Day 45 - Lochsa Lodge, Idaho to Kooskia, Idaho - Bike Tour 2022 - St Louis to Oregon - CycleBlaze

July 5, 2022

Day 45 - Lochsa Lodge, Idaho to Kooskia, Idaho

Does anybody really know what time it is

After arriving in Lochsa Lodge, I took a shower, ate lunch, then took a two-hour nap in my tent. I had a post nap dinner then went back to sleep until morning.

The camping is very good as long as you don’t mind the hum of a fan (from the general store next to our camp site) all night.

The lodge’s breakfast was huge. I was stuffed. We broke camp and began a 90-mile downhill ride through the Lochsa River valley. It was just beautiful. White water, massive mountains covered in evergreens, curvy road.

I saw a muledeer, a white tailed deer, and two eagles during the ride.

We stopped at a couple of towns along the way looking for overnight accommodations but decided to continue on to Kooskia and stay in the pavilion in the town park. My tent is not free standing so I’m lying in what is essentially a big net that caves in on both sides.

The park has a splash zone which we used as a sort of shower. The water was cold and refreshing.

We are no longer in dry mountain air. It’s warm and muggy. This is my first day below 2,000 feet since eastern Kansas.

Earlier in the day, Mark got a traffic ticket for failing to ride to the right of the white line. A pick up truck passed him on a curve and nearly hit a sheriff’s car head on. The sheriff pulled the driver over and the driver said “I came upon the bicyclist so quickly there was nothing else I could have done. He was riding to the left of the white line.”

Apparently the driver was unfamiliar with the brake pedal.

Then the Sheriff probably a deputy (he was young and chubby) let him go and pulled Mark over.

We are all kinds of pissed about this. It’s impossible to ride to the right side of the white line. There’s not enough room, but Deputy Fife wouldn’t listen to Mark’s explanation. If it sticks, the ticket will cost $60 and add points to his driver's license.

Tomorrow we ride up a very nasty hill then pass through the county seat where we intend to talk to anybody who will listen about Deputy Fife and the unwarranted traffic ticket.

One oddity we are dealing with is time. Some places operate on Mountain time, others on Pacific. I feel like I’m stuck inside a Chicago song.

We stopped for lunch along the Lochsa River. This is the upstream view.
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Same spot looking downstream
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Mark takes a shower
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Rough day at the office
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Today's ride: 90 miles (145 km)
Total: 2,489 miles (4,006 km)

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Kelly IniguezMaybe you tell us later in your journal - but, what was the result of the ticket?

I have a cyclist friend in his 70's. He was stopped for exceeding the speed limit on a downhill in Colorado. Mac was so, so hoping to get a speeding ticket on his bicycle. He had mental plans to frame it - but the policeman gave him a warning!
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1 year ago
John PickettMark is doing 15 years to life at the SuperMax prison in Florence CO
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1 year ago
John PickettTo John PickettJust kidding. The deputy failed to appear at the Zoom hearing. Ticket was dismissed
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1 year ago