Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Day 28--Finishing Chapter 2, Beginning Chapter 3

Ahhh, what a day. Bittersweet in some ways, but had to happen. I finished the Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route! After 14 days, I returned to McCall. More on that in a moment.

From my campsite by the river, I had about 10 miles of gravel/dirt left. It was very foggy in places.

Eventually, I came to the end of the gravel. The remaining 15 miles into McCall would be all pavement, mostly on Farm to Market Rd. 
Goodbye washboardy gravel!

As I came into Roseberry, I saw my last couple that I had met before (at the beginning, for them, of the Harriman Trail outside of Ketchum), Mary and Ray. They had had a great ride. They had just a few more days before their tour would be over too.
Have a good ride!

I got on the long, straight Farm to Market Rd.It wasn't flat, but just a few rollers. I was pedaling along when I came to this.
Oh look! More gravel afterall! I had about 5 miles of riding on this. The gravel was no problem, but the many dump trucks were not so pleasant. Some slowed down, some did not. I finally caught up to the flagger. I had to wait about 15 minutes until the pilot car returned. I made it through the last bit back to the smooth pavement. From there it was just a few more miles into McCall. As I came in from the south, I spied a Subway. Perfect opportunity for lunch!

After lunch I went to the bike shop I had been to before. I asked the mechanic if he could tell me the tire size number so my computer would register the correct mileage. He did, and he also aired up my tires to 30 psi, now that I'm back on the road for good. I had the gal from the shop take this photo as a sort of finishing shot for the loop.
TA DA!!!

My final stop in McCall was at Paul's Market to get some groceries. As I rolled up, the same guy who had been there two weeks ago was, again, sitting at the table outside the store. Of course he remembered me (let's face it, with this get up, I'm unforgettable)! We chatted for awhile, then I went inside. He was gone when I came out.

So, that was the end of Chapter 2--McCall to McCall on Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route. Now I'm on to Chapter 3--McCall to Spokane.

This time, the climb out of McCall was easy. The downhill into Meadows was awesome. I had thought I would stay again at Meadows RV Park, but it was only 1:30 when I got there. I decided, instead, to go to Zim's Hot Springs. It is about 4 miles north of New Meadows. 

I'd heard this was a good place. It's great! There are two pools, one hot and the other warm. There are showers too. My camping spot has a lean-to over the picnic table. When I arrived, a lady came out and asked me if I would like a bowl of spaghetti later. Of course! 

I went swimming and soaking in the pools. I met a gal named Peg while I was floating around in the warm pool. We had the most awesome conversation! She is also the mother of 4 boys! 

We got out of the pool just before turning completely into prunes. I returned to my campsite after showering and washing my shorts. The wind has picked up quite a bit, thus my shorts will be dry in no time!
Blow me away!

I forgot to take my camera to the pool with me, so I went back and took these photos.
The warm pool is the farther one.
Rustic, but wonderful!

Well, now it's raining. No problem...I've just retreated to the Recreation Hall to wait out the squall. 

Tomorrow I should get back to Whitebird and Swiftwater RV Park. I'm hoping to take that day off and do a jet boat in Hell's Canyon. I've still got my 4 extra days but, I have a possible plan...

Total miles today: 42.5
Average speed: 9.2 (yeah, definitely good downhill today...and the pavement helped too)




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