We knew that sooner or later we were likely to have a mechanical problem on this part of our trip, and today proved to be the day. We had intended to ride from Riggins to Grangeville, a distance of about 50 miles. Since there is a long (10+ mile climb out of White Bird (about 30 miles from Riggins), we arose before 5 am to allow us to hit the climb when it was still relatively cool.*
All was proceeding according to plan for about 27 miles, as we continued to ride through the spectacular canyon created by the Salmon River. Then, a few miles before White Bird, a 3" long section of one steel rail supporting Penny's saddle broke away and fell off. She managed to retrieve it from the roadside, not an insignificant accomplishment given the enormous amount of tire pieces and other debris on the shoulder of US95. But it was very difficult for her to ride further, as the saddle lurched crazily to one side supported by only one rail. We managed to limp the last few miles into White Bird but knew there was no way we could ride much further with the bike in that condition.
We spent the next hour or so finding a place to stay in White Bird (population 106)** as we knew we were done for the day at least. Then we assessed our options. A new saddle was the best solution, but there is no bike shop - or even a hardware store - for several hundred miles in any direction. Penny called our good friend Sergio, who offered to track down a replacement saddle and ship it to us. But that would be more difficult than it sounds,*** and would mean we'd be stuck in White Bird for at least a couple of days.
While Penny was working with Sergio on a new saddle, I went in search of someone who might be able to repair the old one, so that we could at least try to ride to a larger town where we might find more help. It didn't take too many inquiries to find out that there were two guys in the area who might be able to help. One was Lonnie, who works at a tire repair shop in town and has a number of other satellite jobs. He proved to be very hard to locate, and when we did finally track him down was not helpful. The other guy is Steve. He works at Hoots' Cafe and Motel, which also has an auto service center. However, I knew that Hoots' was located several miles from town (on new Hwy 95, which bypasses White Bird) but was not sure of its exact location. So I set out walking to Hoots' in the noonday sun, broken saddle in hand. I had only gone a short distance before I came upon a gift and coffee shop and stopped in to ask for directions to Hoots'. As the owner was explaining that Hoots' is a several mile walk down the canyon, the only customer in the place spoke up and asked me if I wanted a ride to Hoots'. After stammerring for a minute to the effect that I did not want to put him to any bother, I basically
said "hell yes". Tony introduced himself as a local guy, and - of course - he knew Steve (Steve maintains Tony's cars, but in a town this small everyone knows everyone else anyway).
Steve was in the middle of a repair job when we arrived, but immediately stopped what he was doing to look at the broken saddle. After some hemming and hawing, he announced that he thought he might be able to weld the broken piece back
on. He took the pieces back to his welding bench while I chatted with Tony, who offered to haul me back to town as well. After about 10 minutes Steve returned with the repaired saddle (the rail was still too hot to touch) and said he thought it would hold together but he couldn't be sure. He refused to charge me anything, but I gave him $5 anyway**** and Tony and I returned to town. I thanked both Steve and Tony profusely; neither of them seemed to think they did anything out of the ordinary. I reinstalled the saddle and Penny and I tested it by riding up and down the main street in White Bird. It seems fine, so tomorrow we are going to take off again in the early morning.
We saw quite a few other cyclists today coming into town down from the pass we'll climb tomorrow morning (i.e., they were traveling east to west on the TransAmerica route). They included a very skinny couple from France who rolled in about 2 pm when it was blazing hot outside. They saw us coming out of the cafe and asked us if they served coffee in the place! (They did, but in styrofoam cups out of a diner-style glass pitcher than has been sitting on a burner - probably not quite the same way they serve it in France).
*The thermometer hit 106 degrees in White Bird yesterday. It felt very hot again today, but I don't know what the high reading was.
**White Bird is named after a former chief of the Nez Perce indian tribe who fought to the bitter end against the military's efforts to subdue the tribe. There is a battlefield site (now a historical park) northeast of town that we'll ride through tomorrow.
***Penny uses a woman-specific saddle made by Specialized. (It should not surprise anyone to learn that most cyclists are pretty picky about which make/model of saddle they use. ) After doing some checking, Sergio informed us that neither of the two major Internet bike parts distributors (Performance and Colorado Cyclist) carried Specialized saddles. It sounded like one of the bike shops in Colorado Springs might have one, but he could not look at it until after work and he would then have to ship it to us. The best case, although unlikely, was that we would receive and install the new saddle late tomorrow and resume our trip on Wednesday - a loss of two days.
****I later began feeling like a cheapskate when I realized that a new would cost us at least $50.
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