An uphill climb through the hills of Idaho

Published 12:00 am Sunday, June 23, 2013

Editor’s note: David Freeze is biking coast to coast. His trek started June 10 in Oregon. He’s sending dispatches from the road to be published in the newspaper, at www.salisburypost.com, and on his blog, “Gotta Run” at blog.salisburypost.com/gottarun

I left Cambridge, Idaho, this morning facing a steady uphill and the same headwind from yesterday.
My pace was just OK, but when I got to the town of Council and the start of another long climb, my legs felt tired. It was another cool morning in Idaho with lows in the 40s.
This hill, which was to get us over another pass, was steep to start. Then it continued to rise to an area called High Meadows.
High Meadows was about a 10-mile long area that had beautiful cow pastures  with snowy mountains in the background. I had 48 miles by 2:30 p.m, but was able to add 36 more in the next 2 hours and 45 minutes for a total of 84 miles for the day. The reason for the large total was a fast downhill off the latest mountain. The Little Salmon River raced downhill to Riggins, Idaho.
There was a headwind as a part of another storm, but it is the longest that I have coasted down a mountain yet.
Riggins is another gold town that has survived. It is in a deep canyon, affording residents and visitors alike some fantastic views. As I rode into town, locals were out in large numbers fishing for Salmon.
Tomorrow, I will climb the White Bird Mountain. It is another long and steep climb to the area where the U.S. Army fought Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce tribe. U.S. soldiers fired on the truce team sent by the Indians, but the Indians took a decisive victory.
If all goes well, I will be in Montana by Monday. Warm temperatures are expected for the weekend, and the cool weather will return early in the week. I rode part of today with a group headed east and all are here in Riggins tonight.