The ill fated Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Ride...Day 4

Click here for day 1

It was about 4am, and once again, I awoke absolutely freezing. There was nothing for it, so I just tried to go back to sleep, knowing it was going to be my last night sleeping cold. As soon as I saw the sun rise I immediately put my shoes on, and walked out to the road where the sun was already shining. I just stood there in the road, trying to warm my shivering body. After about half an hour, I was warm enough to head back to the campsite and make some hot chocolate and hot granola, which helped some. It did seem like I was getting colder, and staying colder, for longer each morning. 

The sun shining on Boo's tent was enough to finally roust him out of bed, and he dragged himself into the light of day. Just as he was thinking about what to eat, the ATV riders in the camp next to ours invited us over to join them for breakfast, and with a big fire burning in their fire pit, we gladly accepted and hurried over! Boo enjoyed the breakfast burritos they offered him, and I had room for a muffin, and we all just chatted by the fire for a while. They were really nice folks, and we really appreciated their generosity, and their fire!

We slowly packed up camp, knowing we were in no hurry today, and still feeling the effects of yesterday's ordeal. It was nearly lunch time before we finally got on the road, and had made our way back into the town of Featherville.

The town of Featherville

Once we arrived in town we were met by the owner of Cindie's Featherville Cafe, and he proceeded to tell us all about the town, the route we were on, the other riders who had passed through town, the roads in the surrounding areas, the weather, etc. He was really nice, and super helpful, and I highly recommend stopping by if you are ever in Featherville. He found out for us that the local motel was all booked up for the night (wtf?) and helped us call the motel in Pine so I could book us a room there for later tonight.

We were starving again by now, so we went inside to check out the menu. I couldn't believe it...a veggie burger! Boo ordered the special, I had the veggie burger, and they were both delicious. There was cell reception in town, and free wi-fi in the cafe, so we were able to catch up with email and call our loved ones to let them know about the change in plans. 

Once we were fed and hydrated, we got back on the road heading to Pine. We had heard mileage ranging from 7 to 18 miles, but since it was all on pavement and mostly downhill we weren't too worried. Boo was feeling pretty empty from yesterday, and had to take a break about halfway, but I was feeling surprisingly OK, although I am sure I couldn't have climbed anything at all if we had had any elevation gain to speak of.

13 miles later we arrived in the town of Pine, and immediately made our way to Nester's Pine Motel. I was shocked at the cost, $80 a night, but I would have payed ten times that much to sleep in a warm bed and have a hot shower. The room was actually really nice and clean, and we were so psyched to see that the motel had a hot tub! We were going to get one more "hot spring" before the ride was over! 

After taking awesome and much needed showers, and relaxing in the room for a while, we took a walk around town, which took about ten minutes, and then headed down to the river to see if we could see some birds. I once again soaked my feet in the nice cool water, and we saw some beautiful raptors soaring overhead, and then it was back to the room for a nap before dinner. 

There aren't a lot of options for dinner in Pine, so we went to the Pine Resort Cafe which was attached to the Pine Resort Saloon and separated by...yep, double swinging saloon doors. I had heard there was pizza at the cafe, but when the menu came out, there was no pizza on it. The server said "You have to order pizza in the saloon." So, we headed though the swinging doors into the smoky, noisy, smelly saloon and grabbed a table with the biggest ashtray on it I had ever seen. There was only the bartender serving, and it took her a while to get to us, and when she did...she brought us the exact same menus! I said "I wanted to order pizza but I don't see it on the menu." She said "We got frozen pizza for ten bucks, or pizza from Featherville for twenty five bucks." I said "Well, what kind do you have?" And she said "We got frozen pepperoni, frozen sausage, or frozen supreme with pepperoni and sausage. Or we got pizza from Featherville that's pepperoni, sausage, or supreme with pepperoni and sausage." And then she walked away. I looked at Boo and said "Fuck this, let's go back to the cafe!" So off we went back through the swinging doors, to the cafe and the strange look from the server as she brings us back the same menus. I looked the menu up and down, and couldn't find a single thing vegetarian except for the toasted cheese sandwich. Oh, boy. I asked her if she could sauté up some veggies to throw in it and she said "Sure." Boo decided it was safest to have a burger, and my sandwich arrived in all it's glory...toasted Wonder bread with Velveeta and sautéed frozen veggies inside, and tater tots on the side. I cracked up laughing, and dug into my dinner, thoroughly enjoying my return to civilization.

Click here for my gear list, and the wrap-up of what worked, and what didn't.

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