This ride was supposed to stop at Grangeville, which would have been
only a 40+ mile day, with the following day's ride at over 80 miles.
Don't know why it was planned that way, unless it was a misguided
attempt to save us from having to do all of a 2800' climb on one day
(Grangeville is about the midpoint). Hah! The Adventure Cycling 2010
Van-Supported Trans-Am Tour collectively sneers at a paltry, bump-in-
the-road 2800' climb; that is nothing to us; we eat those for
breakfast. So, anyway, after confirming that there was a place where
we could stay, the group decided at the Wednesday map meeting to even
out the two days by extending today's ride another 20 or so miles, to
the little town of White Bird (pop 106). Good call; 40 would've been
too short and 80 the next day too long. And everyone made the climb
just fine.
And it was another spectacular day of riding, big climb and all. We
started the ride the way we'd ended the previous day, by following the
middle fork of the Clearwater River downstream to Kooskia for about 15
miles. At Kooskia we turned south and worked our way gradually
upstream, for another 15 miles, along the river's south fork, through
a long and beautiful canyon, even more spectacular for being lit by
the morning sun. Then finally we left the river valleys, and began a
10-mile, heavily-switchbacked ascent up to Grangeville, which included
some incredible vistas of the surrounding countryside.
40+ miles of riding; it's 11:00; I haven't had my usual 30-35 mile
snack break (banana, Gatorade, granola bar, maybe some trail mix) for
some reason, probably having to do with: I don't like to stop on an
uphill, and that's all there's been for a while. To wit: I'm hungry.
And, as I wend my way through downtown Grangeville, what do my eyes
behold? Bishop's Bistro, boldly proclaiming the availability, and,
beyond that, the *quality* of their food(*). We'll see about THAT. A
plan forms in my head. After confirming with Bishop's staff that they
operated under the standard rules of exchange for such establishments
-- they would give me food, and I would give them money -- I sat down.
I was beyond pie-hungry, so I broke with my usual pattern and had a
meal, Bishop's famous 2+2+2 -- (2 eggs, 2 sausages, 2 pieces of French
toast). Mmmmmm; perfect. And *then* I had the pie (cherry, from a can,
but pretty good) and ice cream. It was the loaves and fishes miracle,
only in reverse -- one man eating food that could have served
multitudes.
Thus fortified -- possibly a little over fortified, in fact -- I set
off to finish the last 10 miles of climbing, after which I was
counting on gravity to do most of the final 10 miles of work to get me
to White Bird. And what a great climb it was, on a little, winding,
virtually empty country road off the main highway called Old White
Bird Hill (4 parts to its name!) Road. And then gravity did, indeed,
pretty much take over. The descent was equally scenic, with some
spectacular views (see inadequate photo), but a little too gravelly,
due to some ill-timed (from my perspective) road repair work. It was
still preferable to the main highway, I thought, with its noise and
truck-intensive traffic.
I arrived in White Bird at around 1:00, just about the same time as
Mike, but before the van. We couldn't really go anywhere, because at
that point we didn't know where we were staying. It was also very hot
outside -- upper 90's -- and we both needed to hydrate. So, there was
really only one possible course of action: the Silver Dollar Bar &
Cafe. From the outside it was the perfect small-town western bar -- a
weathered wood siding, kinda run-down and bedraggled old building,
with a hitching rail in the front -- and the inside certainly didn't
disappoint. We had a couple of beers ($1.25 for a Bud; $2.25 for
something fancy on draft) and conversed with the local regulars and
staff. The former were *very* interested in directing us the best way
to the Oregon coast, and couldn't seem to comprehend, no matter how
many times and how many ways we tried to tell them, that (a) the best
way by car might not be the best way by bike, and (b) the route was
pretty much pre-set, and not anything that we had a lot of control
over. So their advice, and their maps, were of absolutely no use to
us, but it was still kind of charming and heartwarming how eager they
were to be helpful.
We also had some fun with the barkeep, a gruff (on the surface) but
charming older woman. She said she and her husband moved to the area X-
ty years ago, and she was going do nothing but got bored, so she took
the bar job. Now she wanted to quit, but her husband wouldn't let her,
so when he came in could I try to get her fired? Sure; no problem.
Soon her husband -- also the bar owner, also the mayor -- arrived, and
I started complaining bitterly and loudly about the rude and inept
service, and the number of potential customers driven away, and the
need to get the lady out of the hospitality business entirely and into
something more appropriate, like prison guard. He wasn't buying any of
it.
She showed us a book written a few years ago by a cross-country biker
which evaluated all the bars he'd been to along the way, and read us
the description of the Silver Dollar -- a "dive," he had called it.
Idiot. What was he looking for -- Starbucks? It was absolute perfection.
We camped out at a private campground just outside of town. I was
sorry I couldn't get back to the Silver Dollar, but I was on dinner
duty (stroganoff; pretty good). Lots of the gang found it, though, and
enjoyed it perhaps just a tad beyond thoroughly, before rolling into
camp very loudly just before dinner. Jerry, especially, put on an
entertaining show pitching his tent, and eventually did manage to get
the correct side down.
----------
(*) Thanks to my advanced education, I know that lack of food is a
leading cause of hunger, according to the latest scientific studies.
(Sent from my iPhone)
No comments:
Post a Comment