Wes Malinchock

We woke up after our rest day in Twisp feeling fresh enough to put in some serious miles today. Originally we were supposed to take the normal Adventure Cycling route through Loup Loup Pass, but we had learned the day before our break day that it would be closed for construction. After some debate, we decided to take a 50 mile detour down through Brewster, Washington rather than subject ourselves and our bikes to what looked like a hard gravel climb through the mountains. In the end I think we made the right choice.

In the morning we were headed downhill through the Methow Valley along the river. Thanks to a nice tail wind we were able to ride 32 miles to breakfast in Pateros in only about two hours! This is an amazing pace for the three of us and our loaded down bikes. After breakfast we decided that we were feeling good enough to ride the extra miles to the town we were planning on ending in rather than cut the day short. This decision was partly due to our fresh legs and the wind which had just shifted to give us a tailwind back up the Okanogan Valley.

We set off from breakfast and again made great time up the valley, even though we had some climbing. The wind picked up throughout the day but fortunately stayed at our backs and we were able to make the 92 miles to Tonasket in just under six hours! The town has a camping space specifically for touring cyclists behind the visitors center just off the main road. This puts us in excellent position for our climb up Wauconda Pass and possibly Sherman Pass tomorrow depending on how we are feeling.