Team 1 Day 5 (Liz)

Two things I’ve realized are necessary for a cross country bike trip: flexibility and laughter. For day 5 we planned 67 miles of riding with an afternoon of climbing somehow another pass. Instead we biked maybe 22 miles and walked about 4. And yet, today was still a good day. 


That morning, emotions were running high in the Walmart parking lot as we distributed groceries and ate breakfast. Could we do another long, high elevation day? Well we could at least get to Tonnasket and then we’d decide. 


So we set off on route 20 and eventually turned onto a side road that all our navigation services told us would be quicker. Turns out you can’t always trust your gps! While the first few miles were beautiful and quiet, things eventually took a turn for the worst. (Though we did pass a donkey sanctuary that made me very happy.) Miles in, the road turned to a gravel public access. And eventually, we got to an intimidating “you are trespassing” sign followed by a gated fence. We were miles off of route 20, so we carefully decided our best course of action was to take a rails to trails approach and hop on the railway running parallel to the road. Can’t say that was my favorite moment of the day. But Kayla kept making me laugh even through the hard moments. 


Once back on track, we decided that the pass and Republic could wait another day. Worked out well since we ran into another biker friend in Tonnasket. We ate at the one open restaurant in town and then picked up lunch for tomorrow. Keelin made a joke and laughed so hard she cried which of course got Kayla and me laughing. We debriefed and joked about the moments that almost made us cry earlier. Today was a challenge, tomorrow will probably also be a challenge, but I bet you we’ll be laughing on our way over the mountain. 


P.S. If you have the choice between a tent site and an RV site, choose the tent site. Otherwise the sprinklers may go off under your tent (Keelin) and soak everything you own. 

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