The second Tour Divide shakedown ride (Friday the 13th - darn flats!) came together quickly with a 2 day window to get out and explore. Decisions on which route to take were alleviated when my Dad said I should ride up into Indian Valley - brilliant suggestion!! With just a sketch of a route planned out I thought I would just make decisions as to specifics when the time came. The goal was 100 + mile days, test the knee (recent seat and cleat adjustment - thanks Harold!), work on gear detail, and get out and ride in some HEAT!
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Riding some slab up toward Pearl.
Snakes were out in full force for the weekend - a sure sign of spring!
This was really a fantastic road. Blue skies and silver clouds.
Puncture wound number one. The rocks on this section were sharp.
But there is always lots of junk on these roads from trailers bouncing around
and parts and pieces falling off.
Plugged and ready to roll.
On toward more of the same. More blue, more sky, more cloud.
Bill's hacienda in Indian Valley. Bill was an intriguing cat; a vet who lives off the grid, a philosopher and a historian. Sipping Keystone Light and rolling his own smokes as we talked, he gave me a tour, lighting up as he talked about his past 30+ years in the valley. He pointed out the history of the area (home of the last Indian war in the Northwest), the hiking, arrowheads, his bike collection, the neighbors - what neighbors?
He was a very engaging guy and I plan to pay him another visit and hike some of the country he was pointing out. And deliver a case of Keystone as well to repay him for the cold and refreshing well water he offered.
A collection of very interesting rocks.
An effigy in honor of the Forest Service.
Bill is a bike nut and was fascinated by the Fargo
Home Sweet Home
One of Bill's many collectibles
On into the town of Indian Valley
Rode Cottonwood Creek and the map and GPS showed an old road that looped to the east and then south to the Middle Fork of the Weiser where I was planning to camp that night. As I got into it it was steep and rutted. After an hour of pushing and riding I decided that was enough of a cardio workout for the day so turned it around.
Riding a quick downriver pace on Cottonwood Road I had another puncture to the tubeless. It was hot and I was tired and not in much of a mood to deal with a flat. Bike strategically placed almost in the middle of the road (no traffic all day!), I heard a car approaching and turned to waive it around and there was Chuck P!! Chuck had been following my progress with the SPOT Tracker and decided to come up and hang out and camp wherever I ended up at the end of the day. My reward for a successful tire plug was a cold Deshutes Red Chair, or was it Mirror Pond? Either way - cold beer with a good friend on a gravel road in the heat under a blue sky in a new place is priceless! Thank's Chuck - you are awesome!
Riding the Middle Fork road to find the campsite.
Always fun to hang out around a camp with fire, water, shelter and beer. I was sure happy.
Excellent steaks and bakers cooked in the fire.
Happy camper!
Heading out early morning
One of my favorite images - color, contrast and texture was a sensory overload.
Lunch time in a slight drizzle. Tortillas, crackers and tuna with trailmix.
Dodson Pass area
Relocated SPOT unit helped a lot!
Some company and cold well water in Sweet
Another day, another cemetery
Chugged two chocolate milks before the climb out of Horseshoe Bend - delicious!
Another hot one! Removed helmet to cool down and had tunes going for the long, slow climb
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SUMMARY
- 206 Miles
- Approximately 10 hours a day in the saddle
- Left knee felt better (made a minor cleat and seat adjustment)
- Rode at a higher cadence - more spinning and less grinding
- Food was exceptional - thanks again Chuck!
- Hydration OK but in heat I was going through water quickly
- Still avoiding the pack on my back
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Very pleased with the ride and the performance of the hardware. Not happy about two flats but pleased with two successful plugs that held. Good test anyway. The relocated SPOT worked flawlessly this round. Hell, Chuck found me in the middle of nowhere - may have been some luck thrown in there but I was impressed! Friends in Boise gave the SPOT reception a thumbs up. And my sweet Eve knew pretty close to where I was at all times.
I feel a step closer but still have lots to get accomplished at the home front, work to bring to closure, and a never shrinking task list of things yet to do. But it will get done and I will leave on the 5th of June for Banff.
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