Day 71 Newport, Wa to Colville, WA 63.3 miles Total 3,478.2 mi

 Steve was up at 4am, looking to beat the heat which is supposed to be in the high 90's.  Said goodbye to Doc, who has decided to break to the south, heading for Seattle.  Said goodbye also to Bud, who is sticking with the Adventure Cycling route and also taking a down day today.

Steve elected to go off the Adventure Cycling route a bit, riding north to Usk, WA and taking the Flowery Trail Pass of Chewelah Mountain.  He had a couple serious hills, one that was 4.5 miles long, for a total elevation gain of 3,386 ft.  You should have seen him sweep down the other side!  This was in the running for hardest climb.


Reaching Colville early in the day was difficult, because the very nice lady at the hotel was adamant that check-in was not until 2pm.  We wandered to the nearby restaurant (Mexican again).

Steve, framed well in the Rancho Grande restaurant after the ride. I think a cold cerveza is in the future.

They let us in the hotel at ~1pm. Ahhh. Nice afternoon ahead after an amazing 63-mile morning riding the mountains. Looking forward to resting and getting at it tomorrow morning. We're heading into the Northern Cascades Mountains. It will be amazing views at ~5,500'. 

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