Cycling the Weiser River Trail - a Farewell Ride with the LT

Logistics: Getting out of bed at 0345 MDT was the difficult part of the new deal for me. We caravanned 3 vehicles to Weiser where we dropped off my car at the lower trail head. Chief Winn wasn’t sure of his fitness for the ride, so we dropped his car in Midvale- some 30 miles short of the goal in Weiser- just in case he couldn’t make it all the way. We squeezed bikes, gear, and people into the LT’s pickup for the remainder of the ride to New Meadows.
By the time the New Meadows breakfast was over, it was dawn (0800 MDT) and in the upper 20's in the mountains. “A balaclava and warm gloves are the most necessary clothing items for the morning portion of the ride” I had advised in that Friday morning meeting, but the LT had packed his balaclava for his upcoming move, and didn’t want to part with $9 for a low cost replacement the Chief had recommended. Neither of my companions wanted to ride the highway up the hill out of New Meadows, so we drove back to “Rubicon” that mythical start of the trail. Not finding Rubicon, we settled for what appeared to be the transition of the trail from over land to the old rail bed.

Rubicon to Council 17.7 miles 2:03 riding time : Through the Beautiful Mountains
On our first breather, the LT noticed his insulated camel-back tube was frozen completely allowing him no water. He tucked the tube into his coat hoping it would soon thaw. The Chief and I wondered about his poor exposed ears as we enjoyed the warmth of our $9 balaclavas! (I can’t find my silk balaclava this fall, but I’m not letting that fact freeze my ears!) The fall colors were striking- bright reds and yellows everywhere contrasted well with the bright blue sky in this, the mountainous, portion of the trip. Once the sun was up above the surrounding mountains, the temps began to rise. The LT’s previously frozen camel back was providing him water by the first photo stop, and thereafter he didn’t even have to tuck the tube into his coat to keep it thawed! We were all rid of our coats by 1000 MDT when the sun had begun to warm the draw that becomes a valley or canyon. Trail conditions are better than on last year’s test ride; Doug’s Slough has been removed, and I couldn’t even find where it had been. The trail was smoother, and, Corrie, no one had trouble getting through the side gates! There are still some short sections just north of Council that are rough. A doberman at the old long house on the edge of the railbed made me glad for my “Halt” though a shout at the dog caused it to stop before it got the liquid Halt in its snout! More barking but seemingly friendly dogs awaited us outside Council, so consider bringing “Halt” when you do this non-paved ride.

The LT and Steve still bundled up- photo by Chief Winn

Chief Winn

time for a photo break

one of the bridges near the Weiser River

Council to Cambridge 29.7miles 1:44 riding time: Smooth Trails

The trail comes out of the mountains just a few miles north of Council where the roughest section of trail is. That and my reading had me a bit concerned about trail conditions below Council, but the trail proved to be as smooth as the average lightly graveled road- better by far than those few desert miles into Council. Fall rains which are responsible for the current excellent trail conditions in the Boise Foothills may also be the cause for this better than expected riding condition, and it was much smoother than I expected. Corrie, the gates do get worse; most of the time there is no side gate, and a gate the width of the rail bed must be opened and shut frequently enough to seem a bother. The route remains along the river and is away from roads and people, adding to its appeal! Some of the best home made onion rings I’ve ever had as well as ½ pound hamburgers were served in a little restaurant,  Mrs G's, in Cambridge. The LT had a double half pounder- which of course equals a full pound of beef with a big side of fries- before continuing on the ride! At 23, I suppose one can eat anything! Some of you may be accusing me of teaching him how to eat on tour, but that would not be true. While the food was excellent, it might not be “high in carbs” that most of us cyclists are seeking!

The LT and Steve at one of the many small bridges

Old bridge- photo by Chief Winn

Cambridge to Midvale: 9.6 miles 46 minutes riding time: A Puncture Weed Lesson

The route continues to follow the river, and is generally away from other roads and civilization’s noises. Temps had risen so that we were all in shorts and “T” shirts for this section of the ride. For a short way there was a farmer’s field road adjacent to the railway. The LT darted over to it with its few rises and obstacles. It looked fun, and I almost joined him before a flashback to puncture weed lesson #1 hit me- don’t leave the trail in desert conditions. I watched him bounce around and then depart the field road dropping off-trail into a small gully before bouncing up onto the railbed again. By the time we reached the next bridge, he had a flat rear tire. He flipped the bike over and found a couple goat heads. He thought he had slime, and that by pumping a bit more air into the tires he could ride off like Chief Winn had done earlier in the day up in the forest before we entered goat-head territory. The tire kept going flat, but then he’d find another goat head, pull it, and refill the tire! During this process, I found a couple goat heads in the front tire, so we started this same process. We became suspicions he didn’t have slime; he didn’t. We’d have to use his replacement tube plus mine. Turns out, he wasn’t carrying a replacement tube or patch kit! I thought I’d trained him better than that! The chief’s spare tube was presta, which was of no value to us. So, it was off to the river with the tubes to see which tube was worse. The chief, who had just had a horrible experience with puncture weed, sat up on the bridge pulling 20 some thorns out of the inside of the tires with the tweezers he had wisely brought for such an ordeal. I found 5 rapid leaks in his tube assigned for my review and thought there were a couple more slow leaks, but it’s difficult to count when there are so many and the red pen is resisting writing on the cold wet tube! The LT said the tube he was looking at was worse, so we crawled back up to the bridge to begin the patching of the tube I'd inspected. I didn’t have enough patches, and the LT had none! Fortunately, the Chief, who was paranoid after his recent Devil’s Slide type experience, was carrying two new patch kits which were purchased just for this trip. When the five identified holes were patched, the LT asked if it was really necessary to crawl back down to the river to verify the work. All I said was “it’s the smart thing to do”. Fortunately, he crawled down to find one large leak I’d missed, and a small one we would ignore. Patching that tire took an entire new Rema patch kit, and we still had a slow leak that we were ignoring! A lesson for a long time cyclist!

The LT filling his newly multi-patched tire

 
After we rounded the next corner, we could see Midvale’s water tower off in the distance, and the chief who had been slowing down was off like a tired horse that had seen its barn in the distance. The LT and I struggled to keep up. He yelled “barbed wire”, and I slowed just a bit though I did not see it. Then I felt a jerk on my left peddle. The LT said the wire went taunt as it grabbed my peddle, and I continued down the trail. When I felt that jerk, I nearly went down. Fortunately for me the wire had grabbed my peddle without grabbing my body, and it let go under pressure. A new piece of wire that still tries to wind itself up and is attached to something can be a hazard far beyond a flat tire! A 2nd lesson for a long time cyclist!
 
Midvale to Weiser Approximately 25 miles and estimated riding time 2.5 hours
I loved being away from the roads and noises of modern life, but this next section would take us into “roadless areas” that are some 10 to 12 miles from the nearest road. With no spare tube and just 3 patches between the two of us, I wasn’t eager to head on down that isolated trail. Patching a tire at dusk or later would be impossible for me though the young eyes of the LT might see some hole in a black tube at dusk. Still it was 1700 hours leaving us two hours of good light (MDT- what a blessing!). We had brought lights along just in case some challenge caused us to arrive after dusk, so we were prepared for that. The idea of another major run-in with puncture weed with no spare tube made me unwilling to finish. I think the LT was most disappointed. He was in shape for the 80 miles and looking forward to his longest ride ever- though it was a downhill ride! The Chief adds that none of us were the least tired, and we all could have easily completed the ride had it not been for the flat tire issues!


Disclosures:
1) All the TRC’s who had wanted to do the Weiser River Ride last spring were invited to join us. None did.
2) I’ve been forgetting my camera this summer like some Laurel and Hardy routine. This time I put it in the pannier and then took it out to change the batteries, and then put the camera beside my bag where it was sitting alone when I returned. Maybe the other guys will provide some photos that Corrie will add to this post, but Corrie may have grown weary of my helplessness in this area!
3) Army pilots don’t like the title “Chief”, but I used it anyway as Mr. makes him sound like someone from my father’s generation instead of a guy a couple years younger than I.
4) Puncture weed is at its very worst just after fall’s first heavy frosts which means right now.
5) I’m really going to miss the LT as he heads off for nearly 2 years of flight school! He’s been a fun and adventurous companion this summer.
6) I’m willing to do this ride again, and Chief Winn and I may do that final section soon, but only with many spare tubes in our possession!

Originally posted on 26 Oct 2008 on Free Conversant