When Dave and I told people we were going on our trip—what the route would be, how long we’d be gone, etc—many people told us to accept when plans changed and just go with it when schedules got rearranged. Dave and I would nod our heads. Uh yeah of course, I mean we know how to travel… We didn’t expect, of course, to have a major diversion in our plans within the first 10 days of an anticipated 700 day adventure only 1000+km into the trip and a mere 6 hours on a paved highway from where we had our big-send off in Revelstoke, B.C. on Sept. 15. If you’ve been following our travels, you know on Sept. 25 I had a wee spill off my bike and broke my right wrist. On Oct. 3, I went back to the doctor in St. Maries, ID to get a progress report and although things are mending, I’ve been advised to wear my splint for another 4-5 weeks. This leaves Dave and I with a perplexing decision about what to do next. We can’t ride on the backcountry dirt roads we prefer to ride and although I could likely ride pavement with my hand in a splint that holds little appeal for either of us when it would mean 4-5 weeks riding, especially after we’d planned to ride from the US border south to Mexico via the much more exciting Backcountry Discovery routes. We’re still unsure what our next move is but by some grace of biker gods, we at least have had the good fortune to have fallen into the generous hands of Neil and Linda Oldridge. Words can’t explain how great these two are and what good friends they’ve become in such a short time. We met Neil and Linda at a gas station in Samuel, ID only a few day before I found myself under my bike on the trail. They took us in after reading about our plight on our website and for the past week, they’ve given us a sweet, cozy little cabin that sits on their 20-acre property in Sagle, ID, to relax in that is private and has everything we’d ever need: a fully stocked fridge, (including adult beverages), sheets, towels, dishes, a shower, a TV. What we don’t find at the cabin we can find in their home, which they insist we enter without knocking and use whatever we want. They cook us delicious meals and take us out for boat rides and road trips to nearby sites. One morning we awoke to a bag of fresh groceries on the porch and a few hours later were told we would have the keys to Neil’s 2002 convertible Thunderbird to take to a lake a few hours away because they thought we’d like a little ‘getaway’, as if their kindness and welcoming home didn’t already feel like a vacation. They even drove us round trip over 100 miles away to retrieve my bike, which had been left tucked into the garage of the Avery, ID general store owner’s garage for the past week. We’ve met some of their friends and are introduced as their guests, instead of who we actually are, which is, well, homeless people. They have great stories and entertain us thoroughly. We want for nothing and I am continually amazed at their generosity. Not only did Dave and I not plan to have our trip schedule re-routed so quickly, we also didn’t expect to find or need a few saviours this soon either. Stay tuned to see where the heck we end up next (if we ever leave the cozy cottage).
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This is awesome. What a ride 😀