7-25-10 Day 50: Sandpoint, Idaho to Spokane, Washington: 72 miles in 5:11 hours all on Rt. 2 West.
Today was kind of a celebratory ride for me, as I entered Washington state after the first two hours of riding and am finishing up what I believe is my final week of riding on this cross-country trip. Great day. Hot day. Really hot day!
Got through my usual morning routine and got going on the bike at 6:15 AM. Not I had thought that it be a good idea to get going early as the weather was predicted to top 95 degrees today. Got going with no leg warmers and just a light long sleeved jersey out of Sandpoint. Had the roads to myself all the way through town and out into the mountains. Not a cloud in the sky, perfectly blue. Just a fantastic morning to ride. I just didn’t know what to expect today after yesterday’s mountain foray, so I just rode on the conservative side, spinning up the gradual rollers and keeping it mellow on the flats. I wanted gas in my legs in case I hit a substantial climb today. I was riding along the north side of the Oreille River all the way out of Sandpoint and to the west towards the Washington border.
This was a nice rolling section of highway, with plenty of berm and just some great scenery along the river what with the sun popping up on the eastern horizon. No tough climbing here, just rolling up and down along the river. Got to the town of Priest River, Idaho in two hours. Crossed the Oreille River and presto chango I was in Washington state, and on a section of berm that was just pure heaven – glass smooth and about a lane wide with a rumble strip on the far left side. Welcome to Washington! Yanked the long sleeve jersey off and it was tank top time, what with the temp hitting 65 degrees in the town of Newport, Washington. Pure sunshine. No clouds, and dry heat. It felt just wonderful. Good to be alive!
Seemed as though I was doing more down than up as I continued southwest in Washington, and then when the road went dbl lane, I was doing some serious down, for several miles. The landscape was more on the dry, almost semi-arid side with lodgepole pine and white pine all over the place, than and a sandy soil. After the big descent there were several little ups and downs but nothing major. Got to tell you that by this time I was OUT of the Rockies. And that had to be the absolute easiest traversing of that mountain range I’d ever done. This was just not that bad to ride across. Now I didn’t plan the trip specifically around this, but I knew that the Rockies in Montana were not anywhere near as extensive as they are to the south in Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. But those Great Plains of Montana – that made up for the lack of true mountain climbing. Really though, I just kind of lucked into a totally easy mountain crossing, where I never even used my little cookie for any of the climbing. Hell, I had a WAY tougher time crossing New York state and the Allegheny range!
By this time the traffic really started to pick up, what with everyone coming back to Spokane, or leaving Idaho for the day. Thankfully I had that giant berm as my security blanket as the big RV’s and 5th wheels moving past me. I stopped at a mega gonzo gas station/diner about 30 miles out of Spokane for an ice cold coke. Guzzled and off again, onto a series of long rollers where I continued to loose elevation rather than gain it on the way to Spokane. Road went dbl lane again and I started to see signs of a big city a good 20 miles outside to the north. The traffic was just amazing for a Sunday, but with my berm – I was golden! Now it was around 10 AM by this time and I had seen a time and temp sign where the temp was listed as 83 degrees. And as I said, this is a dry heat, kind of like the desert southwest, so that 83 actually felt pretty comfortable, but I know that I wanted to be done in another hour because that temp was really beginning to climb.
Put it down as best I could for the last stretch, loosing my berm as I entered the city limits of Spokane, and a final out of the saddle climb up to and across the Spokane City Limits. Made it the 72 miles in just over 5 hours. I was feeling in a really great mood – hell I made Washington state and was less than a week away from completing my journey. Time for a treat! Yup, no little efficiency today, nope, I decided to splurge on a real hotel, the big time – Comfort Inn! I know, not exactly the Hilton, but to me, and all the cheesy little joints I’ve stayed in across this country, this was a freaking palace. Yup, 87 degrees out by the time I finished and I was just happy to get my salt encrusted ass off of the saddle and into the AC.
Got checked in, showered, skyped Judy and then off to this Chinese buffet, and this pup was like the KING of all Chinese buffes – they had it all and it was just fantastic. I had 5 plates, a bowl of soup and a cup of frozen custard. Waddled out like a duck for gosh’s sake, and by then the temp was just torrid. Went back and grabbed a nap with the AC just jamming….and here I sit. Just feeling really great about this last stretch of riding.
Now I have a desert of sorts to ride through in the first half of Washington. And the forecast is for 98-100+ degrees for the next two days, and nothing but sunshine for the next week. So this is my window to complete the journey in. I’m suppose to meet Barney in Wenatchee on Tuesday evening, but I just bought a map of Washington and that means that I have to really jam on tomorrow’s and Tuesday’s rides, maybe like doing 90+ miles on one of those days. I’ll have to line up all the towns just right on this stretch because there are sections like I rode back in Montana where there is just total nothing for 30-40 miles at a crack. So you have to lay up….or go for the green. And going for the green with it’s 100 outside is not what I’m looking forward to. Heat is my Achilles heel, so I just DO NOT want to be on the bike past, say 1-2 PM max. Just have to see how soon the heat sets in, and how strong a headwind I may have. I’m not going to bang it out into a 15+ mph headwind with those kinds of temps for 90-some miles!
Then it’s just a matter of one more mountain range to traverse – the Cascades, where the temps go down and the road goes UP!
Well, that’s it for today. It’s just so freaking hot out that I’m not even going to go out and walk around. I’ll see the city of Spokane tomorrow as I ride out of here early in the morning. That’s my photo opp time.
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