The Stanley BasinA bike tour around the Stanley Basin sounds like an adventure and it was, as usual. Corrie and I have signed up for the
Oregon Bicycle Ride for the last 7 years and we’ve always had a wonderful time. I tell people it’s like adult summer camp. Our fun is planned for us, all we have to do is show up and bike our butt off for a week.
The group has been at this for almost 30 years and they have it down. They plan a 400 mi or so route around scenic areas in Oregon, Wa or Idaho. They look for low traffic roads with good shoulders and a 40-75 miles. This sounds like an impossible task for some riders but remember all you have to do is keep riding.. and if you’re over your limit there is a friendly sag driver to pick you up and did I tell you they plan the most wonderful rest stops… OH,MY, GOD… you wouldn’t believe the spead they put out… fruit of all kinds, chips, homemade cookies, pickles, cheese, crackers, peanut butter and bananas with… chocolate!!! And the second rest stop… not to be outdone will have a completely different list of yummy snacks.


Camping in the Park
Our ride this year was quite a mix. We started in the little town of Carey, Id.. who would ever take time to explore a little town the size of Anatone, if not on a bike tour with nothing else to do. We start very early… about 8 am after a substantial breakfast of eggs, oatmeal, fruit, meat of some kind… some eat well, but many just have the gormet coffee, light on all but the oatmeal and plan for more about 25 miles down the road at the first rest stop. Our first ride out of Carey was about 50 miles in a flat desert, but we would have time to tour the Craters of the Moon National Park. Everything looks better when you travel in the cool morning by bicycle. The National Park was amazing in it’s desolation and you wonder what pioneers had to go through if they traveled through this county. Most everyone arrives by 1 pm and we settle into the routines of the afternoon.
• First you look for your tent… and if you have a fast hubby like mine, it’s already set up!
• Next you find camp central and look for that tub of iced drinks… juice, pop, beer ,take your choice
• NAP or Shower… via the traveling shower truck ( a semi converted into mens and women’s showers, clean as a whistle and with a dependable hot vigorous shower
• FOOD… snacks or lunch, visit with all your camp buddies
• NAP… read that good book you brought
• Dinner…. Visit will all your camp buddies
• Nap or read
• Sleep… heavenly, deep sleep that you’ve earned after biking your butt off!
Our tour continued from Carey to Arco and Challis… another thriving metropolis of about 100 people. All our rides where a challenge this year from a 50-80 mile day with 30mi/hr head winds (we where told) to Galena Pass, more head winds on our easy day. So no easy days for our group.
Our tour continued from Carey to Arco and Challis… another thriving metropolis of about 100 people. All our rides where a challenge this year from a 50-80 mile day with 30mi/hr head winds (we where told) to Galena Pass, more head winds on our easy day. So no easy days for our group.
We did get a layover day in Stanley, ID. This is an idyllic mountain town. The small population are mostly associated with some type of recreation in the surrounding woods, mountains or the Salmon river. We had our choice of hiking, swimming, rafting, biking or even mountain climbing. Corrie had written about his experience riding but I had the better experience of
rafting the Salmon river. The guide began our ½ day guided white water raft trip with a safety lecture. How to man the oars, sit in the raft as we ventured into level 1-4 rapids, wear our life jackets, and in the event we “went for an unexpected swim”, how we would be snatched! Little did I know that within in 5 min of entering the rapids I would be in for a “SWIM!” I found myself in the front spot of the 8 man raft, very uncomfortably sitting with my foot in a pocket. The first few minutes seemed easy but they warned us about the soon approaching rocks we where going to dod…..ge! OH, NO, OVER AND UNDER I WENT, head over heals and more, as I was tossed around in the rapids…OH, NO, there goes my sandals, OH NO, there goes my hat… NIKKI”S Biking hat! OH, MY GOD they’re moving away… as I grabbed onto the floundering Brit who joined me for a swim… thank God, I’m a swimmer, not afraid of the water, but dunked into swirling rapids is a whole different experience!! I climbed up the Brit and we both managed to reach the raft and the strangers I started with pulled us in and became our instant best buddies. Was I cold they asked?? NO, I’m in the raft!!! That was quick! After a bit of shaking, I managed to calm down, enough to grab my oar and take my part as part of our rafting crew. The rest of the ride was uneventful as I found more secure footing. We had about another hour or so of rafting plus lunch on the shore prepared by our guides. What a lunch!!! Moroccan chicken, couscous and veggies, blue cheese and garlic dip, chips, brownies, lemonaide… did I say I’d put aside the weight watchers diet plan. This was an eventful adventure. Not only did I take an unplanned swim but as we managed the rapids, first one sandal then the other followed the currents and made it straight back to me. But, not the hat… my favorite biking hat, my only biking hat was sacrificed to the river. Some day it will be found by a surprised rafter. Maybe they’ll convert and try a bike. Sorry Nikki, I loved that hat.
The friends I met during our bike tour will stay with me forever. I’ll probably forget their names, I probably won’t send them promised e mails. I’ll miss the biking adventures we shared, but I have Corrie to share our memories and of course the pictures will remind me of the wonderful biking “summer camp” adventure.
Corrie and Dave