Waterville to Wilber, 72 miles

We had a long way to reach Wilber so Troy, Ian, and I left at 6 am. There was no traffic on the road at that time so I could ride out left of the fog line. I did this because the road for 27 miles was chip seal and very rough. It seemed that a smoother part of the road was in the traffic lane where heavy trucks pressed down the asphalt/tar and gravel.

About an hour into the ride we reached the small place of Farmer where there is basically just a town hall. Up to this point we had still been riding on the rough chip seal. Ian, Troy and I stopped by the building to take some pictures. As we stopped there we saw an older guy riding a mountain bike heading west. He had packs strapped on his bike along with a sleeping bag. I said "hello, and noticed he had a beard like Santa Claus. We chatted with him and thought he was a little strange, especially when he said he is riding Bozman to Seattle to see Jimmy Hendricks grave. He did tell us, however that the chip seal surface would end in five miles, which made me very happy.

By the time we got to Moses Coulee the chip seal disappeared so we now had smooth pavement.

Locals had been telling us that seasonal temps are 20 degrees below normal. That made riding on very pleasant.

Lunch was at Coulee City, 40 miles into the ride. After lunch there was a slight cross wind. Troy, Ian, and I continued to ride 13 mph in this area. Arrived in Wilber at 1 pm and got driven to a local high school for showers by church member Tootsie.

Tom, Ian, and I walked to a market and got some beer and drank it on a bench near a real estate office..

The church in Wilber gave us a wonderful dinner. I shared a room with Portland John downstairs in the church.

The "Blues Brothers"