Idaho Hot Springs mountain biking route proves to be a big hit with cyclists

Looking out the double doors in the hot springs behind
the Mountain Village Hotel in Stanley.

Looking over at Redfish Lake from a White Clouds singletrack trail. Wowsa!  

Riding through an old Idaho burn in Central Idaho.

Camping by Washington Lake in the White Clouds. 

Hi all,

We're in the heart of the fall season, and the weather is pretty much perfect for biking. It's a good time to tackle some challenging high-elevation rides because of that wonderful cool, crisp mountain air.

I wanted to recommend the Idaho Hot Springs Route, as something to consider this fall -- not necessarily the whole thing (the route is over 500 miles) -- but maybe there are chunks of it that you'd like to ride before the snow comes, whenever that may occur.

The Hot Springs Route is a brand new mountain biking route, the brainchild of Casey Greene, an avid rider and a cartographer for Adventure Cycling in Missoula, Mont. Casey came up with the idea after doing a 10-day bike tour across North Idaho and Montana when he and some friends biked to a different fire lookout tower every night. "At the end of the tour, I thought this whole concept of having a destination where you end up each night was kind of cool ... basically, destination mountain biking," Casey said.

The light bulb for the hot springs route went off when he was soaking at a hot springs in Pole Bridge, Mont. He was thinking that Idaho had the highest concentration of hot springs in North America, so why not try to connect the dots? He started evaluating the situation from looking at maps, plotting the hot springs, looking at connecting routes, and came up with a tentative route. Then he ground-proofed them to see if it would work. Last summer, he rode the whole route that's connected by dirt roads, all 517 miles of it, and he also logged a number of singletrack routes that add spice to the whole experience.

Adventure Cycling published a set of two maps -- the main route and the singletrack routes (227 miles), and rolled them out in February. Turns out Casey had a pretty hot idea! The maps are selling like hot cakes and they've already done three printings in the last eight months. The first version came out in February 2014.

Lots of people are trying the route, and they're really enjoying it, Casey says. Dylan Gradhandt of Boise rode the entire dirt road route with his brother-in-law in mid-June. "It was a blast, I'd do it again," Gradhandt says. "In bicycle touring terms, I'd give it a huge "approved for all audiences" rating. It's actually super doable for the average cyclist, in my opinion." 

It took them 11 days of pedaling to cover the whole 517-mile route. They resupplied every 2-3 days. They included one rest day. They did the whole route without vehicle support and traveled very light with special bike packs. 

You can see the pack set up on the bike and a very lightweight tent ...
photo courtesy Dylan Gradhandt

The timing of the hot springs route was great because the whole sport of "bike-packing" is becoming quite popular, and the hot springs route is tailor-made for either bike-packing or riding with vehicle support, Casey says. "Bike-packing is like the new hot thing right now." 

Plus, cyclists from all over the nation are realizing that there's a lot more to Idaho than just potatoes. "The hot springs are like the big enticement, but once people come to Idaho, they are blown away by the scenery, the people, and the rugged mountains," he says.

The main hot springs route follows dirt roads.
It's a big loop from Boise to Ketchum to McCall
and back. 

The main hot springs route provides access to 41 hot springs along the way. Because it follows dirt roads, Greene says you could do the route with light-weight bike-packing gear, more traditional panniers, or Bob trailers. You also could do it with vehicle support, and take turns driving the support vehicle.

The optional singletrack routes feature a number of popular mountain singletracks such as the Bear Pete Trail near Burgdorf Hot Springs, Eagle's Nest Trail near Cascade (both featured in my Mountain Biking in McCall book) and some of the sweet singletracks in the White Clouds and the nifty Willow Creek trail along the South Fork of the Boise River near Featherville. The singletrack optional route provides access to another 10 hot springs.

Optional singletrack trails on the Hot Springs route. 

You'll need to order the two-map set to get all of the details. They cost only $29.50. You can order the maps on the Adventure Cycling web site.        

If you decide to stay overnight on the singletrack trails, Casey recommends going light and using the new bike-packing set up. Check out the images here. You will be doing some hike-a-bike on the singletrack trails, and if you have panniers or a Bob trailer, your equipment will get hung up on trees, brush, rocks or roots.

This is what it's all about. Daryl Gradhandt photo.

Casey said they've heard from some flatlanders who have tried the route and didn't expect to encounter the challenges you'd find on rugged mountain singletracks. But many Idaho riders know what to expect cuz they've been riding these trails for years.

One of the silver linings of the hot springs bike route is that small communities like Atlanta, Featherville, Stanley, Cascade and McCall are noticing how many cyclists are discovering Idaho via the hot springs route. The small cafes and restaurants appreciate the business! "I can't believe how many riders came through McCall this summer specifically because they were doing the hot springs tour," says Gregg Lawley, owner of a bike shop in McCall next to Paul's Market.

Lawley decided to venture out on his own bike-packing adventure in the White Clouds last week. "It was one of the coolest trips I've ever done," he says.

Just casual checking indicates that a few Idaho people have tackled the entire hot springs route already, including Gradhandt and his brother in law, and more cyclists are making plans to ride it next year. I'd recommend buying the maps, downloading the GPS tracks and dreaming big about a unforgettable bike ride next year with your friends.

Thanks to Casey Greene for showing us the way!
- SS

Have you ever wanted to ride across America on a bike or a horse? Here's some inspiration ...

Wayne, left, Frosty and Howard upon arrival at Chris Brady's in Boise

Hi all,

I had the pleasure of meeting two extraordinary gentlemen last week who are in the midst of riding their bicycles across America. They're brothers -- Frosty Wooldridge and Howard Wooldridge. They're retracing the route that Howard followed in 2002 on his pinto paint horse from Savannah, Ga, to Newport, Ore. -- a distance of about 3,100 miles. Howard called it "Misty's Ride."

Howard Wooldridge on his horse Misty

Frosty says about 350-500 people ride bikes across America every year. But Howard is "definitely the only guy to ride both a horse and a bike across the country," he says.

I don't know about you, but I've always dreamed of riding a bike across America. I've just never taken the time. I could have done it after finishing college, but I was broke and wanted to get a newspaper job in the worst way and start a career in journalism. And I did. Now I'm up to my ears in work, kids and family. But someday, I really hope to do the ride. Frosty and Howard are my inspiration and maybe yours too. They're not average Americans by any stretch. These guys take life by the horns and go BIG!

Frosty taking a roadside break 

Frosty Wooldridge has pedaled 100,000 miles around the world and covered six continents. He's the author of many books, including How to Live a Life of Adventure. This is the 6th time he's riding his bike across America, mainly to accompany his brother Howard on his quest to fulfill an item on his bucket list, and talk to the media about his cause -- overpopulation.

Unchecked immigration is a huge problem, Frosty says. "We've got 46 million people living on food stamps in America right now. We must create 95,000 jobs every month to take care of our legal obligations to immigrants coming into America. I call it slow-moving national suicide."

Frosty doesn't believe our nation can possible take care of all of the legal immigrants, much less the illegal ones, plus he worries about the impact of overpopulation on our natural resources. But none of our nation's political leaders will touch the issue, he says, calling their lack of action "thundering silence."

Howard's cause is fighting the prohibition of illegal drugs. He's an ex-cop and a lobbyist on
Capital Hill who feels that it's a big waste of money to continue the war on drugs. His organization is called Citizens Opposing Prohibition or COPS. The T-shirt he rides in says "COPS SAY LEGALIZE POT. ASK ME WHY." His feeling is that the war on drugs/drug prohibition has been the "most destructive, most dysfunctional and most immoral policy since slavery and Jim Crow."

Working in Washington D.C. is tough these days, Howard says, because everyone in Congress is bought by special interests. The true needs of the nation are ignored while special interests run the show. "I come home from work every day covered with slime," he says. "I have to take a shower to try to get rid of it."  Howard says he's going to retire in the next year or so because he can't stand being around the corruption much longer. Kudos to him for working on the cause, nevertheless.

Now, back to their cross-country ride. They're riding on a pace of about 50-65 miles a day, depending on terrain to stay on track for a timetable of completing their ride in 9 weeks. They're operating on a budget of about $15/day. They're carrying about 60 pounds of gear, and they camp out on most nights.

Cycling across America takes "true grit" Frosty says 

A third man, Wayne, is riding with them. Wayne is 70 years old, Howard is 60 and Frosty is 65. They're all happy and fit as can be.

One reason that fewer than 500 people ride bikes across America each year is that it's hard! "You gotta have true grit," Frosty says. "It takes a lot of toughness. Nature will throw all kinds of s--- at you and you've got to deal with it -- wind, rain, sleet, hail, heat, you name it."

But the benefits are big. "Bicycle touring will show you that you're alive in a grand way," Frosty says. "It's a spiritual zen experience. It makes you peaceful, happy and purposeful. We all have a powerful exploratory urge if you open your mind to the possibilities. It's in our human DNA to explore."

Penny-Farthing bike. Very easy to sail over the handlebars and land on your head.

Frosty and Howard are inspired by other people's stories, too. Consider the guy who rode a penny-farthing bicycle from San Francisco to New York in 29 days! Those are the one speed bikes with a big front wheel. Thomas Stevens of England was the first person to ride around the world on a bike (a penny-farthing) in 1884-1886. "Think how primitive things were at that time -- that guy could have died in a thousand ways!" Frosty notes.

Cross-country riders often are inspired to make the big trip because of some kind of adversity that has struck their lives. "Divorce and death are a catalyst to doing extraordinary things," Howard says.

One of the biggest rewards of riding across the country is how friendly people will come to your aid time and time again. Howard has experienced it on his horseback ride and on a bicycle. Frosty has experienced it all over the world. "I've been invited into hundreds of homes," Frosty says. "People figure that you have to have character and integrity to ride a bike across the country."

"The world conspires to help you succeed," Howard says.

Howard recalls riding Misty into the Stage Stop about 10 miles east of Boise on I-84. He needed hay and grain for his horse in that dreadful piece of road between Mountain Home and Boise. A rancher just happened to pull into the service station with fresh hay and grain in the horse trailer. He wouldn't let Howard pay for any of it. The next day, another rancher helped Howard with a broken horse shoe, brought a horse trailer over to haul the horse to their ranch to fix the shoe and fed Howard a hearty meal. "People just come out of the woodwork to help you. It's uncanny."

Go see the country! 

If you want to track Howard and Frosty's adventure, Howard has a twitter handle @cannabiscop where he provides a daily update. You can follow along on Frosty's blog as well. They plan to complete their journey in Savannah, Ga., by the first week of July. Right now, they're on Day 19 in SLC, Utah.

I want to thank my friend Chris Brady for giving me an impromptu phone call, inquiring about the best route for the guys to take from Parma to Boise. That led to a dinner invite at Chris' house last week to meet these characters and learn about their life. Chris has known Howard since they were college students at Michigan State in 1970. They worked at Domino's Pizza together, and have stayed in touch ever since. Ha!

Have a great adventure guys! Wish I could be riding with you.

Two other things of note I wanted to mention this week:

• Don't forget, next week is Boise Bike Week! Lots of events and activities planned. Try to park your car and ride your bike for work, errands, trips, etc. next week. 
• This Saturday at Eagle Island State Park, there is a Fishing Paddle Craft Demo Day and Casting Tournament. Runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Over 25 different models of fishing craft that you can demo. Experts and sales reps will be on hand to answer questions about gear.
  - SS