Corrie,

You missed a great day for biking up the Whitebird hill. Although it rained most of the way down, by the time I parked at the top around 8 AM it had stopped and with arm warmers and knee warmers I rode down to the start in dry conditions. There were 55 people who did ride including Dean Weyen and Matt Morra. The temp was perfect for climbing and there was very little wind. I did see going back through Lewiston that the weather was pretty nice though so I imagine you got a long ride in anyway.

Chris

Well, Chris, I was up at 5 and on the road by 5:45. We had a spot of rain here in the Heights at 5 or so but it had stopped before I left. I had warned Debbie and Cliff that I might not go if the weather looked ugly. Just how ugly I hadn't specified. I saw more rain briefly at the Rose Garden, but was encouraged when things seemed to dry out. The last thing I wanted to have happen was for me to turn around and then have the day turn dry and sunny.

At the top of Winchester, though the rain came in sheets. I couldn't see the hills across the prairie and I tried to call Cliff and Debbie who I thought were ahead of me. At Cottonwood I thought to turn around, but couldn't bring myself to do it. "I'll just talk with Cliff and Debbie at the top," I thought.

But they weren't there. Cliff had the club clock and promised to get it to the start even if he didn't ride. I figured they'd decided not to commit to the ride by riding down so had driven. I pulled off twice to let someone pass before I decided to drive to Hoots. I needed to use the bathroom anyway.

Driving down the hill I watched bits of fog rise lazily. I turned off the wipers. It had stopped raining. "This is a rideable day," I told myself though I figured the extension down Mt. Idaho and the South Fork wouldn't happen.

At Hoots, though, rain greated me as I stepped out of the pickup. I used the facilities and then paused. Home or Hammer Creek. It was 7;30. Registration wasn't until 8. There was a chance no one would be there. I didn't want to wait around until 9 to find out if the weather would improve. I pointed my rig uphill.

Back in the Valley, the sun shone. I had passed only one car with a bicycle on it. I may have passed Chris but his bike was inside. He was driving his mother's car with no bike rack.

At the Rose Garden my cell phone rang. Debbie and Cliff were at Fenn in the rain. They reported seeing Chris's rig at the top of the hill bit no Chris. They had driven down the Old White Bird grade to check the gravel conditions. They found the road awash in gravel though most had gathered in the hairpin corners. The bad patch we had gotten through last year was now a mud hole. The stretch just before entering Hammer Creek was also thick in mud. They dropped off the clock, waited until about 8:40 and had headed back.

As I talked with Debbie, I passed Ben and Tamrara on the tandem headed up separator grade in training for next week's hill climb. I was jealous. The sky was blue, the winds looked calm, and I'd just spent 3 hours driving and had not one mile on my bike.

I went home, jumped on my bike forgetting my sunscreen, and rode to Cliff's house where Cliff, Debbie and I took off for Powers, Lindsay Creek and a 1 pm start with Linda and Nicky at the boat launch. We added on some miles to Asotin first. I did end up with 65 miles for the day. Not as many nor as tough miles as I had planned but not bad after a long hard week, the last of the year, with eighth graders.

I'd rather be on my bike and that's where you'll find me now.