Day 11 - 14

The Tents are wet from lastnights thunderstorm and we are right on the edge of Shermans Pass. After saying thanks to the man that let us sleep on his yard we immediately started climbing. 15 miles was not to intimidating after suffering two 20 plus mile mountians, it was the grade that got us huffing and puffing up Sherman. Motorcyclist after motorcyclist zipped by us, sometimes leaving us in peace, sometimes yelling at us to get off the road. Pedaling for around 2 hours, Hank summited sherman pass. Waiting for 40 minutes, Beau and Evan peaked over the hill with the biking couple we 've been running into since diablo. Another 40 minutes Donald and Kane made it to the 5575 elevation point of Sherman Pass. Snapping some more Ginyu Force Pictures and swallowing a couple cliff bars we started our 20 mile descent. Drafting behind Kane had us speeding down at 40 plus mph. Sprinting the straights and leaning into the tight corners as mile posts flew by, the clouds rolled in and started a light shower. Reaching the end of the glorious downhill we reached the bridge that will bring us into Kettle Falls over the Columbia River. With the rain not stopping we rushed up another hill to the nearest Resteraunt. Tired and starving, Beau ordered fish and chips with a clam chowder soup, donald had a 6 inch chicken bacon ranch sandwhich and Hank had the same except for a foot long. Kane ordered the kalzone, even after the waitress warned him how large it is. We also had a large pizza to share, with bread sticks and onion rings for an appitizer. When the main entrees arrvied, a football sized kalzone sat in front of kane. Already full from the apps, he begun the manly feat of devoring the monstrous-folded pizza. An hour later we moaned in pain with our plates empty. The t.v. behind us showed the spokane news talking about the flooding in Minot North Dakota. Planning to celebrate Hank's birthday in Minot, we got a little nervous if the water would recede in the next month. Leaving the restruant we briefly learned from the biking couple (who we are now naming "catdog") that there is free camping on the lawn of the vistor center. A small band had the lawn occupied, not wanting to be kept up for a couple more hours we started to ask the locals of places to camp. Some recommened us to a spot on the columbia, and one elderly man offered his 40 acre property to us. Taking him up on the offer we took off, tired from the pass and massive dinner we just wanted sleep. Passing a campground sign, we remembered we also wanted a shower from the lack of one the last couple days. Descending into the camp we found no showers, but did find a cheap campsite on the river. A quick camp set up, and visit to the river, used up the last of our energy and we one by one drifted into our peaceful deep sleep that only 8 hours and a mountain pass on a bike can induce.

DAY 12

Hank woke up early and left camp early. Metting cat and dog in kettle falls, they informed him of a shortcut off route that would save us a mountain pass and 20 miles. Instead of heading north to Ione then to Usk, we will ride south to Chewelah then cut east to Usk using Flowerly Trail Road. The group met Hank in a cafe called 103 in Colville. Finishing day 8 and 9 on the blog we started towards Chewelah. With fierce headwinds, we battled it with a 5 man paceline switching at 1.5 miles. 15 miles in a hidden nail punctured Beau's front tire. Eating a cliff bar and using the wrapper as a boot we road on. Stoping at a gas station to use the air compressor to get beau's tire a little higher psi, we also tried to lift kanes tire a little bit. Instanly the the tube popped. Pulling it off, we switched the tube and tried the compressor agian. It popped agian. Triple checking the tire for anything embedded, Hank found that Kane had manged to crack the rim right down the valve. A four inch long crack is what kept pooping his tire. Adding aother part to kane's broken part list, we wrapped it in electrical tape, put the tire on, and hoped it would last intill sandpoint. Losing day lioght and with 25 miles to usk we rode two miles up hill to a couintry golf club that housed a r.v and tent campsite. Muffins for dinner we called it a night, and hoped our shortcut was really going to be a shortcut.

Day 13

After having breakfast in Chewelah we started heading to the Flowerly trail, what we thought would be a nice shortcut and save us some time. The road started to go uphill, then we'd take a turn and go up another steep stretch of road, then turn that corner and went up another. After about a half hour of this we all stopped, some of us frustrated and thought, "what the hell? Is this another pass?" It was hot that day too, first time so far this trip we've sweat that much. Evan got stung by a bee and kept getting chased around by them. Either you get off your bike and run away from them, or sprint uphill away from them and either way your tired. We didn't expect a shortcut to be climbing 3200 feet but we finally got to the top, Flowery Trail Pass, elevation of 4026 feet, and the steepest pass yet. We ended stopping for lunch in Usk. The huge breakfast burittos we ate literally made all of us fall asleep for at least a half hour on their front patio. Picture that though, five bikers coming in for a bite to eat and then all of them taking a nap on your benches outside. The lady that ran the place was cool though, we all woke up from her saying goodbye after closing up the place, meanwhile we were all struggling to wake up. After she drove off we thought it might be a good time take off, after resting our eyes for almost an hour. We took off down the highway and made another quick stop in Newport. The highlight of this day was definitely crossing into Idaho, not because the sign was another reason to stop and hang out for a bit, but because it kind of represented what we'd accomplished so far. It also meant we'd be in Sandpoint and get to have a few rest days. so we rode seven miles east of newport and found a place to stay there for the night.

Day 14

With the wake of excitement, we all knew Sand Point was just about a couple hours away. We felt as if Sand Point was our first checkpoint for the trip, not only for the couple days of rest but for also finally getting out of Washington. Don't get us wrong Washington is a beautiful state but with all the mishaps we felt as if we'd never leave. Hank and Evan were the first to leave with Beau, Kane, and Donald following shortly after. Depsite Kane getting another flat nearly ten feet away from the camp exit, Sand Point was a quick ride with all of us eventually meeting a the La Quinta Inn. That's right, a night at the hotel for the celebration of making it this far. Once settling in the cozy motel we headed out and explored the town we much yearned for. Boutiques and little shops make up the town of Sand Point, with it also laying alongside lake Pend Oreille which makes for plenty of tourist to stop by for vacation. Making our way to a philly cheese steak house we grabbed lunch and continued our walk around town. With the night settling in at the motel the sound of glasses clanking against each other and a holler of cheers made for the evening. Not to mention the 5 man dance party held in the bathroom with Evan blasting the latest Kanye West album from his phone(which he ended up paying for twice, from the mistake of purchasing the edited verison first) then slugging our way to the bedrooms to finish off the night.