Moscow to Plummer

Lots of hills, even started out with hills. No RV parks, camping grounds or motels available in Plummer, so my daughter, Jennifer, drove down to pick me up. She found me a place to stow my bike and gear, and then drove to her home. Next morning, she returned me to Plummer to resume the ride.

Lewiston to Moscow - 15 Jul 09

Left Lewiston at 7 a.m. and arrived at base of long hill at 7:20. Walked until 11:30 when a long lost friend, Phil White, stopped his car ahead of me, and greeted me with cold beverage and fruit. His wife had been reading the Lewiston Tribune, and asked him if he didn't have a friend named Jim Duffield. They visited for about 1/2 hour before Duff restarted his "walk". At 1 p.m., he was met by Brent Bradberry, the Moscow affiliate Board of Director's President. They rode into Moscow, stopping at the U. of Idaho Student Union. Duff's comment "hardest 14 miles I've ridden." In addition to being with an experience biker who was accustomed to riding "hills", they went through a lot of construction. Duff was "bushed". He has now ridden 860 miles; today's walk/ride was 35 miles. At the U of I, Marnie from University Communication Office and a photographer joined them at 4 p.m. for an interview. After the interview, Brent directed Duff to his motel; unfortunately, the main road out of Moscow was also under construction, and all the alternative routes were steep hills. He made it though, cleaned up, and was picked up by a couple of Board members and driven out into the surrounding countryside for a BBQ. He had a great time visiting, and got back to the Hillcrest Motel about 11:30. He had a restless sleep, and got up to begin his ride (16 Jul). Goal for tomorrow - Plummer.

Cottonwood to Lewiston, ID - 14 July 2009

Aah, clear skies, comfortable temperature, Duff left Cottonwood at 7:30 a.m. and made it to Craigmont without much difficulty. He had about 3 miles with lots of construction. Riding the Winchester Grade, he had little pedaling because of the downhill grade, but he also had no shoulder, and had to often pull over onto a rumble strip for several miles; a little jarring, but he still has his teeth. Duff met up with four riders from Lewiston-Clarkston affiliate: Two men named Bill, Sam, and Rich. Jasmine drove the "blocker-truck", warning "caution - bikers ahead, Duff Bikes for Habitat". The group rode 12 miles over the Clearwater River into Lewiston, arriving about 3:45 p.m. Riding over the bridge, the KLEW camera crew intercepted them, and took pictures of group riding in, as well as the "blocker-truck" and sign. At the ReStore, KLEW conducted a nice interview about the purpose of the ride, information about the ReStore and the volunteers that came out to ride with him. Duff also was interviewed by telephone by the Lewiston Tribune, and was told the report would be in the 15 Jul 09 edition. Red Lion generously supplied Duff with a beautiful room. Once cleaned up, Rich Goodwin, the Executive Director, took Duff and our daughter, Jennifer (who had driven down from Coeur d'Alene) to dinner at the Roosters in Clarkston. Jennifer departed toward home after dinner, taking gear that Duff no longer needed. Today, Duff rode 56 miles, with ending temperature at 90 degrees. Goal tomorrow is taking on the Lewiston Hill, meet folks from the Moscow-Pullman affiliate, and complete the ride with them into Moscow.

"Riding for Habitat
by Stephanie Smith
Originally printed at http://www.klewtv.com/news/50805672.html
LEWISTON - It's a long bike ride from the Idaho-Utah border to the Canadian border.
Mount Vernon, Washington's Jim Duffield is doing it all for Habitat for Humanity. Tuesday he rode into Lewiston.
"Somebody asked me was it fun, and I said that's not a word I would use. It's been an adventure and it's obviously been a challenge and it's been rewarding to keep my schedule," said Duffield. "I'm right on schedule where I want to be and I'll finish up a week from tomorrow."
His ride started on June 25, but this isn't the first time Duffield has done something like this to raise awareness for the organization.
"Three years ago I walked across Washington state for Habitat for the same reason, to talk to people about Habitat," said Duffield. "This year I wanted to do it here in Idaho. I grew up in Coeur d'Alene so I always think of Idaho as home and I've always wanted to see Idaho at a little slower pace."
He's rode over 800 miles so far and has 240 to go. He will head to Moscow Wednesday.
Tuesday's ride ended at the Lewiston Habitat Store, one of several he's visited during his travels.
"The Habitat Store is a win win on a whole bunch of levels. If people donate stuff they get a tax write off if they want it, the store uses the product to sell back to the public at about 50 cents on the dollar and then they use that money to build houses for people. And it also keeps stuff out of the landfills, which is important too," said Duffield.
Several employees of the Lewiston Habitat Store road with Duffield from Cottonwood to Lewiston Tuesday."

Base of White Bird to Cottonwood - 13 July 2009

Long day - 12 hours! First part of "ride" was up hill. Had to sit out a rain storm, but found a historical shelter (sat for 2 hours). Upon continuing the trek, stopped in Grangeville for an interview with a reporter for the local paper. Now, he could have stayed at the Dog Bark Park - a motel shaped like a large dog, but he would have had to lug his bike and gear upstairs to get to sleep inside the dog's head. So, he opted for a single story motel. Sure felt good to plop onto a soft bed, and get a shower. Goal tomorrow is to ride to Lewiston. At the county line, some folks from the Lewiston county line will join him for the last 20 miles into the ReStore.

Riggins to base of White Bird Hill - 12 Jul 09

Departed Riggins, Duff rode downhill the first half of the distance; the second half, he needed to walk. He finally arrived at the Motel at 2:30 p.m. Thank goodness, he was in a motel. A walloping storm blew through during the night. Has been riding now 20 straight days. Feeling pretty good, and doesn't have much reserve.

Council to Riggins - 11 July 2009

Left Council at 6:30 a.m. and arrived in Riggins at 7:15 p.m. Fifty-eight miles completed today. Morning started out overcast, but muggy. Was able to ride the first 5 miles, and then the hills appeared. The next 15 miles, he, primarily, walked. He arrived in New Meadows about an hour behind his schedule, 3 p.m., but took lunch. He left New Meadows about 4 p.m. On the way to New Meadows, his bicycle seat was not stable, and he found that he lost a bolt. The kick stand bolt was the same size, and was able to be used to fix the seat. Initially, there was very little shoulder on the road, so he fixed his mirrors to show traffic coming up behind him, and moved off the road to give the drivers as much room as possible. He said he did a lot of huffing and puffing until he got to New Meadows. Thankfully, the air started to cool off, especially when he was near the small streams running off into the Salmon River. He's staying in the River's View Motel, and looking forward to a shower and sleeping on a real bed. Goal for morning is to get to the base of White Bird.

Weiser to Council, Idaho - 10 July 2009

Fifty-two miles down and an 11-hr day. Arrived in Council, Idaho about 6:30 p.m. and stayed with Sally & Darrel (will have to get the last name). They had a cabin; Sally is the mother of one of Skagit Habitat for Humanity Board Members. Temperature stayed in the 90's today. Lots of hiking and biking. Duff has blisters on both heels. While it's not needed, Duff can't use the GPS, as during the storms, the unit became wet, and when he turned it on, the unit just fried. Additionally, his watch is functional, but the band broke, so he's depending upon the cell phone for time and contact. Only real eventful episodes today was the animals. Saw a couple deer; a calf was frightened by his appearance or noise, and hid behind his mother; a horse once again trotted along the fence to keep up with him. Goal for tomorrow is getting to Riggins.