Travel On a Bicycle Built for Two: Day Nine - Winthrop to Omak, Washington

Day 9

May 25th

Monday

57 Miles

From Winthrop over Loup Loup Pass to Omak.

Today we rode from the Barn Bicycle Camping just West of Winthrop across Loup Loup Pass to Omak. The beginning of the ride was through the Methow Valley. The landscape on this side of Washington pass is drier with more pine trees. We were told it would resemble Colorado and it did. The valley followed the Methow River with rolling green hills. Crops of alfalfa and hay were gently blowing in the wind. The area is popular for mountain biking and cross country skiing. It was an easy, relaxing ride with beautiful scenery that consisted of green pastures, rustic old barns, horses, cows, and sheep.

Nothing about the rest of the day was what we expected. The pass was 12.5 miles at a 6% grade in an area that suffered a forest fire last year. Traffic was heavy because of the holiday. We reached the top, took a short break and headed down the other side only to discover we had had one more steep climb. After that it was a fast decent into Okanogan. A marvelous sight as we approached the city were the hill sides covered with apple and cherry orchards. Many of the orchards were covered with nets on all sides and the top.

The camping accommodations in Okanogan were not what we expected so we rode on to Omak. The first thing we saw when entering town was a new Best Western Hotel so new they were open but still working on it. This worked out really well. We enjoyed hot showers, washed our clothes in the guest laundry room, reorganized our gear, and had free breakfast before riding to Tonasket.

We had our American flag flying in honor of Memorial Day and the men and women that gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom!