It's good to be useful.

Jim's training for STP. Jim's training for Ramrod. Jim's training for the Native Planet Classic, a 128 mile ride with 10,400 feet of climbing in the North Cascades.

Jim's a mad man. Taking Wednesday off to ride 106 miles with over 9,000 feet of climbing followed by 116 miles on Saturday makes him certifiable. That Wednesdayl ride started in Clarkston with a ride up the Spiral highway, climbed to Flat Iron Road above the Waha store and finished with Cloverland and Anatone.

Who knows what he did Friday, but he was up for the long ride we had agreed upon around Wawawai through Pullman to Moscow and Kendrick Saturday.

It's good to be useful. I've more or less taken on the task of helping Jim train. I think my usefulness there has come to an end. He's showing signs of additional mental strain. He admitted to having bid on a touring frame on Ebay. "I can't figure out how to take the whole summer off, yet," he grinned.

Be careful, Jim You could end up on the road with Largent.

Lee and Roy promised to show up for our 8 am start. No Roy but in his place was Chris. It's been a while since Chris has shown up for a long ride. He's still struggling with headaches and memory loss but after the last MRI the doctors told him he could go out an exercise safely. So he celebrated by doing his first century since last June; by doing 110 miles. He was pretty much the same old Chris riding out front unti he disappeared then circling around patiently until we plodders caught up. He even pace lined from Kendrick almost to Arrow Bridge. But then he realized he wouldn't hit a sub-hour century split if he didnt' pick up his pace. At least he was good enough to wait unti we returned so that he could return the leg and arm warmers I had left in the bed of his Toyota. For the record his century was in 5 hrs. 50. Mine was 6 hrs. 7 mins. Good to have you back Chris.

John Wenz is new to the club. He was at the Spaghetti feed and promised to ride but hasn't ever shown up. He's on my list and said he'd meet us at the bottom of Wawawai Canyon. I told him we'd likely be there by 10. We made it 15 minutes earlier thanks to a nice tail wind but John was already there.

We thought we had dropped you, John

He's lived in Pullman only a couple of months and today was his first attempt to ride up the Canyon. He warned us he might be slow and after a mile or two he dropped off to stop telling us to go on. Because we had a long way to go, I was relieved that we weren't committed to waiting but a little disappointted we wouldn't get to enjoy his company into Pullman.

At the top of Wawawai Canyon I found Chris waiting as usual. Jimand Roy were right behind me and then suddenly there was John . He must have been sandbagging. In addition his front tire was spongey. He sat down in the gravel to make the change. It's always nice to let the new guy have the flats. Thanks John. We'll probabaly see more of him. He's getting married in a couple of weeks and his bride loves to clycle. She'll be joining him in Pullman in August.

I needed a new chain so I stopped in at B&L to find Evanback at work. I thought she had quit the bicycle sales game. She claims this is her last summer. So come on in and enjoy one of her big smiles. She tried to probe me about Sean's June 3rd Craig Mountain ride (with pancake breakfast, by the way). I wasn't making any promises. I think this is Sean's way of losing the last of his friends. But Evan might make the ride.

When I got to Quiznos everyone was mililng around talking to a couple of cyclists--Lee and Doyle. Wait? They hadn't started with us. Sure enough Lee had snuck off a bit early, oh, say 7 am. He said he felt a little guilty unti he and Doyle started climbing the canyon.

"Was it hot," I asked. Betwen 10 and 11 we had no wind up that canyon. The sun beat down until the sweat ran into my eyes forcing me to stop. The last time this had happened Jimwas happy to take advantage of the stop. Not this time. Old Jim's a dangerous man and I think he's trying to hurt me.

"Not particulary," Lee replied. So he got an early start and better weather? I hope you really suffered in the morning cold Lee.

Other than the morning chill and that sweat-producing climb, I dont think I've enjoyed such a fine day on the Palouse. We had little or now wind though the forecast had called for a bit of eat wind until 1. As we rode along the Chimpan trail about 12:50 the wind switched. It was still light and we were digesting lunch. Still 110 miles is a long way and Doyle was out for his first century. Lee soon said he was dropping back to stay with Doyle. He asked for directions to the Chipman trail. Later he checked in with me by email and said they'd had help from a woman to find it. That trail head is marked but you have to know where to look.

We had plenty of people looking out for us. I had an email from Chandler wanting to know if we were the hooligans on bikes he had passed at the top fo the Troy grade. Guilty as charged though we missed you, Hooligan-in-Chief Chandler

And Dean reported seeing Lee and Doyle in Kendrick about 4. We were looked after today.

A live band covered old hits in the park at Kendrick when we arrived. We had orignally planned a ride to Kendrick for lunch for this day but the Locust Blossom festival scared us off. I figured we'd be okay if we arrived after 3. But we had made good time with favorable winds and only one flat. We hit Kendrick at 2:30. We probably wouldn't have found a table at Zoe's but the grocery provided what we needed though we made no attempt to sit in the park.

The crowd made finding a restroom an exercise in patience and bladder control. "There's a porta-pottie on the trail," I told Roy but we found a construction pottie in the alley.

Chris let me take the lead toward Arrow Bridge and even stayed in the pace line. I thought he had become domesticated until he skipped around me asking if we were riding directly back to town.

That left three of us. We stopped at Arrow and again at the Casino. In between we found that it isn't always good to be useful.

Someone launched a projectile at us. I looked like a McDonal's bag to me out in front but was more a sound than a visible object. But it hit Jim's bike or bounced up to hit it. Roy claims it was a beer can or at the very lest an aluminum can filled with ligquid.

I draw the line at providing targets for beer-chuckers. Being useful is over-rated and sometimes dangerous like riding with Jim.