6/19-Something I’ve Never Done!

Another title for today’s post could be “On the Lookout for Sticks That Aren’t Sticks”.

I have to say, today was tough! I knew there would be a headwind, and there was. I did start the day right with a good breakfast at Days Inn. My favorite, make your own waffles, yogurt, apple juice, and a banana. If I hadn’t been so full, I would have also had some sausage and eggs. 

I rolled out at 6:30. The wind was already blowing, but it was manageable. The route turned to gravel pretty quickly. 

A little overcast too

My favorite deer spotting of the whole trip so far. Just its ears poking up. I see you!

I popped out onto some pavement for awhile. Then, rode by one of those signs, “Pavement Ends”. Back to gravel. This time it would be gravel for the next 20 miles. 

Stark trees

I crossed the Columbia Plateau Trail. This goes nearly all the way to Spokane. Eddie was going to be taking this trail. 

Eventually, I was riding parallel to the Palouse to Cascades. I knew I had a section on it today. When I got to Revere (there’s nothing there but the Revere Wildlife Reserve).

These cows lined up for a photo. 

Revere Ranch

I pulled out my chair and had some “lunch”. Okay, it was two string cheeses and a half a bag of peanut M&Ms. I need to eat more lunch. Right after lunch was the P2CT section. I was barely on it when I saw a stick that was not a stick. 

That stick had a rattle, and was moving!

It slowly moved off the trail, then I rode very quickly by. Now I was on high alert for sticks that weren’t sticks! Luckily, I didn’t see any others. 

Was able to go around this gate.

Another deer sighting.

When you do the P2CT, you have to register, and get the combination for the padlocks on some of the gates. This gate was one of those. The combo worked. 

I had just a bit more of the trail before it diverted off onto another gravel road. The road was called Texas Hill Rd. Hmmm…would there be a hill? Yes there was. It was a steep one too. My rear wheel started to lose traction on the uphill washboard (a downside to the Terravail Sparwood tire). I ended up walking. 

Long gravel roads

I was starting to countdown the miles of gravel left. I was ready for some faster moving on pavement. I finally came to Hwy 23. There was a grange (I think) building just before the Hwy. I stopped and took another break. 

According to the route, the rest was pavement. The route lies! There was maybe a mile or so of pavement, then it turned onto another gravel road. Now, I know what you’re thinking, I should be happy it’s gravel. But, when I have 66 miles to do with mostly a headwind, I’ll take some pavement. But no, it was another 10 miles of thick gravel. By now, I was at 43 miles, and I was getting tired. My butt bones were not liking sitting anymore. I found myself stopping at least every mile, and then even more often. I tried stretching the glutes. That helped for a short bit. Finally, I did something I’ve never done before. I walked for awhile. It wasn’t even uphill! I just needed to get off the bike for awhile. I figured at least I was making forward progress, albeit very slow. I’d walk for awhile, then ride some more u til my butt couldn’t take it, then I’d walk again.  

I came to this water cooler at Kamiak Creek Farms. I still had a fair amount of water (I’d carried 3 liters), but I drank a bunch, and filled up one bottle. 

I continued my ride/walk progression. I also realized I really needed to eat something. I still had the other half of the bag of M&Ms. I ate them as I walked. I would pop a couple in my mouth, walk while I was chewing, stop, get a drink, pop a couple more, and continue on. I forced myself to finish the bag. 

My plan today was to go to Rosalia. But there was Malden, which was 6 miles before Rosalia. I threw the idea of Rosalia out the window, and set my sights on Malden. I knew there was camping in Malden at the city park. 

I finally reached the pavement. Even though I only had a few more miles to go, it seemed like it took forever. I finally rolled up to the park at 4:45. I had been riding for over 10 hours. I happened to arrive just as Ernie was turning on a sprinkler. I asked him about camping. He said sure, I could camp anywhere, and there were restrooms and showers!!! He also told me if the sprinkler was bothering me, I could shut it off. 

Home sweet home for tonight. 

The shower was great! The building seems new. On one end is the library, on the other end is a Community Room (there was a birthday party). The restrooms are in the middle. 

Another cyclist rolled in named Steve. He is doing his own route to Bar Harbor, Maine. Nice guy. He was glad I was here because he was t sure about city park camping. I told him to get used to it because the further east you go, the more you camp in city parks. 

So, I didn’t make it to Rosalia, but Malden is pretty nice! I rode 60 miles…30 of which were pretty painful!