Days 9, 10 & 11

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Day 8:

Left Ponderay a bit later around 9am. Pretty soon on gravel forestry roads once again. We did an In & Out track up to 2100m to a view point where there was a forest fire look out building.

Returning to the main BDR route we found the road closed due to a bridge washout. There had been signs but decided to take a look. The last 50%!o(MISSING)f the bridge was washed away. We built a ramp with timber from the bridge but then decided on discretion rather than valour so we backtracked (weren’t sure on penalties for being on a closed road) to avoid this section. On the way back to Clark Forks on a remote gravel road a large black bear wandered across the road in front of me. Heard me coming stopped & stared at me (I had stopped & killed my motor) then it ambled into to the undergrowth & disappeared. Biggest one I have seen on any of my rides.

Back to Clark Forks we had some interesting discussions over coffee with locals about what we were doing & where we going etc. Into the forest again – dusty rocky roads again through forestry. The road is only 2 tracks wide & in around 100kms we only met 1 vehicle – a Jeep coming the other way. We stopped for a break & a chat. “Cutting short” (we thought) our route we stayed on the highway for a longer route arriving in the really neat & tidy small town of Wallace. From here we headed for our destination of Avery which turned out to be a one horse town that the horse had already left. However the highlight was the 80km ride into Avery which involved 7 tunnels which apparently used to be railway tunnels before “progress” arrived. Met our hosts Ben & Melissa who owned most of the town such as it is. They summer in Avery & Winter in Arizona. 340kms today. Here after calling on their landline I discovered I was a Grandfather – Bridget & Ben have a baby girl. Saskia Jean.

Rest day tomorrow.

Day 9:

We slept in, a small amount of bike maintenance then ww visited the railway museum which was in one the original carriages that was used on the “Milwaukee Road” a cross country train line from Milwaukee on the East Coast to Seattle on the West. Avery was a main stop on the route until the 1970s when trucking killed the viability of rail freight & probably Air Travel & fast freeways killed the passenger demand. We also visited the main Museum which mainly covered the logging industry in the region & the building of the tunnels for the railway. A swim (sit) in the icy river – a huge contrast from the 36 degrees air temperature.

Cooking our own meal in the 2 bedroom old style apartment was a better option than a repeat of the deep fried unknowns we had eaten the previous night.

Day10:

Out of Avery at 8am we climbed more forestry roads to 1900m. At 1650m we encountered the remains of some snow drifts. This area was quite rocky & rough & Ian encountered 2 large Moose in front of him who proceeded to trot along in front of him for a distance before disappearing into the bush on the side of the track. We continued on similar roads dropping down to around 600m at our destination of of Pierce Idaho. We had booked accommodation in a closed down hotel with upstairs excellent accommodation. Early finish around 1.30pm after 180kms.

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Comments

[Kyne]

Enjoying the updates and photos Mike, and congrats on the new addition to the family!

[MikeV]

Thanks Kyne