Date: 2007-05-27
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Miles today: 0.0

5-26-07Hamilton, Mt75 miles today3224 miles totalToday started out earlier than usual. I was sound asleep about 2am and thought I felt something hit me. It woke me up and I thought I must have been dreaming, so I rolled over and went back to sleep.In about half an hour, I felt something hit my arm. When I picked it up, it was a wash rag.Mrs Gorp threw it at me from her bed. She said I was snoring and she couldn't sleep, so she threw the rag at me. :-((I threw it back at her and went back to sleep.I guess I was a little congested from riding into those headwinds yesterday, but I don't think it was nice of her to wake me up just because she couldn't sleep. :-))Next thing I knew, it was 6am and the restaurant opened at 7am. We packed up and walked over to the restaurant.You have to remember that there are only about 114 people that live in Wisdom, Mt and this little restaurant served Starbuck's!!What a great way to start my day...much better than to have someone throw a rag at me in the middle of the night. Ha!! :-))I had a very good breakfast, then we walked back to get our bikes and were riding by 8am.I knew we had to go over Chief Joseph Pass at 7240 feet high, but I hadn't studied my maps well enough to know how far it was to the summit, or how steep it was.I was plesantly surprised because the grade for the first 18 miles was very gradual. We only climbed about 600 feet in those miles, but it was enough to get us into some of the nicest pine forest we've been in for some time.I realized almost as soon as I got into those woods that as much as I've enjoyed all the wide open land and far off views, I really prefer the forest. It just feels more like home to me.We had been seeing lots of antelope again and two large elk were coming out of the woods just as we got to them. They turned around and headed back up the hill. Mrs Gorp commented on how big those buggers are.We also saw more sandhill cranes today than we've seen on this trip.When we started climbing, Mrs Gorp got ahead of me.A guy on a bike came racing down the mountain and yelled something about not having far to go. He was pulling a trailer behind his bike.I was pedaling and really enjoying the day and before I knew it, I was at the summit.This is the 9th time we've crossed the Continental Divide.It wasn't snowing on us, but there was still lots of snow on the ground for the last few miles up to the pass.I put on my jacket and headed down the hill. It turned out to be the best hill we've gone down yet because it was about a 6% grade for about 9 miles.I got to Sula and waited on Mrs Gorp. When she got there, we went into the cafe and I had a buffalo burger for lunch. :-))We kept going downhill after we left Sula, but the grade wasn't nearly as steep.This area was beautiful, but is still recovering from a large forest fire in 2000.The Bitteroot Mountains were on our left all day and we followed the Bitteroot River for miles.We rode through Darby without stopping. It looked like a nice little town with lots of antique shops, but we only had another 15 miles to Hamilton...tonight's destination.Today's 75 miles turned out to be an easy and very enjoyable 75. I almost feel like I didn't have to work to get here. :-))Another great day on the Trans Am Bicycle Trail. :-))5-27-07Lolo Hot Springs, Mt61 miles today3285 miles totalToday's word has to be lucky. :-))We knew rain was in the forecast for today, so when we got up, we packed up and went to the continental breakfast before heading west.We left at 7:05am and it was clear, but the clouds were coming over the mountains to the west of us.This is also an area that's real close to Missoula and the map warns of heavy traffic.We were lucky on that account because it was Sunday morning and the traffic was light.I only saw two mule deer today along with the normal bird sightings. Mrs Gorp saw one elk later in the day.We rolled into Lola which was about 38 miles into the day and we were early enough to stop and have another breakfast.When we left there, we headed up towards Lola Hot Springs...another 23 miles and about a 1000 foot climb.We were rolling along and saw a group of east bound bicyclists that were stopped along the side of the road.We pulled over and talked to them for about 15 minutes. The young girl I talked to said her friend is a nobo on the AT right now and her name is Kentucky Blue.This girl that I was talking to (I forgot to get her name) said that she put an ad in Anventure Cycling Magazine for riding partners on an east bound trek and she ended up with about 10 people. Only about half were still with her because of different fitness levels and personalities.They said they talked to the Brit that's been about 10 days ahead of us on this whole trip. He told them about all the tough headwinds he's faced pretty much the whole way. They said they've only had headwinds one day out of three weeks since they started.I already knew that!!!!!!!!!!!! :-))We wished them luck and we headed on.The winds did kick up a little and we got a very light sprinkle of rain, but not enough to get us wet.Mrs Gorp had reserved a room because this is the holiday weekend, so we pulled up and got our room just in time to watch the rain start. We didn't get wet!! We were done riding today!!! That was the second time we got lucky today.It can rain all it wants to overnight...just so long as it clears up for our long day tomorrow.They have a hot spring here at Lolo Hot Springs...go figure. :-))We took advantage of that while it was raining the chilling rain outside. The spring is naturally 102 degrees and felt great for about 15 minutes.Afterwards, we went and had a snack at the restaurant and they even had a computer!! We haven't seen many computers lately, so it was a treat to check my gmail account and check on a bill.Another great day on the Trans Am Bicycle Trail. :-))5-28-07Kooskia, Id109 miles today3394 miles totalThe restaurant at Lolo Hot Springs Lodge didn't open until 8am...and we wanted to get an early start because we were planning a long day.We packed up and left at 6:30am.Our first 7 miles were all uphill to Lolo Pass at 5235 feet high.It was 40 degrees when we left the lodge, but it was a cold, wet 40 degrees. The temperature had dropped to 34 degrees by the time we got to the summit...a cold, wet 34 degrees. :-))Mrs Gorp got to the summit before me and was waiting at the summit/Idaho state line. That's right, we are in Idaho now!!We got our pictures by the sign, then put more clothes on for the ride down the mountain.We had 13 miles to get to Lochsa Lodge where we planned on eating breakfast.This is a beautiful area to ride a bike in. I really love the forest around here and Mrs Gorp even said that it makes the Green Mountains of Vermont look bad.We got to the lodge and I have to make this a place to come back to some day. It was a really nice place and the lodge itself made me want a log house. It was very cozy and decorated nicely.We ordered breakfast. The pancakes were huge...the eggs, homefries, sausage and toast weren't bad either. :-))There were 3 guys sitting at another table and it turns out they are Trans Am riders that are heading east.They were interested in what we had been through. We acted like nobo thru hikers on the AT and told them how the hills coming up were going to kill them. Ha!! :-))They were nice guys and were originally part of that group we met yesterday, but wanted to go at a more leisurely pace.I also found out two things I had been wondering about. 1. I had been upset with myself for not getting the young girl's name yesterday so I could sign Kentucky Blue's guestbook and let her know I ran into her friend. The guys we met today told me her name was Karli. 2. I had been wondering if McKensie Pass in Oregon was open yet. Turns out it won't be open until about July, so we will have to do the alternate route.We headed on and followed rivers for the rest of the day...for over 80 miles. The first river was the Lochsa River and the second was the Clearwater River.They were both great kayaking rivers and we did see a number of kayakers out there.We saw a couple mule deer and even saw one buck and got some pictures of him.Later in the day, I saw a group of about 6 elk working their way around a mountain.We saw a guy riding east and stopped to talk. His name was Joe and he just got out of the Army at Ft Lewis in Washington and is out riding about half way across the country. He was fun to talk to because he was so enthusiastic about what he was doing. :-))We got to Lowell and stopped at a cafe. That was the first services and the first power lines we saw for 66 miles. I had a very good halibut sandwich.This area is one of my favorite places we've rode through yet on this trip.We headed on for the last 23 miles to Kooskia, our destination for the night.We entered the Nez Pierce Indian Reservation and are in the reservation here in Kooskia tonight.There were a few homes on the far side of the river and they use cables and pulleys to pull themselves across the river because there are no roads on that side.We got a room for the night, then went and had a fried chicken dinner at a local restaurant.Another great day on the Trans Am Bicycle Trail!! :-))