46 miles

Last night we almost crashed a party, completely by accident. There was a lodging/cabins area in Mazama where the taco lady had suggested we try to camp. We approached the office, which we found to be closed. Just as we were standing there deciding what to do next, a guy jumped out of his car, spotted us, and right away asked “Are you guys just arriving? There’s no checking in, just come and join the party!”  and without waiting for any kind of reply, he disappeared behind the building. We decided to accept the improv and see where this invitation could take us, so we followed him. 

Being a terrible bluffer, I decided it would probably be best to find the guy and lead with the truth, some form of “Hi thank you and no we weren’t actually invited to this party, but we did just ride our bikes over that huge mountain and we were hoping to just find a corner of grass where we could put our tents for the night.” As luck would have it though, we couldn’t find the guy anywhere. He had vanished like some kind of freakish yard party ghost. 

Eventually we found someone who pointed us to the host, a guy named Alec, who ever so graciously invited us to NOT crash his party by helpfully suggesting his favorite campground super far away. I will always wonder how differently that evening might have gone if we had tried to integrate, or negotiate, instead of telling the truth and accepting the consequences so quickly. If I’d had the energy, I might have tried to explain to Alec that his cheerful suggestion was not actually a workable solution for us, but I sensed that Alec maybe knew this perfectly well, and would have just found another way to kindly say “your problem is not my problem”.

We left the party and consulted our maps. I spotted a church a couple miles down the road, and without much trouble we found the guy who lived on the property and asked him if we could camp. His name was Dwayne. He was very accommodating, hooked us up with water, and had two adorable young kittens. I drew a quick portrait of the church and left it for him as a thank you; we packed and left by 6:00 am in search of a bathroom.

Danielle is feeling pretty fatigued from climbing the mountain yesterday. We contacted a warmshowers host in Twisp, but decided not to take a rest day there after all. We visited a bike shop in Winthrop, and a guy named Joe put some blue Loctite on my headset, tightened it for me, and marked with a Sharpie where it was positioned, so I can monitor whether it moves again. It has come loose a couple of times now, which plays on my mind when I’m riding fast on the descents. It seems solid now, but he suggested I contact a bike shop in Sandpoint, ID to have them order a 32 mm wrench for me, just in case I need to do my own adjustments.

We went grocery shopping, then crushed Loup Loup pass, and made it to Leader Lake Campground early enough to enjoy some restful moments of peace in our hammocks. I feel so present in my body after and during these long rides. The feeling of coasting down a mountain on one inch of rubber at 40mph is an indescribable, whole body thrill, and the feeling of a cold wind pushing you up the other side as you struggle to climb, sweating in the sun at a meager 4mph is a completely different kind of whole body thrill. It’s all so incredibly vivid.