Remembering Why I Do This

Today was one of "those" days... again! Even while I was swearing and muttering stuff like "I'm getting tired of being a "'good sport'..." I knew it would turn out ok. I managed to get a flat tire before I even left the motel this morning - and as I began to fix it I encountered a ridiculous number of mishaps, including being unable to open the new tube of glue to put a patch on the hole (the guy at the shop eventually took an awl to it).

Just dumb stuff. But: I fixed it, went back to see my friend Mark at the bike shop (to buy a couple new tubes, so I won't need them), borrowed his good pump to get the tire fully inflated - and finally, finally hit the road. Heading north!

And within a few miles I'd put all that crap behind me... instead ringing my bell to celebrate the sky, the mountains all about (but the road being pretty flat - today, anyhow), the sense of being in the middle of nowhere and exactly where I want to be. I actually said to myself: This is why I'm doing this.

(Plus the bonus of Colleen's espresso shack at a very obscure corner, where she served me up a frozen berry smoothie - yes, it's all about the snacks. Seriously, it was about 90F so I really needed it!)

And now, Thursday night, I'm actually writing this from my tent! In a little RV campground called Blue Lake, which also has wi-fi even over here on the tent-lawn next to the lake! I came into the tent because... well... it's starting to sprinkle and the thunder & lightning are getting a little closer... But in the scheme of things this is fine. I got to swim in the lake, hang out with some really nice folks on the deck, have my dinner & even wash the dishes before it started to rain a little - and then it quit long enough for me to have dessert & brush my teeth. And it's getting dark anyhow...

Tomorrow, finally, I get to Canada, a little town called Creston, where I'm staying two nights (in Scottie's RV park - across the street from the regional brewery!). I don't have time to ride as far north as I'd planned, but I'm going to take another day-ride on Saturday without all my stuff, to get to ride along part of Kootenay Lake. Sunday I head back south and then Monday I turn east to Montana - back on track to get to Glacier National Park for my birthday.

Where it turns out winter was so intense that the road across the park still isn't open! More Plan B to come - just hiking at lower elevation, I guess. Me and a thousand other people, and a couple hundred hungry grizzly bears...

On Holiday

Wednesday in Sandpoint: amazingly complex systems of business and transportation-of-goods brought me a new wheel, and the wonderful folks at Outdoor Experience put it all back together & had me on my way by about 2pm. So I did what I had to do: go for a ride!

I'd been really disappointed I'd miss out on a section of the route I'd planned but realized I could do part of it as an afternoon joy-ride - which I definitely enjoyed.

This is part of the Pend Oreille National Scenic Byway (also known as a "super side-trip" for the International Selkirks Loop that I'm following part of). It was pretty scenic! And though these cars suddenly got into the frame, for most of the ride there wasn't any traffic on the road...

After I got back from that ride I dashed over to the Sandpoint City Beach to, as they say, go jump in the lake.

While I was there a Canadian couple approached me and asked if I was doing a tour (they noticed my bike has racks & a map holder). They're riding the Selkirks Loop on a tandem. We ended up going out for dinner and I was amazed to hear how much touring they've done - including across Canada and down the Pacific Coast from Vancouver to San Francisco. Next time I'm in Calgary (?!) I'll have to look them up!

D'oh!

I think I went through most of my spectrum of moods today, beginning and ending with being quite content. I won't describe all the stuff in between; you can use your imagination. (Included, in case it doesn't occur to you, is the slapstick scene of my falling off a curb - while walking -and landing face down on the street, while a passing teenager on a skateboard recovered the water-bottle I'd flung in the process as her friends checked to make sure I was ok. I was; just really embarrassed).

The lesson of the day seems to be: it's a good idea to get your bike tuned up right before a trip (to avoid an unexpected layover to deal with repairs); but the motto of the day was delivered by a woman at the pub where I had dinner, when while waiting for her to-go dinner order she said, "I should have a beer." I took her advice, and it helped.

I'm spending the night here in Sandpoint, Idaho, unexpectedly... but very happy they have a good bike shop (as well as a cheap motel within walking distance, and a City Beach! on gorgeous Lake Pend Oreille). That rear wheel gone slightly out of true was actually starting to crack (and would have failed completely), so I am biding my time while the wheels of commerce allow a new wheel to be shipped overnight from Seattle. I've been a pretty good sport about it - given that it's only my second day on the road, and this throws my itinerary off completely, AND I could probably have prevented it... but who knows, maybe it came on very suddenly... the folks in Spokane didn't catch it either....

And: MUCH better that this kind of thing happens on a beautiful, easy day, near a town w/all the aforementioned services, rather than, say, in the middle of nowhere...

Oh, the bike ride: I only rode about 12 miles today, from lovely Round Lake State Park up here to Sandpoint. The absolute highlight was the two-mile bridge across the Pend Oreille River (which flows into Lake Pend Oreille) - complete with a ped/bike path. And that was after a really cute (if slightly rustic) bike path for about 5 miles that got me off of Hwy 95 again.

The beach was pretty darn pretty, too... and it's such a small town that everything is within walking distance. It's nice to walk, except for the falling down part. But I can't wait to get back on my bike... (hoping that on Weds. it's done in time for me to make it to the next town over, Clark Fork...)

Bike Paths and Highways

I was having technical difficulties getting my posts posted, but the blogger help forum actually helped me figure it out. Hurray for the kindness of strangers!

Including the ones who offered to take my picture (several different people, different times). This is on the Centennial Trail - a paved, off-road bike path - between Spokane and the Idaho border. The trail follows the Spokane River for most of that way (crossing over it now & then).


On the Idaho side it runs sort of close to I-90, but that's also next to a lot of trees so it's still pretty nice. Especially since some welder-artist decorated its bridges!

After about 35 miles of nice off-road paths - which also had bathrooms & water fountains every so often - I got to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and turned north. This is where the bike tires hit the US Highway 95, which goes through a lot of really pretty countryside... and is mostly nice and flat, even. Except it is, well, a highway. With shoulders most of the time and not that many logging trucks. It was a holiday, which helped.

It was the 4th of July, and I have to be honest: I was slightly nervous about spending that day in this part of the country: Coeur d'Alene happens to be the headquarters of the Aryan Nation. Not exactly my kind of people. I think that specific group might be defunct, but I read an article recently about the re-emergence of armed militia groups in the area - their locations pretty much mapping out as the route of my ride... which is very creepy. I feel safe enough to move through, but I know that a lot of the people I love might *not be* safe in these parts. It's very strange to be on vacation in the middle of this. (Well, so was being a tourist in Colombia in 1990...)

Despite knowing the nasty hidden side of things, I'm personally finding that people are super friendly, give me & my bike plenty of room on the road, and so far I'm having a great time.

Ready to pedal!

I'm officially On an Adventure - starting in Spokane, WA of all places! I actually went to Washington State Univ., which is just about 90 miles south of here - but I never really spent time in town (just the airport). It's actually very cool, with old brick buildings and railroad tracks and this river running through the middle of everything.

I lucked out in finding a cheapish motel near downtown, just a few blocks from a bike shop where I could (and did) ship my bike - and also just a few blocks from all the stuff I needed to get to be ready to hit the road tomorrow morning.

The Spokane River is really neat; it winds all

through town, or I guess the town winds all around the river, and there are actually these turbulent tumbling falls that provide power. There's also pedestrian & bike bridges crossing over - very fun, and amusing. I was at least as excited as the average 6-year-olds I saw running around Riverside Park this afternoon...

Now I have to tumble into bed in order to get up at the crack o' dawn and hit the road, for real: starting with about 35 miles of mostly off-the-road bike paths called the Centennial Trail, running from west of Spokane all the way to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Then I head north up the Idaho panhandle... eventually getting to Canada!

Next time I find an internet cafe (in about 90 miles or so!) I'll try to post a map of my route...

Do Over!!

Dear fans (or anyhow former followers of this-here blog),

I had so much fun riding around Montana last summer that I just have to go back… so this July I’m going to take 2½ weeks to do what we sped through in just three days last year.

I’m not going to ride as fast, as hard or as far as I did last summer - hoping to feel more like I'm dawdling than rushing, so I can get even more pictures of those snow-capped mountains (which I plan not to have to cross over the tops of).

I worked way too much this winter & spring (not to mention winter lasted Way Too Long), but lately I've been able to get back to “training,” by which I mean riding around back roads that are scenic & not too hard to get to from the city. My friend Vicky has been organizing bike-camping trips for us, so I get to practice packing all the essentials (like sugar-snap peas, chips & beer).

In a couple of weeks I'll fly up to Spokane, Washington (after sending my bike ahead - which ends up being cheaper than paying the extra baggage fees...) and riding over to Idaho on the 4^th of July. From there I head north - into British Columbia! - for a few days, then come back into the US and turn east to Montana. I’m planning to celebrate my birthday by hiking in Glacier National Park (taking advantage of the free shuttles they have, so I don’t have to drive in the park and can just gawk out the windows instead!!)… and then finish up in Missoula, Montana.

My desk is covered with bike maps, tourist info brochures, and library books about Glacier NP; I’ve got a new seat for my bike (my butt is very happy about that) and can’t wait to hit the road!

(Except - anybody have a spare can of grizzly bear repellent spray…?!)

Greatest Hits: Photos from the big ride

Partly as therapy for myself and partly to serve you, loyal readers of this-here blog, I've spent a bunch of time over the past couple of weeks going over my photos & organizing them.

I posted them here throughout the summer but I thought it would be nice to have them all in one place.

Mostly because of technical difficulties (my modem going out mid-stream as I was uploading stuff) I have these in two batches, conveniently grouped as the first half and second half of the ride.

Here are photos from Seattle to St. Paul: http://picasaweb.google.com/106458209676650999720/TheBigRidePartISeattleToMinneapolisStPaul#

And here's St. Paul to Boston: http://picasaweb.google.com/106458209676650999720/TheBigRidePartIIStPaulToBoston#

I'm nearly used to being back in SF, after struggling a little to re-adjust from relying on Gross Life Skills (like, where I would ride, eat, and sleep on a given day) to focusing on Fine Life Skills (getting to meetings on time, wearing long pants all day, and navigating urban traffic). If I didn't have photos stuck up on the wall around my desk I might not believe I actually had all this adventure, and yes - I am thinking about where I might ride next summer...