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!