Day 61 Sep8: White Bird ID to New Meadows ID (Zims Hot Springs) 60mi

After a good nights sleep had a quick cuppa tea and instant oats and took off. The smoke had cleared overnight but by the time I got to Riggins it was pretty thick. The route ran alongside the Salmon River and it was beautiful with the high cliff walls and ancient lava flows. Met Bill at Riggins city park for second breakfast of eggs, sausage and potato salad. I am getting used to this pampered sag wagon way of touring! No peanut butter tortillas and ramen on the curb here. (Not that peanut butter tortillas and ramen while bike touring aren’t completely delicious and desirable!) The river and cliffs gave way to prairie as I approached New Meadows. 

Tonight we camp at Zim’s Hot Springs which was a tip from my friend Ruth. As a youngster living in Cottonwood ID, she came here with her family as a little girl. Zim’s has seen better days. It is quite dated and rustic but altogether clean. The swimming pool is 85F and the hot pool is around 103F, but varies. It is owned by Nez Perce Enterprises. So good for them. Larry, the manager is a tribal member and said the building was built in 1958 and replaced the original one which burned down. He said indigenous peoples, the Nez Perce, have been soaking in these springs for at least 12,500 years.

Day 60 Sep7: Wild Goose CG to White Bird ID (Hammer Creek CG) 66.5mi

After a nice yogurt bowl breakfast I took off and rode along the rest of the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River. It was a beautiful, treesy meander. Saw osprey and deer. Left Bill to do the dishes, take down camp and walk the dog. It sure is nice to have a support-spouse domestique! 

The approach to Kooskia is a little tricky and I almost made a wrong turn. The little town of Stites is right after Kooskia. These little towns of America are such a kick. Why are they there? Probably from mining, lumber, gold or some such industry that is no longer exists. We’ve seen this the whole route; Kentucky coal mining, Kansas cattle. Right out of Stites was a big big climb: Lamb Grade. Oy, sometimes it was 17%. I zigged and zagged up it taking the whole road trying to create a small switchback effect. After that it was wheat fields as far as the eye could see. Which actually wasn’t that far because wildfires had rendered the air quality “unhealthy”. The vistas are smokey, the sun is nuclear, the smell is instinctively ominous.

I rode with an N95 mask which was actually not bad. I felt like I was getting enough air. I looked it up and N95 masks will filter out 95% of particles larger than 0.3 microns, so they are very efficient with keeping out the 2.5 micron particles in wildfire smoke. So take that! cancerous smoke, you can’t have me. I met Bill in Grangeville and we had a nice chopped salad and chili in the trailer. Then we hung out in the library for a while for some internet time.

Then onto White Bird. The route took me on the Old WB Hill Rd which was a quiet country road, not the “New” WB Hill Rd which is basically Hwy 95. After the climb, I missed the turn to stay on the “Old” road and found myself on Hwy 95 which is a long, long, long screaming downhill. I mean the longest descent of you life. The shoulder was wide and I pretty much didn’t brake the whole way down. Gawd it was fun! Pulled into Hammer Creek campground in time for dinner and a shower. It was a good day.

Day 59 Sep6: Powell ID to Wild Goose Campground ID

 Mornings are getting cold at this altitude and I’m not so keen about setting out early and leaving the creature comforts of our setup. Managed to have tea and breakfast and depart by 7:30a. The plan was for us to meet 20mi up the road at Weir Hot Springs which we did.

After a nice brisk steady downhill, I met up with Bill, changed into hiking attire and we walked the 1mi trail to Weir Hot Spring. And oh what a blue ribbon hot spring it is! Primitive, and arranged in a gorgeous alpine setting. A perfect 102F in our estimation. No one was around so we wore our birthday suits. Hiked back out to the trailhead and the trailer and had a nice second breakfast of fried egg over quinoa/chorizo/black bean bowl. Delish! With 47 more miles to go, I was anxious to get back out. It was a long, long descent to Wild Goose Campground. The wildfire smoke got pretty thick, to the point that I had to strap on an N95 mask. The world we live in, I guess what with pandemics and climate change. Don’t get rid of your masks any time soon, people.

Bill had the trailer all set up in site #3 and he remarked that we were in heaven. This is certainly our idea of heaven; disconnected, plopped along an alpine river with a book. Took a bath in the river, did some reading and took a nap. I came into this figuring I would get conditioned as I go along and sure enough, I’m pretty tired at the end of the day.

Day 58 Sep5: Lolo MT to Powell ID

The intended 57mi ride to first stop Powell Campground got shortened to a 46mi ride when it was pointed out by someone that we need not begin in Missoula to pick up where we left off. Missoula is a spur on the TransAm so we drove to the corner of Highways 93 and 12 at Lolo and I started there. I didn’t mind the shortcut because while the air quality from the wild fire wasn’t as bad as forecasted, it was still suboptimal with the potential to get worse.

The ride was lovely and it was just so nice to be back on tour. It was a long, 0-3% climb up to Lolo Pass with Montana awesomeness all along the way; ranches, ranchettes, pine forests, streams. I pedaled past Lolo Hot Springs where Brad Pitt got the crap beat out of him in “A River Runs Through It”.

Lolo Pass

Up at the top Bill and Kobe greeted me with a cool drink, the trailer awning opened up for shade and a couple of folding chairs. We made a very civilized lunch and shared observations of our mornings. I reported that while there was very little to zero shoulder on the rode, the cars gave me a generous margin as they passed. Bill and Kobe did a short hike around the Visitor Center, an interpretive trail explaining the habituation of the Nez Perce Tribe and the forced exodus from their homeland. Despicable heritage, ours. Billy Boy got himself a souvenir mug from the gift shop.

With that I was on my way over the western side of the pass, a nice long 12mi of downhill. We made camp at Powell, a lovely campground along the Clearwater River. All the Labor Day vacationers had left and it was nice and quiet. We walked over to the adjacent Lochsa Lodge and had some onion rings and a cool drink. Digging life!

Part Two of Our TransAmerica Tour - Bill and Angie

Tomorrow Bill and I embark on Part Two of our TransAmerica Bike Tour picking up in Missoula MT where we left off and finishing at Florence OR on the Pacific coast (inshallah). This leg of the tour will be a little different from the Yorktown VA to Missoula MT leg. For one thing, it will be just Bill and I and Kobe the wonderdog. Eric and Leisa intend to finish up in summer of 2023. It was such a fun and rich bonding experience riding with our tour-mates and without them it surely won’t be quite the same. 

This leg of the tour is going to be a bit cushier. We couldn’t find someone to watch Kobe so we decided to bring him along with the Airstream trailer. I will ride from Missoula to the coast, and Bill will drive the hotel-on-wheels along the way. No camping in parks, fairgrounds, churches!…unfortunately, because all that made it such a great adventure. I plan to take fourteen days to get to Florence. Once there, we will turn around and come back to Missoula but this time Bill will ride and I will drive the support vehicle.

Because we will have the car, we won’t have to carry as much stuff! No need to carry stove, sleeping gear, tent, clothes, etc. My Surly Disc Trucker steel tour bike loaded weighed 67lbs. For this leg I am riding my Salsa Cutthroat carbon fiber gravel bike and loaded it weighs 30lbs. Super cush!

At this time, wildfires have once again compromised our skies here in the northwest. The air quality is worsening. Hopefully we will be able to ride through it. Pray for rain! I am so excited to get back on my bike again!!

Tonight we are just outside of Missoula, in Frenchtown at Grassy Farms, a Harvest Host. For an annual subscription we can stay for free at various farms, wineries and breweries. Also staying here are Min and Jeff from Walnut Creek CA in their way cool ruggedized rig.