• Miles today 71.1
• Miles total 375.5
• Elevation today 3543 ft
• Elevation total 24666 ft
• Weather – partly cloudy, mild temps plus 20+ mph TAILWIND!!!

Today was a late start, like 9:00. The wind was constantly blowing. It was supposed to be “active recovery” – moderate slopes with up and over to Walla Walla.

The countryside while very pretty is very much the same – lots of wheat fields and wonderfully blue sky. The wind just howls with nothing to slow it down. It was coming from one direction today but the roads went every which way. We had tail wind, left side wind, right side wind and every degree in between. Bottom line it was whipping, real good!!!

Now on a bike, tailwind allows you to go faster with less effort – makes sense. When the wind whips around, you get blown with the wind, literally. Now add trucks in the mix –

• same direction = pushing blast then once past, whirling
• opposite direction, after passing big blast
• two trucks opposite directions – it’s a vortex

All I can say is wind is your friend until it smacks the side of you. On one down hill decent that was probs a mile long, side wind with trucks plus a rubble strip in the road shoulder (that blended into the chip seal road, so you couldn’t see it). I shall always remember this as Terror hill!!! Buffeted by the wind, leaning into the road, hands screaming holding on and your traps are banjo string tight. Yes, it was bananas – no pics or vid’s – you wouldn’t want to hear my school girl screams!!!

We prob road for another 15 miles (about 45 mins) into Walla Walla – still tense. We get to stop light in town – not sure what I was doing but down goes Frazier (clip out fall over – nothing to see here but me on the ground). Slight scuff and a bruised ego!

On to Lewiston….

I – duh – ho!!