Day Fifty-two

Only rode about 44 miles today, due to the heat. It’s just stifling. I went from Ritzville to Moses Lake. But let me backtrack a little, because I have to tell you about Ritzville. We will definitely be back. It looks kind of desolate, smack dab in the middle of the wheat fields, but it’s a nice little town. The owner of the motel was very nice and he recommended Casuela’s Grill for dinner. We can’t thank him enough for that recommendation!

It didn’t look like much from the outside, and it was nothing fancy on the inside, but right from the beginning we knew we were in for a treat. The tortilla chips they set in front of us were homemade. I asked if we could have some guacamole, and that was fresh too. I wanted to order something I’ve never had, so I asked for a spicy shrimp dish that came with tortillas. It was so good, I looked over at Chuck and we both had tears in our eyes. This was a great reward for biking hard into the wind! We celebrated with a couple of tequila shots (something we never do); they had a tequila list with about 15 choices, so we just had to try… We were so impressed with the place, we made a pact that if it were ever possible financially, we would bring our family and friends out to Ritzville and take them to this amazing restaurant.

Anyway, back to today. Riding out of Ritzville on 261, I saw a sign with the four words bikers dread: “Fresh Oil, Loose Rock”. This was where I should have headed west, as our friend Eric suggested, but I wanted to ride the John Wayne Pioneer Trail (Google Map directions had suggested it), so I headed south, towards Ralston. The picture shown above gives you a pretty good idea of the scenery on this ride. It’s pretty flat and pretty boring. The condition of the road actually wasn’t bad, and the oil didn’t stick to my tires, so I was happy for that. I got an early start, so it was relatively cool and the traffic was minimal. I made a few phone calls along the way, to my mom and my grandparents, to tell them how excited I was to be getting closer to Seattle. I made it to Ralston, and found the Pioneer Trail. There was absolutely no way I would be able to ride on it. It was just too rough. I can’t believe Google Maps had told me it was a bike route! Well, they do claim that their bike directions are “beta”. Even if I had the hybrid with me, I couldn’t have ridden it. Maybe, just maybe, a horse could make it on that path.

Luckily, there was a paved road that ran alongside it, and it would take me to Lind, where I was meeting Chuck. It was a nice ride. It’s funny, but I didn’t mind riding through these wheat fields, since I knew I was getting close to Seattle. The endless corn fields I rode through in the Midwest nearly drove me insane at times. Well…maybe not insane, but a little crazy anyway. I got to Lind and Chuck was already there. He had taken the highway, while I was riding the back roads. The lunch choices were few and far between. We ended up at Slim’s Bar and Grill, and it was just awful. This was the last straw for us as far as bad food went. We had definitely had our fill. Luckily, some better food was waiting for us in Moses Lake.

We parted ways once again and I took the Lind-Warden Road to Route 17. This time heading north (away from the John Wayne Trail). It was hot, but I tried to keep my speed up to get it over as quickly as possible. Funny how even in that heat, I had to keep reminding myself to drink my water. I definitely felt better when I did. Moses Lake was huge, very touristy, but not much in the way of campgrounds, so we went looking for another cheap motel. We found one, eventually, called the Interstate Inn. It promised a pool on their sign, but it was closed. The room was OK, nothing special, but it was a bed and a shower, so we were grateful. We unloaded our bags, stashed the bike in the room, and headed to the Marriott on the lake to get a drink and some food. It was nice, the view was great, and we were able to relax. I told the chef we were headed to Seattle, and he recommended some different varieties of oysters I should try. That was a help, since I’m pretty clueless when it comes to oysters. I just know I like them! The bartender recommended a place to hear some live music, but we couldn’t find it. We ended up stumbling upon a performance by an Elvis impersonator (who apparently performs every week and is VERY popular in Moses Lake). Chuck couldn’t take too much of it, so we went back to the hotel and went to sleep.