Riggins, ID - Council, ID
Miles: 62
Sleep: rv park off 95
We had the nice surprise of a tailwind for today's ride. It has
become somewhat of a habit to go for coffee in the morning before the
ride. When I first came on the trip I was not a coffee drinker, but
now I gladly go for our morning routine. As we were leaving the little
coffee shop, Bryn noticed her tire was very flat. It's just one of
those things that happens when you ride a bike. It's a little funny to
think only a year ago I had never changed a tire. I wouldn't have had
the foggiest idea what to do. I certainly know how now. The ride went
fairly quick today. For the last 10 miles bryn and I were cookin'
until she realized her tire was loosing air again. Two tubes later, we
decided she needs a new tire. But we patched the tube up and made it
to camp.
I really enjoyed the encounters I had with people today. About 20
miles into the ride we stopped to refil our water bottles at a little
store/diner. Inside was a very nice man and his two sons, probably 11
and 16. They all were helping out, and the youngest was really
talkative, telling us about the others in our group that came by
earlier in the day. It was great to meet polite younger people and
just be in a generaly friendly atmosphere.
The next encounter I had was with a truck driver. She was not as nice,
and she made it a point to tell us that the bikes on the road today
were just awful. "They made her brake coming down the hill". Although
it was interesting hearing her point of view, she didn't give me a
chance to explain the reasoning for not riding as close as you can get
to the right. If she did, I would have said; today, the road we were
on in particular had no shoulder, so instead of riding on the white
line, or in the gravel, I ride about two to three feet in. When I ride
closer into traffic it encourages the drivers going the same direction
to go over the dashed yellow line ever so slightly. This ensures that
I will not be hit. If I did not do this, the drivers see the dashed
line like a brick wall and try to sueeze in close to the cyclist. Cars
just need a little more encouragement getting over the line.
Dinner was good. This town is weird, so I'm going to go take some
photos. Maybe I can find some cool looking townies.
No comments:
Post a Comment