A light fog and 38 degrees were a bit disappointing as I rode off at 0800, but it was above freezing and I was counting on that mid 40's high. The fog got thicker as I dropped to downtown. With about 10 miles of city riding in, I thought I was on track to meet the LT out in Middleton at 1030. I leaned into E. Hill Rd turn off Castle Dr and turned, the bike continued straight, fish-tailing, and wobbling. I thought I'd go down on ice at about 12 MPH in the middle of a significant intersection, but decided to try straightening out the wheel, ending the lean, and darting between two cars stopped at the stop sign. If that sounds like I had the situation under control, it's a poor description. Fortunately, the maneuver worked- but it was not classy maneuver. My fear slowed me down as I moved toward Middleton. I pushed the bike up the steep hill into Dry Creek Cemetery when I felt the first useless spin of the wheel. My eyes continued to study every passing puddle for water or ice, and I could not force myself to speed even on the flattest spots.
I arrived in Middleton about 15 minutes late to see the LT standing beside the Bianchi in the fog awaiting my late arrival. He said the morning forecast predicted the fog would lift shortly, and he thought we should proceed with his first road bike ride. There was no more spinning or visible ice, so my confidence began to build. The fog made the climb into the Emmett Valley imperceptible, so I'm sure the LT didn't know he was climbing. We took the customary break at the Leatha Country Store, and rode on to Emmett for lunch. I believe for the first time ever I looked forward to "Old Freezeout" Grade- a chance to warm up. I told the LT it was only about 1/4 mile away. At one mile he began to question my knowlege of the topography- as we still couldn't see the hills. Ah, there it was, and the climb warmed us both. At the very peak we escaped the fog. Since the LT doesn't care for riding in traffic, I was a bit concerned about the next section- 4 or 5 miles on highway 16. Fortunately, he had no problem with the moderate traffic on a 4 ft shoulder. Then it was back to rural paved roads and the fog. He said he was tired at mile 46, but I think there were more miles in him. I was a bit concerned about getting in after dark, still afraid of ice, and a bit tired, so I loaded my bike into his pickup with 81 miles for the day. Corrie, maybe next weekend I can get that January century.
The LT's Recreation
We'd planned for snow shoeing for Monday. I know the LT loves mountain climbing, so I should have known we'd be climbing something instead of snowshoeing down some pleasant forest lane. The route he'd shown me showed climbing a ridge from the highway above Idaho City. Unfortunately, the snow was piled high on both sides of the highway where we wanted to park, so we drove on just a bit. Rather than hike back down the highway to the ridge, we decided to climb the hillside. I thought I was on some awful exercise machine that forced me to raise one foot as high as I could, pull myself up, and repeat the process with the other foot. After we climbed about 200 ft, we met the ridge, and the climb became more moderate - and fun. We climbed 2,800 ft in 1.9 miles where the ridge looked a little dangerous- deep snowed drifted on a narrow ridge. We climbed one last obstacle, the LT fell into a hole, and we decided to have lunch and turn around.
The descent was fun and quick as long as we were on the ridge. A storm moved in briefly, but the only real obstacle was the bottom section after we left the ridge. I think my legs are tired from the long steps down!
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