Republic to Colville, WA
Several people had told us that Sherman Pass was the toughest of our passes: 5,575 feet and steep. Thus it was with some resolve that we sought out someone to carry our gear to the top and let us ride our bikes “anchor” free. Bill U. talked to some guys at the fairgrounds and got a half promise from one that his son would do it after he’d finished his fairground chores in the morning. This was not a solid shuttle, however, so Diane got on the phone with her network and discovered that Beth Brown—of our first day on the road—had a cycling contact (Paul Laak) in Republic who would shuttle our gear not only to the summit but to Kettle Creek beyond it.
Tim recounts the night before on his blog: “Last night was a toughie. The cattle associated with the fair woke me at 3 am, bellowin’ like it was the end of the world, keeping me up the rest of the night. I think I was the lucky one. I feel everyone else slept even less than I did.”
I know that I didn’t sleep for the bellowing cow that all of us wanted to slaughter before dawn. Nonetheless, I was up at 5 am, packing up the soggy tent.
Just before 7 am, Paul arrived to cart gear . . . in a small Subaru wagon. Would all the gear fit in this car? Tim “over” all the hemming, hawing, and indecision, took off on his fully loaded bike. Kevin and Bill arrived from their hotel in town with their BOB and panniers. Kevin had called from the hotel the night before and asked “When should we drop off our stuff?” He had no concept of the hours spent working to arrange a shuttle.
We crossed the Columbia River just before Kettle Falls and then had a short but pretty good, hot climb next to the guardrail on a narrow shoulder of a busy road to get to Kettle Falls. Kevin caught me taking a break and talking to Jeff on my cell near the top of this hill. Oddly, while Jeff was talking, Kevin’s daughter, Katie, passed Jeff in her car.
Just before 7 am, Paul arrived to cart gear . . . in a small Subaru wagon. Would all the gear fit in this car? Tim “over” all the hemming, hawing, and indecision, took off on his fully loaded bike. Kevin and Bill arrived from their hotel in town with their BOB and panniers. Kevin had called from the hotel the night before and asked “When should we drop off our stuff?” He had no concept of the hours spent working to arrange a shuttle.
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| Rick, Bill H, Paul Laak (orange cap), me, Kevin, and Diane after cramming our gear into Paul's small Suburu; Bill U taking photo; Rick and I are looking across a field to the road and Tim who is starting the day's ride |
Somehow, we managed to cram all the panniers and BOBs and BOB bags into Paul’s Subaru wagon, and off Paul went to Kettle Creek, saying he would find a safe place to stash the stuff. He knew the people at a health foods store who would keep an eye on it for us.
The climb to Sherman Pass summit was not nearly as bad as all had said. I managed to ride all of it and not push the bike. I am getting stronger because had this climb come a week ago I would have been pushing my bike a lot, BOB or no. The descent was great, too, not very steep or technical and right next to a beautiful rushing stream for many of its miles.
The climb to Sherman Pass summit was not nearly as bad as all had said. I managed to ride all of it and not push the bike. I am getting stronger because had this climb come a week ago I would have been pushing my bike a lot, BOB or no. The descent was great, too, not very steep or technical and right next to a beautiful rushing stream for many of its miles.
We crossed the Columbia River just before Kettle Falls and then had a short but pretty good, hot climb next to the guardrail on a narrow shoulder of a busy road to get to Kettle Falls. Kevin caught me taking a break and talking to Jeff on my cell near the top of this hill. Oddly, while Jeff was talking, Kevin’s daughter, Katie, passed Jeff in her car.
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| The bridge over Kettle Creek; We are still on MT-20, which here is called the Sherman Pass Byway |
Once in town, we hooked back up with Tim, and each of us went behind the health food store and retrieved our gear, which had been stashed under the loading dock and camouflaged with spare flats and lumber. After this we met across the street in KC's and had a cold beer or other beverage of choice before heading on to Colville along busy Hwy 20.
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Tim, Kevin, Bill H., Bill U. in KC’s in Kettle City enjoying a cold drink after climbing Sherman pass. I tacked Diane and me to this photo sequence but we’re actually at the Mexican restaurant below in Colville. See the dirty and clean water bottles on the table? Rick took my clean one and left his there at KC’s. I rode with a store water bottle until he realized his mistake.
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In Colville, we found the fairgrounds, set up our tents, took showers, and then biked back into town that evening to grocery shop and eat in a Mexican restaurant.
Tomorrow, flowery Trail Pass. Tune in.
