Andy_K 

Eight bottles is about what I was estimating also. Normally I can get by with about one bottle every 15-20 miles. Toward the end of this one I thought I probably should have drank more and definitely more electrolytes.

rccardr 

AndyK, wondering if anyone else thought that the gravel was a little deep and soft...


DFrost- what a nice guy. Always a smile!

Amber Waves Of Grain

Steptoe Butte, from a distance. Yes, menacing. By now, the heat was taking a toll on the speed of the group.

rccardr 

View from the top of Steptoe Butte. We intentionally took a series of pics of NDS views while on top. Very breezy up there.

rccardr 

Action shot! That's DFrost in white and Scozim in yellow

Scozim on his Peugeot

One of my favorite shots of the trip. Tim, Dave, Roger & Thomas uphilling on gravel with that amazing scenery in the background.

A little further down the same road...

rccardr 

Lentils? Chickpeas? Sort other sort of exotic legume? With the ever-present wheat in the background.

One of the last gravel stretches we rode. By now the group was dry and a little testy. You know the rest. Five flats, some tandem mechanical issues, but everyone survived and it was all fun.

Saturday start in Idaho...three remained.

Still hot temperatures, but the breezes were cooler from off of the lake.

rccardr 

Super well maintained rail trail that starts off with five + miles of gentle downhill.

Very cool step-style rail trestle/bridge over the lake

Posing for selfies was pretty hilarious. "Get thee behind me!"

Yeah, waterlillies. AMAZING waterlillies.

Our turnaround point. Getting hot, and sadly, not much of the trail was as well shaded as this.

rccardr 

Northbend thinking to himself: Do I really want to ride back in that hot sun?

Similar thoughts from Scott...

But half way back, ICE CREAM!!! Made everyone smile.

Finis.
Hot, tired, sticky...clothing stiff with salt...hours to go to get home, back to hotel, whatever.
Who cares? WE HAD FUN!!!

Dfrost 

scozim 

And somehow I ended up with the ice cream cone on my head. Or so it seems.

Drillium Dude

I put my trust in auto-focus on this section, tracking most everyone from the upper right and down to the turn-in point. I was hoping I'd gotten more like this one. As it was, I seem to have missed a few people as well. Maybe I left too soon?

Doc, thank you for the additional pics and commentary from our most-traveled out-of-towner

DD

gugie 

Not me. With my 35mm tires, it was the only place I could pull ahead of you!

Drillium Dude

The Bikes

Mc Elroy tandem: Roger and Thomas



Dave's Marinoni:



Doc's Cannondale:



Matt's Singer:



Scott's Peugeot:



Tim's Grandis:



Andy's Motor Bacon, or some such play on words:



Mark's Grander Sportier:



DD

thinktubes 

northbend 

You're a....(ahem..) cool dude, Scott!

Scozim’s Tour of the Palouse was better than anything I could have imagined.
It is funny, I have lived in Washington State nearly my whole life and had never visited this area before. It is simply beautiful. The textures of the hills are accentuated by rows of farming activity which lays down patches of Green, Yellow, Brown and Gold right next to each other like a giant jigsaw puzzle.
DocRisesAbovePalouse by NBend, on Flickr

decisions by NBend, on Flickr

AndyK by NBend, on Flickr

Mark n Doc by NBend, on Flickr

northbend 

On Saturday, I rode mostly off the back, away enough that I could take my attention off the riders around me and just visually take in my surroundings.

Palouse dreams by NBend, on Flickr

The ribbon of road winding around the larger hills was hardly ever straight and level. The rollers were a hoot.

Rollers by NBend, on Flickr

It was fun to see the riders string out in front of me. When the road did pitch upward, I sometimes would work my way forward towards Scott at the ‘Pointy End’ of our group.

Gravel Trials by NBend, on Flickr


All that is good by NBend, on Flickr

But as everyone has already said, it got hot in the afternoon. I worried a lot about the heat and how it would affect the group. We looked after each other though, making sure no one was alone. Jeff was our guardian angel, driving the course with coolers full of gatorade and water to replenish our bottles. We were all very thankful he SAG’d for us. After getting home, and seeing all the photos he took, he was also a top notch photojournalist documenting our ride. THANKS JEFF.

H20 by NBend, on Flickr

northbend 

Scott had mapped out a superb route and exhibited great timing for regroups and pace.

Scott by NBend, on Flickr

The highlight of day 1 was Steptoe Butte. You see it in the distance while you’re in open farmland and you think it’s not that imposing but the closer you get, the larger it looms. Kind of like a mini Mount Ventoux with communications towers on it’s bald summit. We turn off the main road and ride upslope. Trees shade the lower slope giving us some welcome relief before they fade away exposing us to the hot sun. The climb itself is steady, a pretty consistent pitch all the way up past the last copse of trees. Looking to your right, you can see the road snaking below you amid a patchwork of wheat fields. We get to the top and there’s a 360 degree view. We wander around for a little bit then descend back down into the trees to the picnic area where Roger’s wife Marie is cooking up lunch for us. Again, Scott has chosen the perfect spot for our mid-ride break.

Lunch by NBend, on Flickr

The heat and the hills took their toll in the afternoon. Flats became welcome stops when shade was available, unbearable when it wasn’t.

DavidFlatsandweRest by NBend, on Flickr

There were some hurt’n units on that final climb. I hung back and offered encouragement but had little else to give that would help. Eventually, everyone reached the top and we all enjoyed the downhill run back into town.

The final descent by NBend, on Flickr

It was a full day and now, it’s nap time for some :-)

Crucifix by NBend, on Flickr

I wanted to single out RogerM for his effort on Saturday. He chose to ride it on a tandem with his son Thomas. That had to be incredibly hard. You had mechanical issues, cramps and the added responsibility of watching out for Thomas and you never once lost your cool. You are a great Dad and you are raising a great set of kids. Chapeau to you sir!

GreatTeam by NBend, on Flickr

On Sunday, I met up with Doc and Scott and rode the Trail of the Cour D Alenes just across the border in Idaho. It was a perfect way to end the weekend: Spinning along a largely deserted beautifully paved trail shaded by trees and cooled by a slight wind coming off the water. I didn’t shift at all for 45 miles until we reached the final 5 mile climb back to the car.

CourDeAlenes by NBend, on Flickr


Lilys by NBend, on Flickr

scozim 

I think we both realized about the same time that we hadn't shifted for several hours before that last climb.

ryansu

Great shots everyone, I was in Moses Lake (97 degrees) Friday night on my way to Spokane for the weekend (90s) and did a 12 mile ride with my siblings on the shady mostly flat Centennial trail so I have a very faint inkling of what it might have been like out on the hot rolling Palouse. Chapeau Gentlemen! glad you all made it.

northbend 

Yea, that was a neat moment. What a great day!

Andy Antipas 

Great photos capturing a great ride! Wish I could have been there. Thank you for sharing.

RiddleOfSteel

Utterly fantastic photos of staggeringly gorgeous countryside!!! Excellent camera work. Seems like any of those shots, regarding scenery, could be a postcard. Boy, am I feeling like a chump for not riding this, even if it was in the noble pursuit of procuring a Bertin frameset for Norm Macdonald, er, I mean @gugie. Next year!!