White Bird to New Meadows, ID

Today is a "zero" day in New Meadows and a much needed rest! This afternoon we will be going to the cabin of one of the ladies on our trip for dinner, boating, and swimming. Both Nancy and Kaye, friends since high school, have cabins in the town of McCall. They are both on our ride and will be hosting us this afternoon. Yesterday we climbed 2989'. We left White Bird after our breakfast at the trailer, oatmeal, which gives me that boost in the morning! We continued on Hwy 95 along the Salmon River. The Salmon River is the longest free flowing river in the United States. (this means it does not have any dams diverting water.) The mornings was cool and very pleasant. We rolled along looking at the beautiful scenery, rocky cliffs, evergreen forests, and sandy beaches along the river. We stopped in the town of Riggins, known for its rafting, and had lunch - you guessed it, grilled cheese and tomato. This time I had their Gazpacho soup to go with the sandwich, very good!

As we headed on, we began a 15 mile climb of 1-2%. It was getting hotter and we had a strong headwind. At mile 49 the grade went to 3-4% and the wind seemed to get stronger. We were pretty tired and always glad to find the sag wagon for water. Three of us were trying to stay together to get a break from the wind but often we just got too far apart from each other. One of our group was getting a bad headache and wisely decided to catch a ride in sag van to our motel. So, for the last 20 miles, two of us stuck together and did benefit from the drafting. We crossed the 45th Parallel - we were halfway between the equator and the North Pole! We were glad to get to our motel, the day was probably the hardest yet! Stats: 68.85 miles, 5hrs 19min., fastest speed 27.9, avg. 12. We also crossed from Pacific time into Mountain time. Last night for dinner we had burritos, with corn salad, a rice dish, and all the fixings!