Gusts up to 55mph

That's what we're heading into. Not only that, but we're sitting at
1700ft in Colville and we have to climb to 5575ft to cross Sherman
Pass. We already have 1700ft of climbing and 40 miles behind us.
Welcome to hurricance Washington. We passed 37 riders earlier who were
all on an extended group ride.

Break

Crossing the Colombia River was gorgeous. From there, we began our
slow ascent. A cowboy in a truck honked and gave the finger at Lee as
he pased by. Oddly, we came up on a line of traffic on this 2 lane
road shortly after. Turns out a tree had fallen due to high winds
bringing down a power line over the road. Lee was rather pleased as he
strolled by on his 2 wheels while the cowboy sat in traffic. Next came
the real adventure... Finding a way around. So we pushed the bikes
over the embankment and started through the field till we came to a
ravine. At this point, Lee and I were both doubtful that we'd
successfully find a way around the downed power line. However, Ryan's
adventurous nature didnt't blink. Shortly after, he shouted, "I see a
road!" so, we followed to the end where the proud landowner briefly
interrogated us and threatened a toll. In his New York accent, Ryan
exclaimed, "but we're native Americans." He has a charming way with
people. Where I'd walk away without resolution or frustrated, Ryan
says just the right thing to lighten the mood or in other cases throw
their BS right back at them.

So back to the climb... We went from riding shirtless, to sand storms,
to wearing gloves, ear warmers and jackets. The pas we climbed was the
tallest in WA and it was long. The descent into Republic, WA was
amazing. 10 miles downhill St 6% grade. Shortly after we started
descending, a deer that was chewing grass on the otherside of the
guardrail started sprinting alongside me at 30mph and kept that up for
something like 2 minutes. While I was snapping pics of it, Ryan was
cruising behind me taking video footage with his iphone. Watching that
thing sprint so close was amazing. I'll be working on the link to that
video...
My mother asked, "are you by the seat of your pants kind of guy?" I
confidently responded that I was not and generally give a lot of
thought to any major decisions.
The closer we've gotten to the coast, the more realistic I've become
regarding Alaska. My friend/housemate Katie expeditiously mailed out
my expired passport and SS card in the event that I'd chance it.
Having run thru all the scenarios, I've decided against Alaska. The
guy on a motorcycle in the traffic who works for border patrol in
Alaska also helped clear my delusions about getting across the border
without a curent passport. Oh well, another time. We also skipped
Glacier. We're just adding things to the list for future adventures.

Total miles today: 95 (Republic, WA)
Total ascent: ~6,500

7/18 Bellingham->Seattle 91
7/19 around Rainier
7/20 Portland (173 between 2 days)
7/21 break in Portland
800 miles to San Francisco
Goal: arrive on 8/5

Arriving by 8/5 shouldn't be a problem mileage wise. The hard part
will be not getting there till 8/5. I have a feeling that there will
be plenty to distract along the California coastline though.

Lee is undecided as to whether he'll end in Portland or San Francisco.
As they say, it's the journey, not the destination.

Deer descent:
http://qik.ly/C9wwq4LtC4WcVwk6hQmaZG2

Drafting:
http://qik.ly/CunANpczQG2XSNHtLe15KX4

Thanks for following along!

--
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