Twenty miles on the Weiser Bike Trail

On an absolutely beautiful Saturday, May 17, 2014, we left with the Mountain West Outdoor Club for the Wye Trailhead, near Tamarack, Idaho where the bike ride started.  Al came along as Shuttle driver and Dick showed him where the bike ride would end, in Fruitvale, and he would meet us there.

The Weiser Bike Trail is an old Railroad Bed maintained by the Forest Service.  Helen, Dottie and I requested to be dropped off across from a restaurant before Tamarack, to avoid a very gravelly hill at the beginning of the hike.  Unfortunately, Margie got a flat tire before they rest of them even started.  We waited what seemed like an eternity for the rest of the bikers to appear.  When they did, I took off, thinking I would be slower than the others and they would catch up.  After crossing six bridges and waiting at each one for the bikers, I decided to go back and meet them.  They had decided to stop for lunch.









Finally, we were all together and enjoyed visiting as we biked.  The scenery was outstanding, biking slightly downhill beside the Weiser River.  We passed through tall pines with bright flowers along the trail.  Sometimes the fragrance was palatable.

I told Gary the River would be great for "creeking."  We could bike while he paddled the river. There is a campground a few miles from the "put in" that would be a great shorter trip for the children.

Soon after we crossed the highway at the bridge, some of the bikers were not in sight.  We stopped and waited quite awhile for them.  Kay had a flat on her back wheel and it took some time to fix.

 She told me about a volunteer organization that fixes up old bikes for needy children and immigrants that don't have transportation.  They offer 12 weeks of training on fixing bikes before you can volunteer.  I would like to take those classes so I could learn how to take care of my own bike and then volunteer to help fix bikes to give to the needy.

Once we crossed to the other side of the highway, the trail ran through what used to be Fruitvale, where orchards lined both sides of the trail.  The trees are gone, but harvest sheds were still there.   The trees opened up into a beautiful lush, green valley with only one horse to enjoy all that wonderful grass.

The last two miles were slightly uphill.  Not enough to notice, but enough to have to gear down.  The trail got a little pebbley that made the pedaling even harder.  But, we realized the end was near and the trip had been so pleasant, we didn't mind.

As we got closer, I could see Al waiting by the car.  I was so glad to see him.  When we left him, he didn't sound very confident about finding the end of the trail, so I was a little worried.  No need, he found it just like we told him, without even reading the instructions.