Day 92: Mazama to Omak, 63 miles
Day 93: Omak to Republic, 66 miles
Day 94: Republic to Colville, 63 miles
Day 95: Colville to Spokane, 68 miles
Woke up early and had a breakfast of Pancakes, bananas and strawberries with Dave and Nancy and then hit the road. The mornings ride was pretty easy down into and through the Main Street of Winthrop which was lined with "Old West" style buildings and wooden sidewalks and saloons, etc.... It was a cool little place to pass through, but definitely had the touristy vibe.
From Winthrop it was still an easy ride to the next town, Twisp. Then after leaving Twisp the climbing started. In 14 miles I rose from 1,637 ft. to 4,020 ft. at Loup Loup Pass. It was a tough climb, but still nothing like the day before with Rainy and Washington.
From Loup Loup it was a nice downhill cruise all of the way into Omak where I'm staying the night with another Warmshowers host Parker. Gotta love these Warmshowers! I feel so fresh and clean every day! Climb 2 of 4 complete before I get out of Washington and get some flat riding for a few days!
Day 93: 6/13/14
Rain, rain and more rain. That's what I have to say about this days ride. The rain came late last night and it just kept coming all day today.
I got up to Wauconda, 2 miles short of Wauconda Pass, by about 12 noon soaked to the bone and in dire need of warmth and coffee. The one building in Wauconda that served as the community store, cafe and post office had a sign on the front that the cafe was closed for renovation.... So I went inside anyways just to see and as I walked in and looked over towards my left where the cafe was I saw the wooden gate across the entryway saying "do not enter." As I was standing there a rather bubbly woman came from the the kitchen and asked me if she could help me with anything and that's when I spotted the coffee machine in the corner that was on and had a full pot of hot, dark, soul-quenching deliciousness just waiting for me. And she asked right??? So I asked if I could possibly get a coffee and have a seat inside for a minute to warm up and gave her my little biking in the rain sob story and it worked. I got 3 cups of coffee and was able to change into dry clothes and warm up a bit and then got back out to the riding.
And to make it even better the rain had let up to only a light sprinkle. So I took on the last 2 miles with relative ease to Wauconda Pass at 4,310 ft.
I dropped down into the town of Republic and rode to my hosts house up a dirt road just a little outside of town. As I was waiting for my host, Dianne to come outside a deer came walking up the hill, looked right at me, then continued on across the road right in front of me and then up the hill. N.B.D.
But, the night didn't end there. I happened to arrive in Republic on their Prospectors Day celebration, an annual event filled with lots of food, crafts and other events. We ended up going down to the little festival and got some enormous sausage sandwiches for dinner and then went to the Republic Brewing Company for some local beer sampling. It also just so happened to be the annual beard contest at the Brewing Company, but yours truly didn't sign up for the contest... Didn't want to show anyone up. Unfortunately I don't have any pics from the beard contest, but let me tell you there were some pretty good ones.
I also got the pleasure of meeting another fellow cyclist by the name of Steve Quam. Steve is a 68 year old man who is currently on his 3rd cross country bicycle trip since being diagnosed with Parkinson's and is working to raise funds and awareness through his foundation Pedal for Parkinson's. He was a very cool guy and I was very happy to get to spend a night getting to know him.
Day 94: 6/14/14
After oatmeal in the morning with Steve and Dianne I took off to tackle the last of the four major climbs in Washington. I had an 18 mile jaunt from Republic to Sherman Pass, 2,575 ft. to 5,575 ft. The climb was pretty gradual and it took me just about 2 hours to get to the top and then I coasted down the backside into Kettle Falls.
I stopped in Kettle Falls and ate a 12-inch pepperoni pizza and 3 cans of Pepsi at a local pizza spot and then rode be last 15 miles to my warmshowers hosts just south of Colville. And I got there just in time. Just as I was getting my bike under their garage and walking my gear inside the rain started to come and it downpoured for about 2 hours. Thankfully, I got to watch the little storm from inside on a nice comfy and warm bed.
Dinner, and yes I still ate dinner after that large lunch, consisted of some Annie's Mac and cheese and 2 peanut butter and honey sandwiches and then I crashed out.
Day 95: 6/15/14
No rain again this morning so by 7:30 a.m., after a cliff bar and 3 peanut butter and honey sandwiches, I was on the bike pedaling towards Spokane. And it was amazing how fast I was able to get to Spokane when I didn't have to scale any mountains. I arrived in Spokane around 2:00 p.m. and posted up outside of a gas station to make the all important phone call home to the Pops for Father's Day and then rode to my warmshowers hosts.
Bob and Barb and their two daughters Kelly Ann and Erin completed a cross country bike trip all together 5 years back when Kelly Ann and Erin were only 14 and 13 years old. We had a great time exchanging bike stories/horror stories while eating Cincinnati Chilli for dinner. Kelly Ann and Erin also made it clear that they will never, EVER do a bike tour again... Ahhh how fondly we all remember our pasts..
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