June 10

Woke up early today, anxious to get going. It was a beautiful morning, blue skies, sunshine, and a gentle breeze. The tall grasses along the sides of the road were gently bending in the direction of my travel, as if they were pushing me along.

Me and my trusty steed say goodbye to Winthrop and the snow capped Cascades.

 
After reaching the town of Riverside I went into the Town Hall and spoke to a woman about my route ahead.  

This is the only store in Riverside - mostly some groceries and gas.

She told me a shuttle bus could drop me off near the base of the next mountain in the "town" of Wauconda. So I waited an hour for the shuttle and jumped on. Unfortunately, the shuttle did not go to Wauconda but instead dropped me off at the Aeneas Valley Country Store - in the middle of nowhere!! The shuttle left and I went in and talked to the store owner about my route to the town of Republic. He promptly said "you'll never make it". None of the roads in this area are paved and the one I wanted to travel ends somewhere in the forest and turns into a "goat trail" (just a single dirt track). I would have to follow that goat trail over the mountain to get to Republic. But, he said he wouldn't recommend going that way because there are Meth labs in the area and they are so dangerous even the police don't go in there!!! (And I thought I was going to have to worry about bears!!) The only way, then, to Republic would be to ride back to the main road (13 miles) and then ride to Republic (35 miles over a mountain pass). Wow.  It was already past 3pm and I was in a pickle. However, good fortune was on my side. I went outside the store and saw an older couple getting into a pickup truck. I ran over and asked it they would be willing to take me and my bike back to the main road. They gladly agreed. They drove me to the main road and then even went to Wauconda, about another 10 miles up the road. Turns out there is no town of Wauconda. There was a small general store there years ago but it has long been shuttered and is now just a roadside pile of junk. Anyway, what kind people they were. And it was their anniversary today - 54 years of marriage. 

Jim and Linda.  They really saved me today.  Angels!!

 After they dropped me off I had about 20 or so miles to go, over a mountain, to get to Republic. Going up was slow but the downhill was thrilling, often hitting 35 miles an hour. Tomorrow I need to cross Sherman Pass on the way to my next destination. Sherman Pass is the highest mountain pass in the state of Washington so it's going to be a grind. But I'll make it.