So, we’ve been out in the boonies for the last few days, worrying our parents sick, but now we’re back in civilization AND in a whole new state!

Let’s see where we left off…

We entered Idaho!

tripods are for the weak and the well-prepared

We biked up several miles of 7% grade in Lewiston, Idaho to get some drugs for Beefy. He’s had wheezy old rat man breathing for awhile now, and my vet figured we should try him on another round of antibiotics. The ride up to the vet’s office here was a true test of our love & patience for the smelly little dude. But, he sounds a bit better, so, worth it in our eyes.

After we sped back down the 7% (by the way, downhills like these are the bomb) we scooted on out of Lewiston & into the soggy wilderness for what seemed like a whole week. We camped about 30 miles out, next to a river, and at 7:30 the next morning as we climbed out of soaked tent, packed up, and mounted our cycles to roll ever on, a rancher man tending his cattle across the road commented on how tough WE were! I couldn’t believe a real life rancherman said this to us!

Stink’s new commuter. (this is for you Heather)

We biked on for 73 miles in the rain and eventually got to Lowell, and, tempted by the sight of greasy burgers, ate our first restaurant meal of the road. I literally had a burger with all the fixings, sans the burger aspect. Totally worth it. Thank you to our friends & family who insisted we take their monies, as we used this fund to get a good meal in.

That night, we camped in the rain again, but awoke to sunshine, in what appeared to be back home in Oregon again. We laid out all our crap to dry, did a quick trip back to town for water, did some bike maintenance, then rolled off again.

waking up with a “suite” view

We were traveling along the Clearwater & Lochsa Rivers, and got to see lots of folks riding the rapids, and even surfing (somehow!!) the waves. The road was winding, windy, and had a narrow shoulder, but we carried on.

the Lochsa River being all purty & stuff.

home sweet gravel-y home.. for the night

BeeEifs!

That night, we camped behind a mountain of gravel in a road maintenance station, and cooked up some schlup, endearingly called “The Dinner”. (Winco bulk dehydrated refired beans, instant mashed potatoes, quick rice, nutritional yeast, and a last minute, but very necessary addition of a carrot. Eaten over matzo crackers, with ketchup……..). Then, time for bed again, and zonked out.

“The Dinner”

The morning was (surprise!) chill & windy again, and our monumental task of biking 34 miles, then 12 more up and over Lolo Pass, then the remainder of our daily 55, loomed large over us (literally). But, we packed up, got warned by a cop of the dangerous roads, and trudged on.

I counted miles to the lodge/gas station that we would find 12 below the pass, and when we finally arrived, some fool man was grinding & cutting his way through concrete making a complete rucus! I was ready to relax before the big climb! He was totally just doing his job, but I enjoyed having something to grump about.

We staked out a picnic table out back, feasted on all the snacks in our bags (seriously feasted), then packed up, plugged in our headphones, and rolled out. I blasted Built to Spill (of Idaho origins) in one ear, and left the other open to listen to Stink’s comical grumblings and protests against the prevailing headwinds. (“Wind! If you don’t stop, I’m gunna punch you right in the face!!” *the wind uninterestedly continues, and Stink defiantly punches the ambivalent air in front of her*)

But alas, after what felt like, and probably was, hours of slow climbing, we reached the pass! There was a ranger station up there, and we parked the bikes, excitedly guzzled free coffees (I was so happy!) and got to chat with a few different folks who stopped to stare at our tricked out mobile homes.

Lolo Pass – Mountains of Fun!
…nooot.

Among these, we met John, a motocyclist, who will soon been riding all the way down to the tip of South America, and a couple, David & Melinda, who were on their way to the Lolo Hot Springs. I said that if it was free and along our way, that we’d assuredly be soaking it up. We then walked off to check out the minimal (but still existent!) snow, and by the time we got back to our bikes, found a note & gift of hot spring entrance money from them! Those sneaky dogs were too nice!

I’m pretty sure this is taken straight from a old highschool German textbox. Seriously. Check out those angles and that major 90’s-ness.

We finally rolled out, got our obligatory “new state” picture in front of the Montana sign, and speed down our well earned downhill. About 7 miles in, we reached the hot spings, and went in awe to the doors. We checked in, showered the grime off our staaanky bodies, and proceeded to soak our achey knees/bums in 105 degree waters. Niiiiice.

While there, we started chatting with this nice man Steve, from Beaverton, about his son’s extensive bicycle travels around the U.S. & Europe. His style of dumpster diving & sneaky camping jives quite nicely with our own. After a bit, Stink & I headed to the outdoor pool to cool our rapidly boiling brains (don’t worry, I made sure we drank lots of water for the duration of the soak!) and Steve came out and told us he’d like to pledge two cents per mile to the patients of Watsi, and to meet him at the restaurant next door & he’d buy dinner for us!! Woah! Generosity overload in Montana!

We finished up with another soak, rolled next door, chatted with a couple local kids about Beefy and all things rat, stepped inside the restaurant, and lo-and-behold! There was David & Melinda! Our hot spring providers! We had a great conversation with them about fibonacci numbers among other things, and then went over to join Steve & his parents at their table.

They had just finished eating, so his parents headed back to their cabin, but Steve sat & talked with us as we wolfed down a philly steak sandwich and a taco salad respectively. Then hugs & goodbyes and we left under cover of night to camp in a ditch just down the road.

Once again, morning was cold, wet (condensation wise), & windy. We walked back to the cafe for potty usage, and saw a fellow bike tourist roll past. Then we returned to our stealth spot (having a bit of trouble finding it ourselves…), packed up, and got ready to roll out, when we noticed that my kickstand had mashed in & was rubbing my back tire (quick fix) and that Stink’s rear wheel wasn’t, well… wasn’t really attached to the bike… Wonder how long we’d been traveling like that for…

Anyways, mounted up, and rolled 27 windy miles to Lolo, and got our first cell reception in days! Blew up a McDonald’s for their free wifi, and sent out some cards in the post office next door. (By “blew up” I do not mean that we literally blew up McDonald’s. This term refers to the remarkable speed and nonchalantness in which a bicycle tourist will take out every single item from their bags and have them scattered on every available surface within moments of pulling to a stop. This is also called “getting our loiter on”).

Somehow, we spent like 3 hours there, catching up with worried family, writing journal entries (that I can never seem to catch up on), and attempting to contact Missoula press for an interview so we can spread the word about Watsi. (By the way, I was quite succinctly informed that Missoula gets hundreds of tourist riding through every year and they do not print such frivolous stories in their newspaper. Sorry, that sounds sassy… I’m being a bit sassy about that.)

check dem handles out, yo.

This is Ian’s bike. Stink was in love. Straight up.

After we finished up, Stink gave a call to her pastor’s wife’s parents (the Babons), who live here in Missoula, and we started heading their way. We arrived to friendly faces and a welcome home, with dinner, showers, laundry, beds, and best of all, really excellent company. Cindy & Jack have a great dynamic, love their kids and grandchildren, and have a loveable old dog named Jäger, who for unknown reasons, refuses to walk on hard floors, unless he has at least one foot on carpeting at all times. This baffles me, and I love it.

But okay, this is a very long winded post (wherein I do actually talk about the wind quite a few times) and I’m up at one in the morning writing it, so I’m now drawing it to a close. We’ll add pictures & post it in the morning, but for now, much love from Stink, Beef, and I, and to all a goodnight!

P.S. We’ve renamed Meriwether Lewis & William Clark to Billy Clark and Mary-Lou. Please enjoy, and use responsibly, by which I mean, anytime you think/read/see the names Lewis & Clark ever again.

P.P.S Here is a video of Stink playing an elephant piano named Mary in downtown Lewiston, Idaho:

Love,

Liz-butts

Beautiful riding today

John and his monster cat Cougar, owner of Waitsburg Mercantile

Someone in Dayton, WA, made this jumbo Green Giant, it reminded me of the Silver Chair

The other day, as we pulled into Walla Walla, a man and his wife whipped off the road to chat with us. They turned out to be Bob and Emma, our hosts through Warmshowers. Robert fired out an entire clip of complex directions to his home and drove off with us tailing along behind. Robert and Emma were the bests hosts ever. They did our laundry, fed us pizza, gave us use of their internet and showers . . . Also, Emma is from the Philipeans and uses this banana sauce instead of catsup, so Lizzy had a new condiment to add to her vegan hot dogs (also provided byBob). We even got to play with their lab pup Millie. It was quite fortuitous that we ended up there for the above mentioned reasons, but also because we awoke to a complete downpour. Bob let us stay in the basement and gave us an entirely accurate account of the roads ahead. We eventually left around 3:00. Bob, who was driving back to Walla Walla from Pomeroy, met us again on the side of the road and we had a final chat. That night we ended up in Waitsburg.

This Waitsburg building had some super horns. I forgot to ask what they were for

Lizzy and I were both blown away by Waitsburg. It is the only town in Washington that is still operating under its original territorial charter, and is celebrating its sesquicentennial this weekend. There will be a parade, performance by the men’s quartet, and I’m sure an appearance by Izzy, the town’s camel–because every town needs a camel! I found a brand new, unopened, fresh bag of Cheetos in the park too, something I take as a sign of greatness. We camped by the river and decided to get coffee from the local grocer the next morning.

Stink feasting in Waitsburg

lizzy’s sister camel, izzy

Most of the buildings in the town are original structures, and are really well maintained. We chatted with several of the locals and got to watch the installation of several bronze statues that will grace Main Street for years to come. While we were sipping coffee, I noticed an animal adoption sign across the street, so of course we had to check it out.

The animal adoption facility was part of the Waitsburg Heardwear and Mercantile, and is run by a wonderful man named John (he gave me a post card and a maple bar!) The store has been in operation for 103 years. John bought the store ten years ago, well before that he lived in Salem and ran milk samples in McMinnville.

His adoption set up was squeaky clean, which he says is the only way to do it. He had a 28 pound monster cat named Cougar, a blind cat, and even a cat with stub legs. Not sure how to describe it other than that. Seriously, the cat was full size with 3 inch legs. He called it the munchkin kitten. Cats aside, the store was awesome, just a little bit of everything you could need. He even had an entire isle for sturgeon fishing bits.

We left Waitsburg begrudgingly and pedeled out to Pomeroy. We were a little knee sore and bum-hurt by the time we got there. We stopped a terrible, outdated forestry service informational sign. We also stumbled upon a man’s private enamel sign collection/Pomeroy museum, and then a mini mart where we  got ice for our achy knees.

sittin on our butts, giving our knees a break in pomeroy

We met a man there who told us to camp in the city park, which we did. When we got to the park there was a young military man doing excercises in jeans and combat boots with three highschool kids. I’m fairly certain he was showing off his strength for us, but what he didn’t know is that Lizzy and I were laughing hysterically at the situation. . . At one point he asked us to tell them what type of exercises to do next.

There was this fabulous pagoda that we decided to camp in. We didn’t take note of the fact that the main light fixture in the pagoda was full of water, or that there were puddles in the pagoda, or that we couldn’t find any dry grass for Beefy to nest in, or that all the acres upon acres of grass that we’d been riding through the past eight hours had all been scratchy dead and that we were in a lush, green park.

So it was that 4:00 this morning we were all awakened from out deep slumber by a torrent of water upon then tent. Honestly my first thoughts were: “that’s funny a storm blew in that quick,” then, “how wet would are stuff actually be if we slept through it. . .”, and though I’m not proud of it, “I’ll just let Lizzy get the bikes.” Tempting as sleep was, commercial strength sprinklers in the face at 4 am prevent snoozing. We popped up and moved everything to the next covered area, and just as we we’re climbing back into the tent, another sprinkler went off. Up we got again and moved everything one more time.

Now we are in Lewiston ID, our third state. Everything is dry, Beef Is getting his prescription filled. We met a fellow cyclists who told us a horrendous story about how his body absorbed some of his foot bones and they exploded(he was explaining why he only had 1.5 feet, though we didn’t ask) I’ll spare the details, but I’ll tell you this: SICK MAN!!!

The knees are feeling much better, thanks for the prayers.

Click on Zar Zar’s picture to head on over to the Watsi site to view her story and others like her.

ZAR ZAR’S STORY

“Growing up Zar Zar was often sick and experienced flu like symptoms,” explain our partners at Burma Border Projects. “She feels weak and is tired after doing small tasks or walking short distances. Small tasks also impact her ability to breathe properly. She said her symptoms are manageable but she worries what will happen to her health in the future it left untreated.”

 

Zar Zar is a 27-year-old woman from Burma, where she lives with her parents. Together, they plant peanuts and beans to support themselves. Their farming income covers food and their basic bills, but does not allow them to save nor address Zar Zar’s ongoing health issues. Our partners at Burma Border Projects diagnosed Zar Zar with mitral valve stenosis, a heart condition that arises when a major valve in the heart is narrower than usual. As a result, blood flow can be uneven within the heart, which can result in heart palpitations, exhaustion or even heart failure.

 

For $1,500, we can fund complex cardiac surgery to correct Zar Zar’s heart valve, so she can regain strength and endurance. With her increased strength, Zar Zar will be able to contribute more around the house and to her family’s farm, increasing their earnings. She will also be able to have children one day, fulfilling her dream of providing for her own children and helping them go to school!

As always, if you enter the Watsi site through https://watsi.org/welcome/within-biking-distance/within-biking-distance your donation will be tracked in our campaign. If not, that’s cool too. We just want you folks to help folks.

-Lizzy

We made it to Washington, this time it’s for real.

Today we ended up in Walla Walla Washington, our second time in Washington this tour if you’ve been counting. Riding through the Gorge the last few days I got the sense that everything was melting and slowly dripping into the Columbia to be washed from memory. I suppose that is what geologists say is happening, but feeling it happen is different from knowing it is happening. I have lived in Oregon for most of my life, and I have many memories sturgeon fishing at Bonneville Dam with my dad, so the Columbia Gorge is not a new place to me–but it felt like an entirely new world on a bicycle. Liz, Beef, and I were amazed at the rapidity in which the landscape was changing around us. We pedaled through lush, waterfall laden forests to arid, scrubby ranch land. The East half of the Columbia Gorge is not tired or lonely, but those are the words that come to mind when trying to describe it. I like it out here. There is a tree in bloom that I am quite taken with. I believe it is a flowering lotus tree but I am probably wrong. Anyway, it is blooming like crazy out here and it smells like Jasmine and kisses.

We have been blessed time and time again this tour and it is only our fifth day. A man approached us earlier and though he was out of work, he gave us grocery money and said God put it on his heart to give it to us. We talked with him for a while and I was moved by the amount of love he had for his family, something that I could sense by the way he talked about them. He is expecting a grandbaby this year, its a girl. He said that we had the legs for such long tour–not like those spindly racer guys (his words not mine). We were also given showers, electricity,internet, dinner, and a place to stay out of the rain tonight by a wonderful couple here in Walla Walla. It never ceases to amaze me the generosity and love that can be found in strangers. It is a lesson that does good for the heart to learn.

Beautiful Waterfall

Lizz on historic route 30. If you have a bike, you must ride there.

The Eastern half is a bit dryer, but still beautiful

Lizzy battling the wind

What started as terrible cross winds that sapped any coast we had going downhill, and which literally blew us off the road, quickly turned into tailwinds. We were able to get 81 miles in yesterday, though we are both feeling it today. We were hoping to come upon a McDonalds or a Walmart in Umatilla to loiter in for a while, but were sorely disappointed when we got there. No such luck. We ended up eating re-fried beans on Matzos with some taco sauce Lizzy’s dad gave us for dinner at the top of a hill that overlooked McNary Dam.

Lizz and Beef experience some windy gusts

Mighty Hunq, mighty river

For a funny look at the crazy steep stairs on Hwy 30, click the video link below.