Interesting day today. We'll start with last night though.
Around 4 or 5, maybe 6, who knows? I'm in a different time zone now and everything is weird. Anyway, around "a time" Copeland from London rolled into the park heading west. He started in the border range of the Colorado Rockies. Ken, who'd I'd met the day earlier, mentioned I'd probably see him. We hung a little bit, but by the time he was done eating in town and finding a shower it was bed time. He's a late riser (which is why he got in so late) so I didn't see him in the morning.
It's funny, we did similar mileages but I got in a 1pm and he got in around 6pm. He was in the worst heat and worst wind. I tried to tell him that the best riding is from 6am to noon, and if I had discipline I'd be on my bike by 5am when the sun came up, but he knew - and the best he could do is... I dunno, 10ish?
He did warn me that the car drivers were super rude the last few days for him. He'd been buzzed a few times and had coal rolled on him (that's when a diesel truck downshifts and guns it right next to you, covering you in thick black smoke). I kind of expected that soon anyway, since one of the worst times that's happened to me was in Kooskia, which I go through in two days.
I do think part of the issue is he rides later in the day, and younger dudes tend to be the ones who roll coal, and they sleep in. My traffic is older dudes going to work, his is younger dudes screwing off. Rolling coal is something I think you grow out of, like pissing and shitting yourself, probably around the same age (which is embarassingly late for some of these guys out here.)
I left at 8 local time, 7 pacfic, so earlier than I had been leaving but also later in the local day. I burned a quick 22ish into Council in nice conditions - light rain, thunder, tailwind - but uphill, got there around 10 local time. Then 51.5 total miles to New Meadows and then an additional 5 miles to Zim's Hot Springs arriving 3:30 local time with 4:35 on bike and 57 miles. It got kind of muggy later in the day, but now it's super windy I think highs in the 70's tomorrow.
The ride was very interesting. The main issue was traffic. I don't remember this section, highway 95, being this busy in the past. It's really busy now. There was a good shoulder to Council, but really nothing from Council to New Meadows, which suuuuuuuuuuuuucked. I had to pull off the road a lot. It was hilly and windy (as in turned a lot) and just sucked.
There was an alternative trail from Cambridge to just outside new Meadows that I discovered but it's more of an ATV/Fat Bike trail. A local warned me it wouldn't work on my tires, so I didn't take it, but I wish I had. I found my way onto it for about 5 miles near the end, and it was really rough riding, but better than cars.
Honestly, I need a more versitile touring bike. I have my divide rig, which does great offroad and OK on road, and this bike which is great on road but old and heavy. What I should have done, in hindsight, is put semi-fat road wheels on my divide bike (a Surly Ogre) and ridden that. It's much lighter, faster, and with hybrid wheels or tires would have been great on pavement but given me the option to take dirt alternates. I just need to figure out how to strap on my Ukukele since it's rigged for bike packing (no racks).
I decided to push a bit farther to Zim's Hot Springs, run by the Nez Pierce. I'm camped here and have access to a 95 deg and 103 deg hotspring until 8pm. It's full of healing minerals and stuff, and is much nicer than chilling in a park all night. I've really enjoyed talking to Larry who runs the place. He is FlyGuyIdaho in youtube. Check it out!
Tomorrow I ride on busy-ass highway all day, which is going to suck. Hopefully it gets a shoulder again. I don't know that doing this route every 10 years is going to pan out if this road remains this busy. It also looks like I may have to deal with some construction. I think I may start focusing more on dirt tours. Dirt tours are difficult in their own way, but dang, cars just suck.
I will say the drivers were all doing their best. No-one threatened me, buzzed me, or rolled coal, so that was cool, and I just got off the road and stopped every time I saw/heard a whole bunch coming and wide loads and stuff. It slows me down but keeps me alive. (I have a pretty good mirror).
I did get off the road some, like when heading to Zim's from town, and I took a gravel road for awhile looking for a way to get on the bike trail (I failed and had to backtrack a couple miles), and for a few miles I was on the trail, so that was all very exciting.
Oh yea, this area is cool. Not only does Zim's have hotsprings, but many of the houses nearby have their own hotsprings and geothermal heating.
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