The morning got off to a great start. Breakfast and it was only 2 miles away!

As we were preparing to hit the mountain, we met Bob, “The Candy Man”. He bicycled here from Sioux City, IA about 50 years ago and never rode back.

Another tough climb. 3,000’ in 15 miles. That’s 200’/mile. When hiking I think 500’ of elevation gain/mile is tough. Hiking up hill is definitely easier than biking up but I’ll take the flats and downhills on bike. Much faster!

We reached the summit of our 5th pass in 4 days. Sherman Pass at 5575’ is the highest so far. Have I mentioned that I’ve had enough of these?

From there it was downhill…mostly. We descended down and crossed the Columbia River.

We made it to Colville late afternoon and got luxury accommodations at the Stevens County Fairgrounds.

I noticed this evening that my fingers weren’t functioning properly. Struggled to cut a burrito with a knife. Had to hold in palm of hand and saw. Also had difficulty holding a toothbrush in fingers. Weird. Guessing it’s something to do with having to hold on to brakes continuously on long downhills. It definitely tires your hands out.

We’re about 120 miles from Dennis and Cindy’s cabin in Sandpoint, ID. Expecting to be there Sunday early enough to watch end of US Open. Wish us luck!

Ride on.

Just Pete