Republic to Coleville, WA

6-21 was a brutal day.  We started off by going off route, on a supposedly easier route, that avoided climbing nearly 1500 feet, instead we spent the final 30 miles of our day battling exhaustion and head winds (a cyclist's worst enemy).

The day started with a very nice, enjoyable ride north.  It was mostly downhill through beautiful farm country.  After a break at a nice coffee shop, we headed up into the hills.  Again it started fairly smoothly, but quickly turned into a grind.  After 11 miles slogging up hill, we were all excited to be close to done with the day.

Rest stop

We enjoyed our final screaming decent (11 mile downhill, max speeds around 40mph) and met up at the bottom of the hill.

As we started our trek into Kettle Falls, we were met with a 10mph headwind.  After stopping for a snack at a convenience store, we headed off again, only to have the wind pick up even more.  Finally, after slogging against the wind, and up the short steep hills (which we didn't expect).

After the grueling ride, we unanimously decided to stay in a hotel for a night.

Sorry for the short post, but I'm tired, I'll try to make a more detailed post tomorrow night.