Day 7, Lewiston, Idaho to Kooskia, Idaho

We have 4 guides with us. There are 2 support vehicles and a minivan driven by the masseuse Tara. On any given day, 2 guides drive the support vehicles and 2 guides are on bicycles circulating among us riders. One guide generally is towards the front of the pack and one guide is towards the rear. Through the day, over a 100 mile ride, the riders may become stretched apart by as many as 20 miles. Pictured here is A.D., one of the four guides. On the table is a spread of fruit, energy drink mixes, energy bars, energy gels and sunscreen. We initial the sheet recording the time we will depart and pack our day bags with the things we may require during the day, e.g. warm layers of clothing, rain gear, etc.

Now all that bicycling we do pushes a lot of blood to the working muscles of the legs. I just wanted my brain to know that I was not totally ignoring it. So, here I am, pictured in the middle of a desolate road in Lewis County, Idaho with such a wonderful screensaver-like backdrop doing a headstand to increase the blood flow to my brain. Have no fear. There was not a vehicle for miles in any direction and we could see clearly in both direction. And also, I had R.K., a radiologist from Green Bay, Wisconsin, who took this picture, looking out for me.

Not very unlike the Lewis County in NY where I reside, is Lewis County in ID. The mountains and the streams are very similar to the Adirondacks. The air is crisp and unpolluted. There is very little traffic. The roads are in good shape. The Nez Perce reservation and the Clearwater National Forest occupy a large portion of the area we traveled through.

The 2 support vehicles leapfrog all day long. So, as we ride, we reach one or the other support vehicle roughly every 15 miles for food and water. The guides are also expert bicycle mechanics and are able to quickly fix any minor mechanical troubles we may be having with the bicycles. If it is a problem that cannot be fixed, either the part is swapped out or as you can see, one of the reserve bicycles from the roof is brought down to replace the defective one. One of the other functions the support vehicles serve is to offer a tired rider to hop along for the rest of the day. Riders may also opt to not ride their bicycle on any given day for any individual reason and drive with the guide in the support vehicle. This is very convenient and offers riders of all abilities to be able to participate in a demanding journey such as this. Ours is not a race, and if we are unable to ride our bicycle every mile of the 3,600 miles across the country, it is considered perfectly okay. So far, I have ridden every mile along the route.

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