Day 71: White Bird, ID to New Meadows, ID

Sunday, July 29, 2012,  60 miles - Total so far: 2126 miles*
    * Miles ridden on the TransAm route
    Odometer miles - Today - 60.0 Total to date - 2209.1 miles  
 
A relatively short day, but with more climbing.

(More catching up from Baker City, OR)

This day was another shorter mileage day but with a good bit of climbing.  We followed U.S. 95 the entire way from White Bird, ID to New Meadows, ID.  The first 29 miles to Riggins were just gradually uphill.  I got to Riggins ahead of the rest of my usual group and stopped in a cafe for breakfast.  It looked like the place was empty, but after I ordered I realized there were a couple of groups in the back and only one cook in the kitchen.  One and a half hours later I headed back out on the road, behind everyone else.  :-(

The Salmon River as we left White Bird on U.S. 95

Riggins, 19 miles;  New Meadows, 53 miles

The Salmon River alongside U.S. 95 - again.

Yet another river view.

The bridge across the Salmon River, nearing Riggins.

Beyond Riggins the highway and our route follows the Little Salmon River through a steeper, more winding canyon.  The grade of the road pitches up, though not extremely steep.  About 7 miles outside of Riggins I heard an ugly hissing sound from my rear tire.  It went flat within a few seconds - bummer!

Fortunately, I found a side road and a bit of shade, because it was another very warm sunny day.  I changed the tube in the tire in about 20 minutes, took a bit of a snack break and got on my way.  The ride from Riggins to New Meadows was 35 miles with no services.  Plus, our campground was supposed to be 4 miles beyond town.

It was a bit distressing to be at the rear, looking at arriving about 4:00pm - and it was my night to cook again.  But I plodded along and eventually passed Nicole and Judy who were enjoying a stop to soak in the river alongside the road.  It was a very pleasant surprise when about 4 miles BEFORE New Meadows I saw our ACA triangles and chalk on the road pointing to a turn.  It turned out the campground was before town, so I arrived around 3:40pm - just shortly after Gina and Wendy.

The river gets smaller as we wind upstream through the mountain canyons.

Wendy and I cooked dinner.  We wanted to make salmon on the grill for Judy's birthday.  Paul had been able to get some salmon, but not enough for a full dinner, so he also got chicken breasts.  Wendy prepared both the salmon and the chicken with delicious seasonings while I fired up the large, oil-drum charcoal grill.  I got to play "grill guy" and cook both the chicken and the salmon over the fire.  It all worked out even better than I expected. 

Our campground at Zim's Hot Springs RV park.

After dinner, another round of TransAm Olympic competition featured another set of trivia questions and a slow riding competition.  The object was to ride down the road in your marked lane without putting a foot down - as slowly as possible.  Not surprisingly, Ubald (the best cyclist of the group) won.

Simon, Ubald and Huey compete in the finals of the slow riding competition.