Saturday 14 August 2010

Day 86 Lewiston to Lyons Ferry Park



Friday 13th August
Daily mileage 73miles Average Speed 12.4mph Ride Time 5hr51min
Total Mileage 3548

After a good nights sleep I would like to say we were wide awake sitting at the breakfast table at 6.30am but we were still tired. On the road at 7.30am we cycled out of Lewiston and over the Snake River into Clarkston only 5 miles up the road but more importantly it is in Washington state which is our 11th and final USA state! We continued on following the river where the road lined the lake edge for a good 10 miles before we started the major climb of the day up and over the Alpowa pass at a summit of 2785ft which does not sound that high but when you start from an elevation of 700 it’s a tough climb!
We plodded our way up with a narrow hard shoulder and the heat of the sun on our backs. At one point there was a deer stood right in the middle of the road with a truck coming down the hill and a truck coming up the hill and we were petrified of seeing fresh road kill. With a loud shout from Kris it jumped the barrier with ease and disappeared thankfully. At the summit we had done 25 miles and there was a rest area where we collapsed on the picnic table pouring with sweat where we seemed to attract a fair bit of attention of cars pulling in.


We met Helen and Roger who we chatted with for a while and they offered us a home made monster cookie and a place to stay in a couple of days as they live on our route, thanks and we hope to see you soon! We finally mustered up the energy to get back on the saddle and began the lovely descent for 10 miles into Pomeroy passing through Pataha. On the way we met Dick who was cycle touring the opposite direction and he is on his 3rd attempt at the USA crossing and we wish him the best of luck as he has only just started.

In Pomeroy after 35 miles we stopped in a café for a burger, a comfy seat and some air con. Half hour later we were off on our way to Dodge 12miles up the road which turned out to be nothing more than a road junction. So we carried on to Starbuck 16 miles later where we managed to sniff out a cold drink in a bate shop. Thankfully the drinks were stored in a separate fridge to the worms. We had planned to stay here but the lady in the shop suggested we continued on to Lyons Ferry Park which is back on the Snake River edge and has a swimming beach and a marina.

Easily persuaded we crawled gently back on the saddle and plodded out the final 7 miles into the park crossing the river again on a high, narrow, see through bridge with strong wind in our face. The scenery has been randomly great today. There have been hills on either side with the river but the fields have been golden with hay ready to be harvested in every direction and no greenery in sight. We have felt like we are completely in the middle of nowhere and the fact that we are completely in the middle of nowhere could have something to do with it!

As we arrived in the park we bought a few bits for dinner and breakfast… pineapple chunks, a chocolate bar, some cheese and crackers and some crisps, not enough and not at all appetising but the store was expensive and very limited. Before we set up the tent we headed straight to the swimming area and almost run straight in, it only took a few minutes before we had submerged instead of the normal half hour! We laid in the sun to dry off and have a power nap, then set up tent, showered and watched a movie in the tent. This was our 6th day riding in a row and with no foreseeable day off we are drained.



3 comments:

  1. Alpowa Pass, yes indeed we remember it well,as we came down the road you had to slog up. We saw some bikers pedaling up and thought to ourselves how hard that side looked. Great job getting up it and keep on having a great time.

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  2. Congratulations to you for entering the West Coast State of Washington, USA. Quite an accomplishment that you are about to complete by pedaling across the last state of your long journey.

    We will be adding Lewiston and the Beagle B&B to our "Must Visit" list, very unique.

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  3. YES !!! gotta go to the BEAGLE...i'll bring brandi rascal in my bike basket :o)

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