Date: 9 June Saturday (Day 6)
Starting Point: Tonasket, WA
Ending Point: Republic, WA
Via: Wauconda, Wauconda Pass
Mileage: 43.2
Time: 6:16
Mph: 7.6
Terrain: hilly and mountainous
Temperature High: high 50s
Temperature Low: low 50s
Cooks: Bruce and Kevin (JF bakes a cake…a real hit!)
Food: vegetarian chili and regular chili
Weather: cloudy, rain – heavy at times
Lodging: Ferry County Campgrounds
Cumulative Mileage: 309.4
Miles to Go: ≈3,990.6
We had to part from our generous supporter who allowed us to stay in her yard, use her facilities, kitchen, electricity, water, dishes, cookware and stove. In exchange we gave her a Guest Book which we all signed and left messages of gratitude and appreciation. She liked it a great deal and was listing the ways she might use the book once we leave: weddings, etc. We also left her another prize: a tub full of grey water that had backed up because of all our showering and laundering.. It was probably 18 inches deep and not just a little gross. She didn’t want us to fret about it; she was just so happy to have us pass through. She especially liked that she had seen me three years ago and that I was back for the second time.
Our Kiwi rider, Clive, injured his knee that day and Sabina generously drove him over to the emergency room of the hospital where she works and stayed with him throughout the ordeal. It seemed certain that Clive was going to have to drop out. The doctors worked their magic and he awoke the next morning feeling able to continue.
While at the hospital, Sabina called and said that she was a little behind schedule and wanted me to make a cake, pick strawberries, clean them and make whipped cream. At first it seemed like a long list, but I did enlist help with each part and we were able to enjoy a lovely lemon cake sometime after 9:30pm. Certainly all enjoyed it; there was barely any left to carry the following day.
Just before Wauconda Pass, our one and only pass for the day, many of us stopped at the Wauconda Store and Café for some energy, warmth and escape from a driving rain. The space in front was chock full of bicycles and motorcycles. It seems that several motorcyclists had the same idea. At one point, while we were sitting there eating, a guy came in looking somewhat peeved. He waited at the cash register for a minute and then yelled “HEY!” to the staff who, at that moment, were in the kitchen. He made an obscene comment about the fact that he could barely make his way inside, what with all the f***ing motorcycles and bicycles outside the door. He wanted to know in no uncertain terms to whom they belonged. Fortunately the server kept her cool and said they belonged to customers like him. He seemed rather unglued and stomped his way to the back of the store. At that point, I went outside to move my bike a little and to watch for what he might do. He came stomping out of the store, walked between a motorcycle and a bike and purposely hit his foot on the front wheel of the bicycle. Luckily it remained standing. I went back in to report to the server. There was another guy at the counter who was witnessing all this and he reported that he knew the guy. He was a neighbor who, at one point, was threatening to close off an entry road by his house, thus blocking access to the homes of about five families who lived in the area as well. The counter guy had a lot to say about Mr. Angry. He suggested that the guy needed a good talking to with a two-by-four. Another woman at the counter said that she would be talking to the guy as well. It was rather scary and I was a little worried about being out on the road on a bike after the encounter.
Coming down from the pass was a rather unpleasant affair: heavy rain and wind. At least there was no lightning.
We arrived in Republic to the Prospector’s Festival where the streets were blocked off to cars and all the teenagers were out in force with skateboards and lots of eats.
Unfortunately the campground was three miles outside of town down some impressive hills, so it was nigh to impossible to bike back into town for fun later. Showers were 25 cents for 3.5 minutes. Dinner was scrumptious. To top off the experience, a local bike mechanic(Craig Cooper) appeared in an old refurbished van to offer his free services to check out any problems with our bikes. He even helped me with my bike. Craig seemed pleased to see that there was at least one recumbent on our ride.
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