I woke up to a brisk morning in the Teepee in Republic, WA. After some coffee and breakfast I got on the road and immediately had to climb 3500 feet in about 15 miles to Sherman Pass.

My legs were super tired and sore and the first thousand feet of climbing really hurt. I think they loosened up a bit and I got in the groove, but the views also started opening up and some of my misery was probably lost in the beauty of the mountains I was climbing through. I made it up to Sherman Pass in about 1 hour and 45 minutes where I met up with Caroline. I then got to descend almost 5000 feet to the Columbia River and Kettle Falls, WA.

I stopped at a convenience store and buy a chicken kebab along with a bean burrito and red bull. I rode to the Kettle Falls marina to eat and relax there with my feet in the water until Caroline rode up to meet me. She had parked the car in Colville and rode her bike to meet me.

After meeting up with her, we had another lunch and then rode to Colville to find a motel. Today was a shorter day but it was much needed. Nothing serious, but my muscles are sore I have a hotspot on my right pinky toe. My saddle sores are pretty bad at this point so I’m working on improving the situation there.

Lastly, I think I’m starting to see the first signs of a sort of “claw hand”. I think from the pressure of my hands on the handlebars it has affected my nerves and I don’t have the same strength in my fingers. It’s quite a weird feeling but hopefully I can make some adjustments on the bike that will help.