Biking: 50 miles
Smoky, so smoky. Our destination today, Cheney, WA, is just south of Spokane, where the wildfires are still not under control. As a result, the air quality here is in the red. We could definitely tell the difference between Ritzville, where air quality was in the orange, and here. We finished the ride, but it’s probably not smart to do that again. For the first time, I could really feel the impact of the smoke.
The ride today was beautiful, mostly quiet roads that ran parallel to I-90. We did take a gravel road for about 4 miles. It looked great on Google maps, but when we started riding it, we realized the surface had washboards for the entire stretch. Not fun riding.
We started early today and arrived in Cheney by 10:30 am, in hopes of missing the worst of the smoke and the heat. It was too early for Anita and Mark to check into their hotel, and Brian hadn’t arrived with the RV yet, so we stopped for a second breakfast at Farmhouse Cafe. If you’re ever in Cheney, check it out. We had an amazing breakfast and good coffee.
Tomorrow we ride to Harrison, Idaho, our first stop in that state. The current air quality there is in the yellow…a huge improvement. Brian has agreed to drive us about an hour south and east, out of the red zone, so we can start biking in better air tomorrow. Hoping things clear up for the rest of the trip, but it doesn’t look too promising. We’re considering alternative routes to steer clear of smoke and wildfires. More to come on that over the next few days. For now, we’re glad to be wrapping up a full week of biking, and looking forward to the weeks to come.
RWGPS for today:
Keep the Wheels Turning 
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