Saturday, June 26, 2010 60 miles Colville, WA

What a day!  It began again cool and crisp at 50 degrees.  After the 1st 2.5 miles, I was shedding jackets and arm warmers.  At that point, we began a marathon climb of 17 miles up and over the Sherman Pass (5575 ft.)  That stucker just went up and up and round and round.  It took me 3 hrs. to reach the top and I was probably in the middle of the pack.  The downhill was 6 % grade for 6 miles; naturally, I took my time getting down.  Somewhere along the final 39 miles, I stopped to explore the Log Flume Heritage Site.  In the early 20's a lumber company was located there and probably destroyed a lot of the surrounding forest.  A fire destroyed the business in 1928 and the Depression finished them off.  Now, though, there is a beautiful woodland, paved path down to the river where the logs were floated.  I walked for quite a ways and took pics of some of the wildflowers.  ASAP I will add some of the pics to this page.  The process is too slow tonight, so stay tuned.  The sweet smelling flowers included wild roses, lupine and an orange flower that I can't identify.  . .. There were still plenty of hills to climb and the temp was up in the 80's.  Laura and I stopped in Colville (Main St. naturally is at the top of a hill) and got a snack at an expresso/sandwich shop.  I enjoyed a good cup of iced coffee with my pb&j that was still not eaten.  . . .  I rode today with several different ladies.  This will surprise my biking friends, but I actually can climb around a lot of the ladies.  But, they fly past me on the downhill side and leave me in their dust!  Speaking of dust, my odometer seems to have bitten the dust.  I've installed new batteries, but it refuses to reset.  Since we have excellent que sheets, I can get along without it and still keep up with the trip miles.  It is helpful, though, in knowing  when I've reached a point where I need to turn.  I'll be in Sandpoint, ID, soon where there are three bike shops, so will do something about it then.  I may also get a massage.  The body is hurting tonight after today's climb.  :))
Check back later for pictures.