This is my favorite ride of the entire trip. It is 90 plus miles of 2000 feet of downhill and runs parallel to the Lochsa River and the Middle Fork Clearwater River. The entire route is along a Wild and Scenic waterway. For the most part the road is covered by tree cover, or the trees are nearby. Hills, what hills. There were none.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We did stop twice to check out two natural hot springs. The first one was 1 mile off the road at MP 152. We left our bikes at the trail head and walked the distance. Near the natural spring we encountered an enormous number of monarch butterflies. The pool was nice and not too hot. The second natural hot spring was at MP 142 and was only 1\/2 mile from the road. There were some campsites along the path the spring and we left our bikes at the second camp site. This hot spring was a little higher up the mountain. The pool was deeper and water was warmer. It did feel great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All good things must come to an end and we needed to get back on the bikes and make our way to Kooskia. It was an enjoyable ride and there was not too much traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That night we sleep at the community park, on picnic tables, which were under a pavilion. It is a good thing because the sprinkler system came on and we would have got soaked in the middle of the night. The sprinklers were aimed away from the pavilion, thankfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s stats: total mileage 90.1 miles, average speed 15.0 mph, elevation descent 1657 feet, elevation gain 312 feet, maximum speed 31.5 mph<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n