June 11 (The Never Ending Climb)

 

 

Today was ... trying, but I did get some of my faith restored in humanity. (I'm of the opinion that most people are decent, but won't proactively offer help if it inconveniences them in any way ... like having to actually stop their car on the side of the road to see if the cyclist is OK.) It's always heartening to meet the ones who not only help you, but go the extra mile.)

So today I decided to take Patrick's route advice and cut through the Idaho valley on a more scenic route that will take me to Yellowstone; Nate and his dad are probably close but, given that they are visiting family frequently, I probably wouldn't be able to ride with them for that long anyway. So I was off to my next destination: Fairfield. I thought it would be a reasonably easy ride ... boy, was I wrong! Turns out not checking the elevation profile of your route can leave you quite unprepared, as I discovered when I faced what seemed to be a never ending climb.

But first, some complaints. Who takes a perfectly good, smooth  road and pastes gravel onto it in patches!?! Its bad enough having to ride on a badly conditioned road, but when you can see that right beneath the layer of crap is a smooth ride...its such a travesty.

As such I was so glad halfway up the pass when the the road abruptly improved.

About 20 miles into the climb I started getting really nervous; I had run out of water and had to reach into my reserves. (I always carry one full refill of fluids on hot, long days) Given that I had no idea how much longer it would be until I hit the peak, I was legitimately worried that I would run out completely. On such a hot day that could mean heatstroke. So perhaps you can understand how happy I was to see a restaurant halfway up ... and how depressed I was to see it wasn't open.

 

Luckily someone pulled up right as I was getting back on my bike. He never gave me his name, but he told me he was a bike rep (sells bikes to stores) and offered me some of his water. This gave me some serious peace of mind, and I thanked him profusely.

So the ride then continued. Mile after mile uphill, with brief descents that kept making me think that perhaps I had finally hit the descent. On the last such trick-decent the road dropped me into a gorgeous view ... a hell of a long climb. I think my heart about broke. But I persevered and eventually came out on top, and to it's credit it is a beautiful view.

 

And, while I was getting set up to take the picture above, a truck pulled up. I thought he was just here to take a picture as well, but it turns out the bike rep actually sent him after me with more water! The truck driver (whose name now eludes me) has also toured before, and we talked for a little while about our trips. Sometimes you're lucky enough to come across great people. (As a side note, I never actually needed to drink any of the extra water that he gave me; I had enough with what I had brought to get me to the next rest stop. It did help me a lot mentally though.)

 

At this point I was basically at the top; all that was left was to cruise down the other side ... except there was no other side to descend. Apparently ,this part of Idaho is a large plain significantly higher than the area behind me ringed by mountains, and I had only worked my way to the plateau, not to some mountain above it. Regardless, the rest of my ride was lovely, I had decent tailwinds behind me and no major hills all the way to Fairfield.

 

When I arrived at Fairfield I immediately got in touch with the WarmShower host in the area, Randy Shroyer, who rushed on over to show me where I was headed. Apparently, these folks have a whole extra house set aside for this type of thing, with about 5 - 6 beds, a kitchen, the works! His wife, Laura, and her kids were out on vacation, though; so I wasn't able to partake of her famous breakfast that all the WarmShower reviews praise the hosts for.

Finally, Randy recommended the Soldier Creed Brewing Co for dinner, and I must say I had a great time there. The sandwich Chris (the owner) recommended to me was delicious, and I had two beers while we talked about other touring cyclists he's seen, what "hops" are used for in brewing beer, etc. He's hoping to make beers of his own one day, and I wish him all the best!