I thought this should be titled Tailwinds Make Rollers More Fun or possibly Seeking Info from Those Devoid of Knowledge .

It was a great day for my last ride with TRC as a resident of the Valley (By now Corrie should have another copy of that e-mail saying I'd be there and should be working on why his e-mail keeps filing e-mail from me in the circular file!).

Corrie's mother must not have taught him that when we want to finish something early, we start early rather than hurry through it? Maybe a 6:30 start? I like giving my favorite cycling companion a bad time as he seems to be slipping into a sleep-in mode that precludes his giving Chris a bad time about that former habit of Chris'! Corrie's guilt at leaving me on the Old Winchester Grade was evident as he was digging marionberry seeds out of his teeth and trying to warn me not to finish the century as planned. From my perspective, "hurrying" through a century is about the only way to ruin its fun. Taking advice from those who speak without knowledge could be another! The guy holding the road sign at Culdesac talked in circles until it was evident he didn't have a clue where the old pavement on the new Winchester Grade was going. The State employee at the Thunderbird said it was going on the Culdesac Grade (these names get confusing- there's a new and old Culdesac Grade going up toward Rubens and some people call the New Winchester Grade the Culdesac Grade making 3 possible Culdesac Grades.) Anyway, I was mildly annoyed at the lack of knowledge hitting my ears when Corrie said the Rubens/Gifford Grade was in terrible shape from road construction according to one of the waitresses in Winchester. All I knew was that the wind was a strong head wind at the top of Old Winchester, and that's just where I wanted it after having none while in the Valley. I also knew I could bounce around on the gravel roads between Rubens & Winchester if necessary. After fighting headwinds into Winchester where I had lunch, I decided not to ask the help about the roads. The wind was still directly from the south as I started toward the prairie. When I got to the Rubens/Gifford road, I thought "what is that black soft looking pavement?" Turns out they'd dug a new line for some kind of pipe, and there was an 8" strip of soft pavement! That 8" strip was the only construction I saw there though there might be some signs of construction on the Culdesac Grade. At this intersection I picked up the trailwind I'd been hoping for for years! Usually these rollers are fun because if ridden right, using gravity and some rapid peddling down the hills one seems transported to the top of the next hill. Saturday, the tailwind covered for the peddling! Just before Gifford I thought the South wind was becoming a SE wind- well, that works well as the road bends there to run almost northwest from Gifford. By the time I reached the Clearwater, it was a nice easterly wind! Having lost Corrie to the hurry god, I enjoyed a 10 minute nap in Spalding Park and 20 minutes off the bike before catching the tailwind for the ride back into Lewiston where the thunderstorms in the Palouse seemed to change the wind back to the prevailing westerlies. With a full lunch and a nap I still arrived in town at 5:00. Corrie, you should have stuck it out! Time trialers were just starting to arrive as I turned onto Red Wolf.

It was a great day for a century!

Happy Cycling for Fun, Fitness, and Transportation!

Steve