decision. (Then again, swimming outside almost always is.)

We did a few bonus miles on the highway outside our host's house, looking for their road next to the wrong mile marker (oops), but made it there not too late. Plus, once there, we were treated to another river swim, this one involving some pretty sweet log-jumping as well.

We really enjoyed the swim and also the frog catching in the steam on the way there with our new two and a half-year-old friend. (She's fabulous, is a fantastic frog-catcher, and regularly refers to any cyclists with panniers as her "friends.") We had a lot of fun talking with our hosts (Pat and Haley) that evening and eating the multi-course, delicious dinner they created for us. Along with our meal, we got to sample several kinds of mead from the family's meadery! And we enjoyed visiting their garden and watching their chickens and droopy-eared rabbits run around the yard. It was amazing to see how they were creating a home out of the property they had recently moved to. It seems like a fantastic place for their little girl to grow up.

The Numbers

Nearing the end of our trip together, and feeling reminiscent of NPR, we've decided it's time to "do the numbers."

Total miles: 3,341
Days consecutively riding: 48
Starting elevation: about 480ft
Highest Point (Hoosier Pass): 11,542ft
Elevation of Missoula: 3,209ft

Tubes of sunscreen: 8

Bottles of mustard: about 10
Jars of pickles: about 15
Pounds of carrots: about 80

Times crossing the Continental Divide: 9
States we've been in: 10
National Parks: 3

Rides in cars: 8
Times driving: 1 (to see Fiddler on the Roof!)

Bears: 1
Coyotes: 1
Antelope: too numerous to count
Moose: 2
Mule Deer: 1
Bald Eagles: 1

Margaritas: 7
Breweries: 4
Saloons: 1 (but only to charge our phones...) (There were multiple cowboy hats)
Coffee shops: 6
Dark chocolate bars: 3
Slices of pie: 7
Glasses of ice tea: 20+

Bike shops: about 8

Musicals: 1
Swimming opportunities: 10

Flat tires: 0

Day 46: Twin Bridges to Jackson

Our pre-breakfast ride was slightly chilly (in a very pleasant way!), mostly uphill, scenic, and educational. The highway we've been following is part of the Lewis and Clark Byway and, as such, includes informative "historic sites" every 10ish miles. We've been thoroughly enjoying these semi-regular stops, and are rather tickled by the broad definition of historic, literally including everything from the geologic formation of the landscape to the preservation of rangeland and wildlife for future generations. One sign even included philosophical musings on the meaning of life and the responsibility of an individual to contribute positively to society. Awesome.

View from an historic point

We had an extended brunch at Safeway (gas points should be on some Nuechterlein card!) and filled up our waters for the upcoming desert. Two passes, 48 miles, a crazy headwind, a brief rainstorm, a dearth of trees/tree diversity, and a few historic sites later, we arrived in Jackson, MT. Population 38. As a cyclist had warned us the previous night, there wasn't even a gas station in the tiny town. There wasn't much besides an expensive hot springs that charged you to camp there. However, there was an elementary school (with an outdoor spigot and a beautiful view of the mountains!), which we ended up camping behind. Before we ate dinner at our campsite, we stopped at a little cafe and enjoyed a glass of iced tea on the porch.

That night, each of us stumbled out of our tent to pee and were met by the sight of a million sparkling stars, milky way and all. The sky was so big that it was like being at sea! Alix even saw a shooting star. Overall, we were rather pleased by our stay in Jackson.

Day 45: Bozeman to Twin Bridges

Instead of backtracking to Ennis (up the beautiful canyon), we decided to loop around from the north to check out some new roads. It was a great decision! One, it's always nice to be on totally different roads and, two, the mountains, rivers, and canyons were beautiful along most of the ride.

For the first time since the south, we took an afternoon siesta, escaping the intense sunshine by sprawling on the cool concrete outside the Lewis and Clark Canyons. Though this meant we got into Twin Bridges kind of late, escaping the heat of the day was pretty delightful (and we got to see the sunset as we rode into the campsite!).

Riding into Twin Bridges

The view from our campsite!

The campsite was pretty amazing. The folks in Twin Bridges have built a little shelter, complete with shower, toilet, sink, outlets, and couches, solely for touring cyclists. Amazing! Of course, it helps the town, too, since cyclists staying in town tend to also spend money in town. (Well, we didn't, but most would.)

It was crowded at the campsite that night, 4 cyclists were there when we arrived: two French men doing a world tour, a guy from California heading east on the trans am, and another guy heading west. When we found them they had settled in and were sitting at a picnic table, hanging out, smoking, and drinking whiskey. We headed inside to escape the mosquitoes, and the guys followed shortly. It was interesting to hear their stories, especially those of the French guys, who were just a year into their three year journey.

As we often do, we asked all the cyclists what they ate every day. As they often do, their responses made us happy that we eat the way they do (although carrot and peanut butter sandwiches do sound pretty awesome). (But maybe not literally every day for lunch for six months...) We decided that we eat more vegetables than all of them combined. They also noted that they were impressed by how much we ate!

Being proper gentlemen, the guys set up their tents and offered to let us sleep on the couches inside (even though they were there first). So we slept rather well that night! In the morning, the more talkative Frenchman told us that not only was he impressed by how much we ate, but also how far we ride, how energetic we are, and how well we get along! This was nice to hear. :)  (It seemed he was also getting along great with his companion, although they had recently bought another tent so they didn't have to sleep in the same one!)

We are always so grateful for places like the campsite in Twin Bridges and left the town feeling quite content with humanity.

Day 44: Bozeman Explorations

Though we'd originally been planning on only spending one night in Bozeman, we changed our plans after a pleasant morning in town. We spent a few hours in a coffee shop, made some phone calls, and enjoyed walking/biking around the city. The food coop was an excellent place for lunch, and to resupply on a few goodies (dark chocolate covered ginger, Brazil nuts). Our second real rest day! (Though we did still bike about 20 miles around town.)

Olives: a fabulous addition to our usual culinary habits

Don't you normally make benches out of ski lifts?

Bozeman seems like a touristy, slightly collegey, outdoorsy place. Generally pleasant and interesting, if not our favorite place we've been to (it's rather expensive/boutiquey). Lots of people on bikes. It also has excellent cocktails and LOTS of coffee shops.

We made a new friend!

We've decided that cocktails (and other drinks) are really interesting because they can offer flavors that you couldn't otherwise find in foods. The beet (lemon, tarragon, egg white, gin) cocktail, an excellent example. 

Can't beat that color... ;)

Bourbon, Drambuie, grapefruit bitters, Laphroaig. Also excellent.

We decided that not paying for camping is a good way to fund our drink exploration :)

We watched a movie in the evening--that was a fun and different activity! We chose a French movie from Netflix called The Kid with the Bicycle (couldn't depart TOO much from our touring theme), which we don't necessarily recommend. Parts were enjoyable, poignant, etc, but it lacked substance (i.e. a decent plot or ending). Oh well, still pleasant.

Authorship

A brief note about authorship: We know it might say Alix or Sonja has written a given post; however, this has no basis in reality. All that tells you is who originally created that post...but we both edit, post photos, add captions, write, etc. all the posts. (If you can guess who wrote certain bits, well, that's certainly possible, just not correlated with stated authors.)

Also, today was gorgeous. Beautiful mountains, rivers, rocks, sunset.