Mood:  energetic

Karen and I left the Hewitt's home early this morning.  We had breakfast in Republic at 7 AM, enjoying the food and coffee while purusing the newspaper.  It was wet outside, a light sprinkle falling.

We left Republic arouind 8:20 AM, knowing that this might be the biggest challenge yet.  There were not supposed to be many level parts of the climb, and the road to Sherman's Pass has the reputation of having a number of very steep parts.

In my opinion, its reputation is well deserved.  We followed the same pattern as yesterday, resting about every 3-5 miles (5 miles closer to the bottom, 3 miles closer to the top). 

By 12:30 we made the summit.  The climb was difficult, but the low gearing on the bicycle prevailed.

Ironically, the only problem I encountered was on the descent.  The clouds were low, the elevation high, and a light drizzle fell.  I put on my thick rain coat, rain pants, a headband (to keep my ears warm), long fingered gloves, and a helmet cover.  Still I froze.  Karen and I had arranged to meet about 10 miles downhill.  When I pulled up, we cranked up the heat in the car.  It took awhile for the shivering to go away.   This was a good lesson for the future.  There are some things I could have done, but didn't, to keep warmer. 

After a delicious lunch on the Columbia River crossing, we took off to finish the last leg of the day, to arrive in Colville.  I was pretty darned tired when we had arrived at the restaurant, but the rest and food was just what my body needed.  I was strong the rest of the way.

We wanted to find a nice place to spend the night, and boy did we find it. Our hotel in Colville, a Comfort Inn, was much nicer than we had anticipated.  A special surprise was a laundry next to the lobby.  My clothes were definitely ready for the washer!

Most of the next few days will be more normal type of riding.  Some climbing, but nothing major.  The land elevation will slowly but surely increase.  In less than two weeks, I'll be staying in West Yellowstone, whose elevation is around 6,700'.

I was supposed to have a rest day in Colville, but since I took one in Okanogan, I will journey on in the morning. 

The sad news is that Karen will be heading back home.  I sure enjoyed her company.   She has been a real trooper about my trip, and came immediately when I asked, without complaint.  However, it would be a slow torture (maybe not so slow) for her to continue SAGging me across the country.  I love her too much to ask her to submit to that kind of agony. 

So tomorrow, I'm off again.  Its supposed to be rainy the next few days.

Will McMahan