Republic – Gav's Cycling Adventures

Republic to Ione

May 20, 2022May 24, 2022gavscyclingadventures

One More Mountain To Climb – Sunday 15th to Tuesday 17th May

Sunday 15th May – Rest Day

After a night on the tiles (we got back to our hotel about 1am), we were both grateful for a rest & recovery day. As I poked my head outside to test the temperature, the Fire Service were testing their equipment & hosing down the streets.

We met at about 9.45am & headed for brunch at 18 North Kitchen, enjoying a variation on scrambled eggs that looked & tasted delicious. On the way into town yesterday, we’d spotted a fossil museum, so we decided to pop in for a nose around. Gabby (who by her own admission was aptly named) talked to us for about 10 minutes about her role in both the museum & the historical society of Republic – it’s always a pleasure to meet someone who’s passionate about their hobbies.

Our next task was laundry – not one of my favourite jobs, but one that is essential when you only have 3 sets of cycling equipment & infection is your enemy. I updated my daily journal while waiting for our kit to run through the wash & dry cycles. The excitement of a long distance adventurer!

I went for a look around town in the afternoon to learn a bit about how Republic came into existence – it’s a late 1890’s gold prospecting town (our Motel is called the Prospectors Inn & has a replica wagon outside) that became a hub for all the services needed to run the gold mines.

With the exception of cars replacing horses & wagons, the town has retained its original look & feel. The Northern Inn is one such example. Built in 1903 to house the workers of The Northern Railway & Stagecoach company & to all intents & purposes looks the same as it did over 100 years ago, although the materials have been updated. The Wild West Farm & Garden Centre has taken a similar approach – it was easy to imagine the town as it must have been in those early years.

At the edge of town I was wandering along minding my own business when I spotted a deer sat in a garden, not 15 feet away. It sat there looking at me as if it didn’t have a care in the world, before calmly standing up & walking away – not the first time that’s happened to me!!!

Sean & I met up later to do some essential admin & planning – the end result was a plan for the next 3 days of riding which will take us from Republic to Sandpoint. We also researched accommodation options & phoned up a couple to book rooms – hopefully we’ve made some good choices!

We bought dinner in the local supermarket & sat in my room eating it, while watching more deer wander around the lawns at the end of the hotel property. After 5 back to back days of challenging riding, this R&R day was very much needed to recharge the batteries. It also gave us a chance to meet a few people & learn a bit about the town.

Monday 16th May – Republic to Colville (Stage 14)

We were up bright & early, knowing our office today was going to be the mighty Sherman Pass, the highest Pass in Washington to remain open all year. Setting off beneath overcast skies, we’d again beaten the weather forecast which had predicted rain until lunch time. Leaving town at the 303 Mile Marker, we took a left onto a cycle path (also used by roller skaters, skiers, walkers & All Terrain Vehicles) which kept us high above the road below, giving beautiful views across the valley to the mountains beyond.

We re-joined the SR20 after about 5 miles & the climbing started immediately at a fairly consistent 5%. Very early on I established that I had heavy legs, in spite of the rest day – this is a bit of an occupational hazard, sometimes a day off fixes sore legs, sometimes it doesn’t! We were still in the Colville National Forest, as the tarmac weaved through the giant pine trees. Every now & again we’d emerge from the forest & see the big mountains were getting ever closer.

As we reached White Mountain Fire overlook the road opened up, offering views straight up to the snow peaked mountains – these look so much more impressive than their snowless cousins. We also saw the first signs that we were approaching the snowline. At times I was in awe of the natural majesty of the surrounding scenery.

It took 2 hours 50 minutes to cover the 20 miles from our hotel to the summit of Sherman Pass, where we stopped for a customary photo of the sign. This is the highest Pass we’ve conquered so far at over a mile above sea level, but there will be bigger beasts to wrestle later in the adventure!

While Sean was getting himself ready for the descent, I took a few moments to capture my thoughts on the climb & the downhill yet to come.

Sean set off first which gave me the opportunity to follow & get an action shot as he approached one of the many gentle curves – this was a cracking descent, as the road regularly opened up to show the surrounding views. A combination of the shallow gradient & gradual bends ensured that there wasn’t any need to brake on the entire descent.

As we plummeted downhill, we started to follow the course of a creek & as it tumbled down the mountain it created small waterfalls along the way. At times it felt as if the road was never going to end & after one of my many photo stops I found that Sean was completely out of view as he’d carried on riding!

Sean doesn’t know this (until he reads it here), but I ended up chasing him down the mountain for almost 15 minutes as I gave it a ‘full gas’ effort to catch him up!!! I’d originally stopped to take a photo of the forest after it had been harvested by the loggers & in the 3 minutes or so I was stopped, Sean was well over a mile down the road.

As we reached the lower slopes, we started seeing signs to various trailheads & campgrounds – this would be a superb place to spend the night once the temperatures pick up a bit. By now the creek had grown in size & we soon went in different directions, as it headed through a steep gorge on it’s way to the larger rivers below.

As the road flattened out, we turned a corner & Lake Roosevelt was laid out in front of us. It was created when the Grand Coulee Dam was built across the Columbia River in 1941 & was named after Franklin D Roosevelt who was President at the time. The lake extends 150 miles up the valley from Grand Coulee Dam & has created over 600 miles of coastline. We crossed at one of the few bridging points across the lake at Kettle Falls, took an immediate right turn & then had a fabulous view back to the road & railroad bridge behind us.

We were on a quiet backroad, so were surprised to see a few logging trucks pass us until we saw the humongous timber & wood processing site in front of us – it’s stretched for over 1/2 mile & was stacked with what must have been millions of tree trunks. As the road bore left, we had our last fleeting views of Roosevelt Lake & headed inland though a pine forest with lots of colourful vegetation – perfect for staging an action photo!

We’ve really enjoyed the backroad options (more about how we found them tomorrow), as we’ve had the roads to ourselves & have got to see more nature, scenery & how small-town USA lives & is set out than if we’d stayed on the more busy State & US numbered roads. Heading through the quiet streets of Kettle Falls, we passed a small hydro-electric facility that looked like it was specifically for the local community.

By now we were only about 10 miles or so from our stop for the evening, at which point our nemesis “The Headwind of Hurt” blew into town & tested our physical & mental fitness! What should have been enjoyable & relaxing roll into town became just that bit more difficult as we were on roads that were exposed to the elements. The views to the mountains in the background gave us something to focus on, rather than our sore legs!

It was another wonderful day in the saddle & as we reached our motel we were ready to chill out & relax. Where we were staying in Colville was a big disappointment (our only one to date), the room was tiny, the floor was concrete, the walls were cinderblock – Sean summed it up best when he said “Gav, we’re staying in a bloody prison cell for the night!”.

I don’t think it’s fair to name where we stayed, as the people themselves were really friendly, nice & tried their best to help us – we’d simply chosen somewhere that didn’t fit our requirements.

Stage Stats – 57 miles, 4,354 feet of climbing. A Hors Category climb (the highest point so far). A rapid descent followed by a rolling finish to the stage.

Tuesday 17th May – Colville to Ione (Stage 15)

We were up early to the dulcet tones of Mr MacKay shouting “Fletcher, Godber, up & out your cell NOW!!!” – I jest! We headed up the road for a coffee at 9am – today is the first anniversary of Dad passing away, so I phoned Mum for the first time since I’ve been in the USA. It was lovely to catch up & find out Mum had a phone call from Ally (my brother in Cambridge) earlier in the day & had also gone out to the Forest of Dean with Greg & Nikki (my brother & sister-in-law in Bristol) for the day. We used to go there as kids & we all have great memories of the times we spent there.

We were riding by about 9.30am & headed through small residential streets as we climbed uphill right from the off. The road went up in steps – a steep ramp followed by a flat section – for a mile or two, before we left town behind & set off through farmland. At one point we passed an old barn that looked like it had a smiley face on it!

I mentioned yesterday that we’d been taking quiet backroads wherever possible & this feels like a good chance to explain how we found them. I joined the Adventure Cycling Association back in January, while I was planning our route. I bought about 15 cycling specific maps from them – at the moment we’re on Map 1 of the Northern Tier & without exception, their directions & deviations to get us off busy roads have been first rate.

We were gradually making our way across country to join the SR20 – along the way we passed a few lakes & as we passed one we could hear some birds warbling so stopped to see if we could see what was making the noise. As our eyes adjusted we could make out a number of predominantly black birds with flashes of orange on their fronts perched on the bulrushes. Research suggests they may be American Redstart Warblers, but if you know different, please let me know!

The road continued to gradually rise as we re-joined our old friend the SR20 (we’ve been following it on & off since Port Townsend on Stage 1). Over the past couple of weeks it’s delivered a number of scenic treats & today was no different.

We had the road to ourselves as we passed Starvation Lake (no coffee & cake stop here!) & climbed the ridge with great views of the mountains as they extended into Canada.

We knew it was unlikely to find anywhere for coffee today, but we were on the lookout for somewhere to stop & take a brief break. We saw a sign for a scenic viewpoint up ahead, so decided to give it a try. Crystal Falls was an absolute gem of a find & we enjoyed a few minutes absorbing the view & sound of rushing water, as well as enjoying a trail mix boost!

We continued on our way through the Colville National Forest, with large pine trees on either side of us. On rare occasions we’d get more views of the mountains ahead of us. There were trails, creeks,lakes & campsites in all directions & then out of the blue we saw a coffee stop!!!

Beaver Falls Lodge is set around Gillette Lake & the staff were stocktaking & getting ready to open for the upcoming Memorial Day bank holiday. They very kindly put on a pot of coffee for us & opened up the terrace so we could see the views for ourselves – yet more very generous locals. On the off-chance that they see this, A BIG THANK YOU from the two Brits who passed through!

In what we decided to dub ‘The Golden 15 Minutes’, we saw a convocation of eagles (there were 7 in today’s show), as well as 3 separate sightings of deer. This is nature heaven & we were in our element as the mountains continued to get closer. As if that wasn’t enough, I found a way of including my Worky Wife in today’s blog – Kate I hope Leo likes his sign when you read him tonight’s story. I’m still on the lookout for something Jacob related!

We finally reached the summit of the ridge & I saw a sign to make my heart soar – a 6 mile descent at 6%!!! Perhaps the mountains might finally show themselves…..I’ve fallen in love with snowy peaked mountains & they delivered again today!

We reached the small town of Tiger & turning North, saw a sign saying we were only 25 miles from the Canadian border. Our destination for tonight was now only 5 miles away – the small town of Ione (pronounced I-Own) is set on the Pend-Oreille river. You might just spot the osprey in the first photo below if you look carefully.

A military veteran owns a block in town & we visited the gas station to check-in & pick up our key. Once again, the people we met were incredibly friendly & genuinely interested in our adventure. We were just getting ourselves organised to head to our room for the night, when someone ran out of the gas station. Emmet came & introduced himself & asked our names, then said that we were the first people from the UK he’d ever met. It was a truly heart-warming moment.

Emmet suggested we take a few minutes to visit the local park which was only a short way from our hotel room – I’m so glad we took his advice, it was such a peaceful spot that provided the perfect end to the day’s ride.

Our room in Porter’s Plaza Motel was exactly what we needed after last night’s Cell Block H shenanigans! There was lots of room for us, our kit & our bikes, while the supermarket was right across the road for dinner & breakfast supplies. We sat on the balcony watching the sun go down as we enjoyed homemade cheese & turkey sandwiches!

Stage Stats – 43 miles, 2.618 feet of climbing. A rolling stage with a big descent to end the day.

Twisp to Republic

May 17, 2022May 17, 2022gavscyclingadventures

Twisp Again or The Only Way Is Up – Friday 13th & Saturday 14th May

Friday 13th May – Twisp to Omak (Stage 12)

We’re now back on the original route I planned some 6 months ago, which simplifies things slightly from a logistics perspective. Today the plan is to do a relatively short ride which will make things just a bit easier again, as Omak was a previously identified overnight stop – no more tweaking of routes & having to research towns for accommodation for a little while at least!

Breakfast was a variation on a bacon roll & a coffee which we picked up from Glover Street Market. We were packed & on our way by about 10.15, as we were only anticipating a 4 hour ride & check-in at Omak was any time from 3pm. It was another day for suntan lotion as there were blue skies overhead & there was little wind to speak of.

Leaving Twisp behind us, within a couple of miles we took a left turn which signalled the start of the day’s categorised climb, the Loup Loup Pass. We’re going to be riding a mountain pass a day for the next 3 or 4 days, as we continue to make our way east across Washington State – the rivers mainly run north to south, so if you picture a row of shark’s teeth, that’s the profile we’re crossing.

Loup Loup started steeply with a 7% kicker, but fortunately after about 1/2 mile it settled into a more friendly 4% – 5% gradient. Over our right shoulder we had great views of the Methow river & all the way across the valley to the mountains in the background, as we were riding through grassland with small bushes on either side of us.

We entered the Okanogan National Forest & the views of the river were replaced with big pine trees on both sides of the road. There were a couple of places where it appeared that there had been fires in the recent past. It’s a common practice to control the forest with prescribed burns, where fire experts are able to restore the health of the surrounding ecosystems that depend on fire to flourish.

As the road changed direction, we were treated to one final view of the huge snowy peaks behind us – this had been our playground for the last couple of days & it’s due to be the last time we see snow in Washington (although who knows whether that will prove to be the case!).

We had the road almost to ourselves, with the occasional car passing us in either direction & a couple of logging trucks lumbering past us as we continued climbing through the forest. As if this wasn’t good enough, we also had a tailwind blowing us up the majority of the ascent! Nearing the summit, we heard what we initially thought were chainsaws, but the rhythm of the buzz didn’t quite seem right until we realised this was also off-road motorbike territory & it was more likely to be a couple of scramblers enjoying themselves.

It took 1 hour 40 minutes to reach the summit from the start of the climb where we turned away from the Methow river. The gradient was always kind & I enjoyed the varying views & scenery on the way up. We stopped briefly to get a photo at the summit sign & to put on some warmer kit for the descent.

I’m continuing to persevere with my videoing & the details of the climb & the start of the descent are captured in this quick snippet;

The gradient quickly ramped up to 6% – 8% & I was in my element descending, as the road was wide with really good lines of sight regarding any upcoming twists & turns. I couldn’t resist the urge to get some action footage of me overtaking Sean – smug grin alert!

We had a 17 mile descent with just one minor pimple where the road briefly ramped uphill. We remained on deserted roads as we passed from forest into farmland, passing huge orchards of apples, pears & cherries, each with their own sign so tourists like me would know what was growing.

During our travels across the state, we’ve occasionally seen Historical Marker signs on the side of the road, giving some interesting fact or another about an important event that happened nearby. Today we passed one giving details of the Curtis Sheep Slaughter of 1903 – hostilities between cattlemen & sheepmen reached a climax when several hundred sheep were slaughtered with clubs. It seems the cattlemen took badly to sheep grazing on what they perceived as their land, so burned some of the sheepmen’s haystacks & things quickly escalated into the Curtis Sheep Slaughter.

As we neared Okanogan, we spotted a couple of ospreys, confirming that we’d given back most of the height we gained on the day’s earlier climb. We were tracking the Okanogan river into the town of the same name & as we were only 7 miles from our overnight lodgings & we had time on our hands, we decided to pull in to Free Bird Espresso drive through coffee hut. The coffee was tasty & we sat in the sun, watching a couple of squirrels honing their gymnastics skills. Leaving town we passed a large white cross on a hill, reminding us of our trips to Spain & Italy where we’ve previously seen religious buildings on the highest point possible.

The final 7 miles were on the SR20 & it seemed that people were starting the weekend early, as the roads felt busy, in part because we’d hardly seen a car all day. We rolled into our motel at just gone 3.15, so had a bit of down-time to relax before heading out to Safeway to buy salad, potato chips & Twix for dinner. Another glorious day in the saddle under perfect blue skies!

Stage Stats – 38 miles, 3,572 feet of climbing. Another day with a Hors Category climb straight out the door, followed by a glorious descent.

Saturday 14th May – Omak to Republic (Stage 13)

We woke to dark grey skies, with clouds that looked ready to dump their rain at any minute. On a more positive note, this was the best continental breakfast we’ve had so far! A variety of cereal, bread, pastries, fruit, yoghurt, boiled eggs, juice & coffee were all on offer – Sean was up early & was so impressed by his first breakfast that he joined me & had a second sitting too!!!

We were saddled up & ready to leave by 9am – we had a big day ahead of us with an absolutely monumental 28 mile climb up Wauconda Pass to complete. A quick trip across town enabled us to pick up a backroad linking Omak to Riverside via the Colville Indian Reservation.

The first 13 miles traced the Okanogan river towards its source, before depositing us on the SR20 at Riverside. It looked like there was a Saturday Market & car show taking place as we passed through. At times the road seems to stretch into infinity, with occasional ramps & dips as it followed the contours of the land.

We were only on the SR20 for about 10 miles before we took a left onto the much smaller & quieter Highway 7, which took us into Tonasket. Riding into town we passed Gavin’s Gas & Petroleum, so stopped for a photo, then went in search of coffee & cookies before the BIG climb of the day. The Wauconda Pass rises almost 3,500 feet in the space of 28 miles – it isn’t a steep climb, but it is brutally long.

The first mile was the steepest of the entire climb as the road twisted & turned to find a way up to a small plateau. For most of the next 8 miles, we were in scrubland, with occasional fields of horses & the odd ranch.

I recorded this clip when I thought the climb was only 20 miles long, you can tell I was still feeling good & under the impression I was almost at the halfway point – it was a surprise later when I realised that I’d miscalculated & we’d be heading uphill for 28 miles!

As we reached the Okanogan National Forest, the weather took a turn for the worse.

There will be way worse setbacks than a bit of rain on this adventure, so I put on my ‘big boy pants’ (I only brought the one pair as they take up too much room & weight!) & remembered how fortunate I’ve been already.

As if by magic, as we passed through the small settlement of Wauconda, we spotted another bird of prey sat on a telegraph pole – from what I’ve been able to research, it may have been a Swainson’s Hawk. If anyone can say for certain what it is from these 2 photos, please let me know. The two birds in the 2nd photo flew off together calling to each other, so perhaps it was a parent & an offspring.

In total, it took 3 hours 5 minutes to complete the 28 mile climb from Tonasket to Wauconda Pass – we only got rained on for about 45 minutes of that & considering the state of the sky when we set out, I would have been more than happy to accept that! After a couple of snaps at the summit, we were on our way for the 13 mile descent into Republic.

The excitement wasn’t yet over, however, as I spotted a couple of deer at the side of the road as I was descending. I fully expected them to run for cover as we approached, but they just stood there looking at us – almost as if they knew we were crazy Brits on a mad adventure! I managed to get my phone out in time to shoot about 20 photos & luckily a couple of them are decent enough to share.

Our descent finished at Republic, where we’re staying at The Prospector’s Inn for the next couple of nights – tomorrow’s an all important rest & recovery day. Update – we enjoyed dinner & a bottle of Torpedo IPA in The Knotty Pine, the adjourned next door to The Miner Saloon & Grill for a couple of Mac & Jacks, followed by a few more!

We met Alex towards the end of the evening & he shared his knowledge of the local wildlife, as well as a couple of suggestions regarding possible detours if we wanted some off-road action. It was a great hour or so & we experienced another example of the generosity of the people we’ve met – Alex had paid off a chunk of our bar bill. Thank you for your kind gesture, I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as we did! It felt like the perfect end to another incredible day in the saddle.