Faith Restored

Yesterday was hot. Record setting hot. I started out from White Bird early enough and since it was only 21 miles to Grangeville I was not too concerned about the climb out of the canyon. There were two ways out, the old, more scenic road or the new road which was advertised as steeper but straighter. The lady at the hotel recommended I go the old road because I'd see lots of animals and have beautiful scenery. So. lesser climb, better scenery, equals an easy choice. The first couple of miles out of White Bird consisted of small climbs and descents, rollers. Then came the switchbacks. I looked up and counted five. No problem, I can do this easy.
After climbing about two miles I looked up and counted again. Five, you've got to be kidding me. As I sucked down some water I looked to the left at the new road and started wishing I was over there. Bottom line, there were eight and a half miles of switchbacks and I am still not convinced the grade was any less. It took me about two and a half hours to crawl my way out of the canyon. Close to the top, I could only go from curve to curve and then have to rest. By the time I got to the top, I was whipped and almost out of water. I drank three bottles on the way up and was rationing the last little bit I had. I pulled into the scenic overlook for a rest and noticed a couple by their car admiring the view. As I rolled to a stop and peeled myself off the bike the man said hey that was a heck of a climb wasn't it. I was drained and could only nod my head. Would you like some water he asked. Oh yes I would, thank you, thank you, thank you. Turns out he was a fellow biker, mostly mountain bikes, and was sympathetic to the climb. Dick, Jessica and their five month old son Jordan, were life savers. After talking with the trio and downing half the bottle of water we separated as friends. With the extra water and downhill slope I easily made the next ten miles to Grangeville. Now only 27 more to go. I lunched at Subway, called Theresa, and thought about the underestimated climb. I was lucky. I didn't cramp because the Williams intervened. The ride to Kooskia was down slopping and would have been enjoyable had it not been for the long climb earlier. About ten miles outside of Kooskia I was flagged down by a woman and her blind husband. She offered me water and strawberries and wanted to talk about biking. She and Bob used to ride all over, taking trips of 500 to 600 miles on a tandem. Him the stoker, and her providing the vision. They were in their 70's and were retracing some of the route they had traveled years ago. We talked for about 30 minutes and during that time I felt comfortable enough to ask how he lost his sight. He had been blind for 30 years due to a hereditary retinue problem. A problem that can be corrected now but for Bob technology came too late. I made it to Kooskia and got the last room at the Western Inn. Today was my rest day. My knee is getting better and I have been drinking a lot of water. Tomorrow if I go at least 48 miles and 40 miles on Thursday, I should be able to scale Lolo Pass on Friday. Lolo Pass divides Idaho and Montana. Both days will be campsites, so I don't know if I can blog or not. I do know I'll have extra water.