Spokane on a Monday

We woke up in Kellogg, Idaho watching the rain and lightning once again... and figured that we weren't going to be doing any bicycling there for a good portion of the day. We packed up and checked out of the resort and headed west about 60 miles to Spokane, Washington where the sun was shining and the promise of a decent bike ride along the Centennial Trail seemed a certainty.

We checked out a few bike shops, found a hotel along the river and as soon as I had signed the registration forms at the bell desk -- the wind started blowing. Not a gentle breeze, but a strong and unrelenting wind! We went riding anyway, but only put in about 25 miles with the last 10 spent pedaling directly into the wind.

We then walked from the hotel along the river to Anthony's (a great seafood restaurant, but not related to the Anthony's in the San Diego area) where we dined and watched the river flow by from inside where the wind wasn't a threat anymore.

It's now Tuesday morning, and it's time to hit the breakfast buffet downstairs and then get the car loaded and drive home... ah, the joy of reality!

A Fifty Mile Day

Today we awoke to cloudy skies and lightning to the southwest... the very area we were going to drive to and begin our bike ride at. There were two options; give up and stay inside where it was safe and dry (my favorite choice) or drive toward the storm area and hope that it moved out of the way be the time we got there. It moved... we pedalled.

The first six miles of the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes runs downhill. Keep in mind that the trail follows the course of an old railroad bed, so the angle of the incline is probably never much over 3%. STILL... when coasting down a hill that's over six miles long, the inevitable truth is that at the end of the ride we're going to have to ride back UP that six mile, 3% grade.

The bridge in the photo is part of the trail; the train used to cross Lake Coeur d'Alene at this point. The bridge has been modified from a level crossing with a drawbridge for boat passage to this hump that allows passage along the lake at any time.

We rode from the start of the trail in Plummer, Idaho to Harrison, Idaho, about 16 miles one way. On the way back we were hit by rain, and then I noticed a knocking sensation in my right pedal. It turns out that a bolt holds the crank in place with the bottom bracket had come loose, and the crank was starting to wiggle with each pedal stroke. We got back to the car and I tightened it, but it came loose twice more as we rode later in the day. This is NOT the kind of break in we were hoping for when it comes to a new bike...

As for the rest of the day? We drove back to Coeur d'Alene and then rode part of the Centennial Trail, a route that stretches from Spokane, Washington to a point on the lake just east of Coeur d'Alene. I felt the "knocking" in the pedal again, and we stopped back at the car to get the tool to take care of it, and then rode a little while longer after that.

We got back to the car with about 50 miles total riding for the day; I tightened the crank one more time and then we drove back to Kellogg. We were treated to a lightning infested deluge while eating dinner and are now back in the room ready for sleep. Valerie's already gone... as soon as I post this I plan on passing out as well!

Back By Popular Demand...

It seems that there have been a few people who have missed this blog -- misguided souls that they are. Nevertheless I'm bringing it back for an encore (and then hopefully dropping back into the void once again).



This is for the benefit of my mother -- if you want to see the picture/s that appear in this blog, left click on the picture once. It will open up into a larger version. When you're done looking at it, left click the "back button" once -- you'll find this in the upper left hand corner of the window the blog is in. It's an arrow pointing to the left, probably centered within a blue circle.

First of all, I'm writing this on July 4th. We're in Kellogg, Idaho, a town that lies about 30 miles east of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho on Interstate 90. We're here to ride our tandem on the "Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes", a 72 mile paved bicycle path that is reclaimed from an abandoned railroad line.

We arrived in the late afternoon and took off on a 25 mile ride to Wallace, Idaho and back. Along the way we spotted a moose and her calf, and tried to get a few pictures of them. This was probably the best one of the bunch.

It's 8:30 in the evening, so now it's off to find some food and figure out where they shoot the fireworks off in this town!