the crazy awesome adventure blog: Close call

So we have finally had our first major breakdown of the trip. We are riding along route 95 in Idaho, right outside of a town called White Bird. All of a sudden I hear my sister ahead of me say, "Dan, my shifter has stopped working." At first I am skeptical but when we pull over and I hop on her bike I realize wow, it really is stuck in place, the lever is barely moving and the derailleur isn't moving at all. Pulling the rubber housing back on the shifter I see my worst nightmare, the wire that runs inside of it has not only started to fray, but it looks as if it has exploded inside the housing! Maura was reduced to three gears for at least the next 5 miles until White Bird. When we finally arrived at a campsite (we decided to pay for this one so we could shower) we were exhausted from riding in the sun and heat all day (around 90 degrees). At the campsite our spirits were lifted by the joyful playing of two adorable little kittens! They and their mom lived at the campsite and lounged around there all day. We were also secretly happy when a couple who were in the area from Missouri forced homemade cookies on us. The next morning we wake up to the long and steep White Bird hill, 10 miles and more than 15 switchbacks winding their way up one of the smallest mountains around. To help Maura from having to stay in her hardest gear I went ahead and used a good old Pat McKray trick, cut the derailleur cable and bolted it under the water bottle cage in the gear I want! Thanks Pat! With Maura now in her easiest gear we see another problem. Somehow the hub on her rear wheel had tightened up, making the wheel really hard to turn. We had to live with what we had until we got to Graingville, the next town over which has a bike shop. When we finally arrive though we are dismayed to discover, the shop closed... The next one isn't until Missoula more than 150 miles away. We decide to at least go to the library and hop on a computer to sooth our dismay. To find out where it is we ask a passing postal lady. When she hears our problem she has a simple answer, "the lady who owns this tile shop here in front of you is the one who used to own the bike shop!" She runs inside and when the two come out they make a call and the husband zips over with a new cable and all the tools I need to fix our problem! 40 minutes later we are back to running order! Now off to find some Hot Springs on Lolo pass!