When the alarm went off at 5 today, we were ready to get up after 8 hours of sleep. A quick start turned slow when we got to the wet gravel roads. The soft roads and headwind sucked our energy and power. The 8 hours still didn't save us from needing an afternoon nap so we stopped and took a quick 20 minutes. We woke up ready to tackle the mushy roads. At about 60 miles it started to rain, which actually made the roads easier to ride than the peanut butter mud.
At 65 miles, the thunder started. There's nothing like getting caught in a thunderstorm to motivate you to ride faster. With no shelter in sight, we kept riding. The thunder and lightning kept getting closer and when I told Andrew that it was scary, he said, "don't be scared, maybe the weather is better in Idaho." With thunder and lightning still uncomfortably close, Andrew insisted we take a picture at the Idaho border.
We made the descent after the continental divide, balancing getting lower as fast as we could, and keeping our heads on straight riding down hill in the mud. We finally saw signs of human life and took shelter on the porch of a house until the lightning stopped.
Soaked through our rain gear and dripping, we found a restaurant, Connie's, that welcomed cyclists despite our filth. They sat us by the heater and told us to feel free to dry out our stuff there. 4 other riders had already arrived and they were having the discussion that we were about to have. Are we going to push on or stay in Sawtelle, ID? Our next indoor accommodation would be 50 miles away, putting us there at around 11pm. The rain continued and we weren't getting much drier. The other group decided to rent a cabin and we asked to hop in on the deal. The group included two Canadian riders, one from England, and another from Australia. We all went to the gas station in town to get more food to share then discussed the route and shared tips about dealing with pesky knee and Achilles tendon issues. We were hoping today would be a bigger day, but we're happy with our decision to spend yet another night indoors as the rain continues.
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