Joe started his ride today a little after 7 am. Soon after leaving the RV site, the 14-mile uphill climb began. Joe said “I was cold but thinking that the sun would warm me up. It didn’t. And then when I got to the top of Sherman Pass, I got colder. During the descent my hands and thumbs were numb. Who would have thought going downhill peddling would be more work than going uphill pedaling.” It’s hard to figure out what to bring to change into as the morning started out in the 50’s and when the ride was over it was in the 80’s. Joe must be careful about adding too much weight to his pack on the back of the bike and so bringing gear to fit all the weather – cold, hot, rainy, sunny- is tough. Not only weight, but other implications as well. One of his recent rides he was going downhill, and the wind shear blew him sideways and he almost fell off of his bike. He said it felt like the back tire was slipping out. These are not issues he experienced when training on the baby hills in Minnesota.
We have a couple photos of the scenery going over the pass and one of the superstar Joe at the top of the pass! Elevation: 5575!!!
Joe beat Neptune and I to our new site by about 15 minutes. It’s tough gauging when to leave with the big ol’ RV because if I’m early, it’s not so easy to just pull over anywhere and wait. And some of the RV parks are very strict about not arriving before check in time.
Joe was kind enough to find a bug and share it with me as I pulled in. Bug fact: Pine Borer Beetle. Native insects that feed and breed in the inner bark of pine trees. They typically target stressed, dying or weakened trees. And occasionally telephone poles.
After lunch and a quick nap, we headed out to find a place to hike around. We drove into the nearby town of Colville. It was interesting to see the huge piles of logs and the gantry crane moving the logs around. From our hike we could look down and see not only the logs, but the piles of finished lumber.
We drove up the mountain to the Colville Mountain Loop Trail. We walked about .6 mile straight up another gravel road before getting to a trail. It was another beautiful hike with the wildflowers blooming and the mountains surrounding us. Joe did find a boulder he would like to somehow get home and put in the front lawn. It would really help his goal of no grass, just natural prairie and other native grasses and gardens.
We (the RV park included) lost power just now, so signing off before the laptop dies. A 50+ mile ride tomorrow. More mountains, but not the highest pass! He did that one today! 😊
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