Tour Deshais
The Spokesman-Review reporter Nick Deshais embarks on a 416-mile U.S Bicycle Route 10 ride across Washington State to the town of Newport. Follow as Nick tweets his way home @nickdeshais
Section:Picture story
Nick Deshais gathers his equipment and supplies in the parking lot near the Anacortes Ferry Terminal, June 10, 2015, for his 416-mile U.S Bicycle Route 10 ride across Washington State to the town of Newport.
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Nick Deshais untangles some netting, used to hold down his equipment on his bike rack, in the parking lot near the Anacortes Ferry Terminal, June 10, 2015, for his 416-mile U.S Bicycle Route 10 ride across Washington State to the town of Newport.
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Morning light casts long shadows as Nick Deshais prepares to begin a 416-mile U.S Bicycle Route 10 ride across Washington State to the town of Newport. He is starting from the parking lot near the Anacortes Ferry Terminal, June 10, 2015.
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Nick Deshais prepares to leave from the parking lot near the Anacortes Ferry Terminal, June 10, 2015, for his 416-mile bike ride across Washington State to the town of Newport.
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Nick Deshais checks his map, June 10, 2015, for his 416-mile bike ride across Washington State to the town of Newport.
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Nick Deshais crosses the Tommy Thompson Trestle near Anacortes, June 10, 2015, for his 416-mile bike ride across Washington State to the town of Newport.
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Nick Deshais pauses to chat with Washington State Rep. Kris Lytton on the Tommy Thompson Trestle near Anacortes, June 10, 2015. He is starting his 416-mile U. S. Bicycle Route 10 ride across Washington State to the town of Newport.
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Nick Deshais crosses the Tommy Thompson Trestle near Anacortes, June 10, 2015, for his 416-mile U. S. Bicycle Route 10 ride across Washington State to the town of Newport.
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Nick Deshais crosses the Tommy Thompson Trestle near Anacortes, June 10, 2015, for his 416-mile U.S. Bicycle Route 10 ride across Washington State to the town of Newport.
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Nick Deshais pedals along March Point Road near Anacortes, June 10, 2015, for his 416-mile U.S. Bicycle Route 10 ride across Washington State to the town of Newport.
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Nick Deshais takes a break to remove his jacket near the Swinomish Casino, June 10, 2015, during his 416-mile U.S. Bicycle Route 10 ride across Washington State to the town of Newport.
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Nick Deshais makes a swift get-a-way pushing up hill nearly 75 pounds, near the Swinomish Casino, June 10, 2015, during his 416-mile U.S. Bicycle Route 10 ride across Washington State to the town of Newport.
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Nick Deshais points his bike east over the Swinomish Channel near Anacortes, June 10, 2015, as he follows the 416-mile U.S. Bicycle Route 10 ride across Washington State to the town of Newport.
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Nick Deshais heads away from Anacortes, Washington, June 10, 2015, as he begins his 416-mile ride on the U. S Bicycle Route 10 trail that ends in Newport, Wash.
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Nick Deshais’ fully loaded Surly Cross-Check on Day Three of his ten-day tour of U.S. Bicycle Route 10, when he climbed over Rainy and Washington passes. At the time, was carrying about 50 pounds of gear, including food, clothes, sleeping bag, tent and inflatable mattress. He also carried an additional 18 pounds in water.
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Free water awaits cyclists about ten miles east of Twisp as they make their way to Loup Loup Pass, one of the four high passes on U.S. Bicycle Route 10 in Washington state. Many such amenities wait for riders along the route, including discounts at stores, special campsites only for cyclists and friendly waves from motorcyclists and motorists. The area around Loup Loup was victim to a devastating wildfire in 2014, making the free water a welcome gift for a parched rider on parched land.
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A small meadow along U.S. Bicycle Route 10, between Tonasket and Wauconda on June 15, 2015. Seven foals lounge around with the adult horses, at ease along the low-trafficked stretch of the route.
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Inside of the Manresa Grotto - a series of caves not far off LeClerc Road on the Kalispel Reservation in northeast Washington. On his ten-day tour of U.S. Bicycle Route 10, Nick Deshais found the cool air of the sanctuary as a welcome respite from the beating sun and headwind on June 18, 2015. The grotto carved out when it was on the shore of an ancient glacial lake, whose waves beat against the rocks, forming the caves. It was named in the mid-1800s by the missionary priest Pierre Jean Desmet, after a renowned Barcelona cave that figures largely in Jesuit Catholic lore. The grotto still is used for religious purposes today, though the Kalispels have used the caves for thousands of years and for purposes other than Christian worship.
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On June 19, 2015, his final day of riding, and nearly 420 miles on his ten-day tour of U.S. Bicycle Route 10, Nick Deshais crosses into Idaho just outside of Newport, Washington. Idaho joined the states with official bicycle routes this year, with a 66-mile stretch of U.S. Bicycle Route 10, following the historic railroad corridors of the Northern Pacific and Great Northern railways. The route enters Idaho near Newport and heads into Montana just east of Clark Fork and the Cabinet Gorge Dam.
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Nick Deshais pauses on his trip to view the last leg of his cross-state bicycle ride from Anacortes, Wash., to Sandpoint, Idaho, June 19, 2015.
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Nick Deshais reaches the end of his 499-mile journey, from Anacortes, Wash., to Sandpoint, Idaho on June 19, 2015. He traveled along U.S. Bicycle Route 10.
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Nick Deshais takes in the moment on Bridge Street as he finishes his cross-state bicycle ride from Anacortes, Wash., to Sandpoint, Idaho, June 19, 2015. Deshais’ travels took him from the waters of Puget Sound to the shores of Lake Pend Oreille.
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Upon his return, Nick Deshais celebrates completing his ten-day, 449-mile tour of U.S. Bicycle Route 10 at David’s Pizza on June 20, 2015. He holds up that day’s paper, which featured the last of his installments on the front page.
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