I'm currently in Clarkston, Washington, waiting for the rest of the guys to get to our WarmShowers host's house. I left from Kamiah, Idaho, very early with Bryce to beat the heat and get a healthy start on our ~90 mile day.
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| Lewis & Clark impression |
[Side Note: We decided in Missoula that we would switch over to the Lewis & Clark route, which allows us to go through Portland on our way to the coast, and gives Kody enough extra time to ride to San Francisco with us]
Idaho was meh--though we weren't in the state for very long. Yesterday we put in nearly 100 miles down Highway 12, "The Best Ride In Idaho" (my ass). The narrow, shoulder-less road follows the Clearwater River and is frequented by annoying hoards of Harley riders, old retirees with enormous camper trailers, and all other sorts of traffic. We got all kinds of attitude from motorcyclists, drivers, and the local shopkeepers (where everything was way overpriced, even by small-town standards). It sucked. 
Once we got to Kamiah, it was recommended that we stay off of Highway 12 by the ACA and by Idaho DOT (according to our handy-dandy maps). We ended up taking a different route over yet another mountainous climb and a series of valley hills. But it was totally worth it because we got to descend down 15 miles of Old Winchester Grade. This has been the most fun descent of the tour with its steep straightaways leading into several tight S-curves and banked switchbacks.
Honestly though Idaho really made a shitty two-day impression on me. The people--on and off the road--were generally unpleasant. The trash on the sides of the road is an eyesore, especially compared to the pristine mountain and country roads of Montana and Wyoming. And Idahoan bike infrastructure is an old wooden ship that sank in the 1700's. But hey, we're in Washington. And soon we'll be in Oregon. And just a bit after that, we'll have completed our coast-to-coast goal! Perhaps even by the end of the week...hmm.
That's weird/crazy/exciting to think about.
Until next post.
- Chris
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