Crusty Cassette

If anyone besides Linda wins the Broken Spoke Award this year, I hope I'm not around to see them crash.

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Bill from Canada joins TRC at the Palouose grocery for a snack.

You do have a helmet, I hope?

Bill Warren had contacted me by email about doing the Huckleberry ride a couple of weeks earlier. He claimed to have really wanted to do it, but nevertheless, allowed himself to become embroiled in a home project at the last minute. Doesn't he know that's why I bike? So I don't have to do home projects?

Two sets of photos

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I want to know who took the pictures on this ride. I don't see any pictures of the beatiful scenery this ride has to offer. I say let's fire the photographer.

I did make it all the way back to Lapwai. My legs tried to cramp several times but they never quite fired.

The ride was enjoyable until I got part way down the Kendrick grade and then the heat kicked in pretty hard. The heat was pretty hard on me. Once I hit Route 12, I was pretty much toast. Any little incline from there back to Lapwai really slowed me.

When I was done my computer said I'd gone 126.5 miles. My average was 16.3. That was the longest ride I'd ever done though not necessarily the hardest. Today, I'm suffering from saddles sores a bit, including some in place you don't want to know about.

more photos

It's 4 pm and Linda and I are almost back to Lewiston when I reach over and crank up the intensity on the air conditioning. It's hot in the valley.

The idea of heading to the mountains during the hottest weeks of the year is a good one but too often it seems we hit the mountains during an extended period of genralized heat throughout the west. 10 degrees cooler doesn't help much when the temperatures are still in the high 90s. Last year's Huckleberry riders endured pretty high temperatures.

But today was different. A slight overcast and a breeze kept us cool all day long. In addition Debbie's knee kept her off the bike so we not only had cooler temperatures but a highly trained sag driver. Thanks for doing that, Debbie. It can't be much fun sitting on the tailgate watching us go by.

Sean made an appearance. Last year he and Eric rode out from Lewiston. This year he parked in Lapwai cutting off perhaps 15 miles. However, he rode all the way back to Lapwai too. At least I didn't see him off in the ditch anywhere so I assume he made it.

Tamra reported that he was losing salt at a furious rate--those lycra shorts were black weren't they? But he loaded up on water at the Convenience store in Deary and headed out. He didn't want to wait around for us slow pokes. He had places to go. At least he got to ride down that nasty hill out of Deary.

But he missed Chris having a beer in the park.

The ride went without incident except for Hammerin' Helen breaking a chain. "I generate tons and tons of wattage," she reported later in the park. Sherry had a chain tool and Lee packed along a quick-link. Now I suppose we'll all have to add one of those to our bags.

Wonder how the STP crew did? Jim, how about a blog?