Laissez les Souvenirs Viennent

(Let The Memories Come)
(And,  gee!  I hope Google translates English to French correctly!)

Rich and Valerie riding in deepest, darkest
northwest France in 2010.

It was back in 2010 that we crated up our tandem and went to France for a couple of weeks of some laid-back bicycling.  We stayed with some British friends of ours who are, in their own right, very well travelled folks.  In comparison, we ain’t seen nuthin’ yet!

I won’t bore you with the details of the trip – but if your curiosity gets the best of you, follow this blog back to May of 2010 and you can read some of the “France Updates” and see a few photos here.  (I kept the blog up mainly so my mother could follow along with our exploits.)

What I’m remembering about this trip was the anticipation leading up to it, and then my own nervousness of being in a country where English was not the predominant language.  I like to talk with people, almost to the point of being an unwelcomed conversational pest.  For me, not being able to understand or speak a lick of French was like a guard dog wearing a muzzle when their were prowlers about; I wanted to “take care of business” but couldn’t!

I keep thinking about our travels then, and what we’re hoping to do after our retirement.  The big difference is that we’ll be doing our touring within the continental United States and, barring a trip through Cajun country, there shouldn’t be any language barriers we can’t overcome. 

I’ve also made a personal discovery:  I’m anxious to see my own country, rather than yearn to tour abroad.  That’s not to say that if an opportunity presents itself to go overseas we won’t take it – but there’s so much to see right here in America that we could spend the rest of our lives pedaling around and not come close to seeing it all.

If you look at the photo attached to this article, you’ll see two people riding in rural France.  There’s the butterball on the front of the bike, and the good-looking woman on the back.  She still looks the same, however the butterball has shed a few pounds and isn’t putting the bike under quite as much stress as he used to.  This is from eating healthier and smaller portions, along with really getting out for a lot of cycling last year.  But the memories are flooding back today, and my mouth is watering.

Lord, lead me not into temptation, but deliver
me from delicious French pastries!

When in France, one of our biggest treats on any ride was to seek out the local boulangerie and indulge in some sweet pastries.  And of all the tasty temptations we tried, the ones we’d kill for were the strawberry tarts.  We have tried to find something similar here in America, yet whenever we sample a tart that looks like the ones we consumed in France it just doesn’t compare.  So… let the memories come!  As long as there’s an ocean separating me from those French bakeries I might stand a chance of keeping the weight off!

 

Dear Penthouse

Many of my contemporaries “read” Penthouse magazine in their late teens and early twenties.  I was no different… what?  You were expecting me to say that I read the complete works of Chaucer instead?  Nope.  It hasn’t happened.  Shakespeare and I have never been introduced either.  As a matter of fact, you can probably name any great author from history and I’ll return a blank stare with a, “huh… who’s that?”  It’s amazing that, with my lack of interest in great literature, I’m even able to write my own name, let alone a complete sentence!

Ah, but back to Penthouse.  One of the more, uh… interesting… features was the column “Penthouse Forum”, where people wrote in about some unbelievable sexual exploit that they were somehow involved in.  The letters would always start, “Dear Penthouse, I never thought this would happen to me, but…”  Of course it was also common belief that whatever tale was being told never really did happen; it was just some lonely college kid sitting in the dorm on a Saturday night after quaffing a few beers writing down what he’d wished would happen to him.

So it seems almost inevitable that as a letter carrier someone will ask the question, “so… has anyone come to the door without any clothes on?”  (They probably read stories like that in Penthouse Forum when they were younger!)  And the answer is… drum roll, please… no.  What a mood killer an answer like that is!  Everyone somehow expects a salacious tale, and they seem almost insulted when normal life hits them right between the eyes.  What I don’t tell them is the whole truth.

So sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,

a tale of a fateful trip.

With a box of cheese in hand,

I ascended up her steps.

(OK… how many of you just sang that little poem to the tune of the Gilligan’s Island theme?  You’re dating yourselves!)

Dear Penthouse,

I never thought this would happen to me.  It was my second year as a letter carrier, about half way through December.  The various Christmas mailings were all in full force, along with boxes of fruit, fruitcakes and cheese.  I’m not sure why cheese was a Christmas item, or (for that matter) why this box of it required a signature, but it did.

So on that grey, dreary and windy afternoon I ascended the steps up to the porch of that little non-descript white clapboard house in the middle of the block.  I rang the bell and waited… and was about to give up and leave a notice for the parcel when she opened the door.

“Oh, hello” I said, as I reached for my pen.  “I have a package for you, but I need a signature before I can give it to you.”  I smiled, and held out my hand with the pen for her.

She reached out for the pen, releasing the grip on her housecoat.  The wind caught it just right, and opened it up before my eyes like the unveiling of a statue.  The only downside to this was that my twenty-nine year old eyes were now beholding a “statue” in her mid-eighties.  So if everybody in life is entitled to one wild adventure… I just totally wasted mine! 

And so, Dear Penthouse, not only do I not believe that this would ever happen to me, I really wish that it hadn’t! 

The Route of the Hiawatha

At the Western Portal of the Taft Tunnel.

In the last article I told you about a 72 mile paved, free-of-charge bike trail called the Route of the Coeur d’Alenes.  This week I’ll tell you about a 15 mile gravel, pay-for-use trail called the Route of the Hiawatha.  The only similarity between the two trails is that they both are built upon former railroad beds, and that they are both accessible from Kellogg or Wallace, Idaho.

This means you can ride the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes one day and then go explore the wilds of the Route of the Hiawatha the next.  The Route of the Hiawatha is without a doubt a marvel in engineering from the early 1900’s.  I can only imagine the awe and wonder early rail passengers must have felt as they made their way over trestles and through tunnels as they passed over (and through) the Bitterroot Mountains.  The rails are long gone but the tunnels, trestles and rail bed still remain.

The easternmost part of the trail is accessible from Interstate 90; the w  This is a great option for people with little or no cycling experience, or for families with small children who aren’t quite up to the task of cycling back uphill for 15 miles.  Yes, it’s along a railroad bed and isn’t very steep (2%), but the little ones will run out of gas!

estern end may be found along Forest Road 456, which you can drive to from Wallace. Many people will start at the top of the trail (at the east end), ride downhill for 15 miles and then take the shuttle bus back to the top.

We prefer to drive from Wallace to the Pearson Trailhead (the west end of the trail), ride the fifteen miles uphill and then enjoy the ride back down to our truck.  Be forewarned:  there are chipmunks near the parking area that have little fear of humans and will beg for handouts!  We also saw a bear cross the trail on our last trip there; I think the bear was as scared of the cyclists as we were of the bear!

During the 2015 season, the cost for an all day trail pass was $10 for adults, and a $9 adult charge for the shuttle bus.  The trail is open from sometime in May through sometime in September.  These fees can be paid either to the concessionaire’s marshals along the trail, or at the Lookout Pass Ski Area, the concessionaire for the Route of the Hiawatha.  In addition to the route passes, mountain bikes may be rented at Lookout Pass Ski Area.

The trail is mostly hard packed sand and gravel, and snakes through the Bitterroot Mountains over trestles and through tunnels, the longest being the Taft Tunnel, a 1.7 mile long tunnel at the east end of the trail.  The entrance at the east end of the tunnel is in Montana; the exit at the western end is in Idaho.  This is by far the longest of the nine tunnels along the trail; good lights are mandatory to ride this trail.  Helmets are also a requirement.

A lightweight jacket is highly advisable as well.  It gets quite chilly in the Taft Tunnel, and there is a lot of moisture that constantly seeps through the mountain and into the tunnel.  If nothing else, wearing the jacket will save you from wearing a wet, muddy stripe up your backside!

Another plus for the Route of the Hiawatha is that there are five bathrooms along the route, from beginning to end.  This is good news for families… well, for that matter, for anybody!  (There are bathrooms at the trailheads and other select locations along the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes, too.)

One of the seven trestles you will cross
on the Route of the Hiawatha.

For people wanting to ride both the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes and the Route of the Hiawatha, the Wallace Inn (in Wallace, Idaho) is an ideal choice.  It’s about a block off of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes and also sells the trail passes for the Route of the Hiawatha.  Wallace also has a few interesting restaurants, watering holes and local shops to delight everyone in your party… not just the cyclists!

If you have the time to ride both the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes and the Route of the Hiawatha, do it!  If you have to choose between the two… good luck!  (I suppose it could depend on whether you have a road or mountain bike!) 

Other cycling options include in and around the city of Coeur d’Alene, where you can find the Northern Idaho Centennial Trail and ride to the Washington state border.  From there it becomes the Spokane River Centennial Trail and heads west through Spokane, Washington and on to its end at Nine Mile Falls, Washington.  This is a good trail, enjoyed by many cyclists, runners and pedestrians – but nowhere nearly as scenic or remote as the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes and the Route of the Hiawatha.  If you wish to extend your cycling vacation give the Centennial Trail a try.  But you might want to ride the Centennial Trail first, and save the best for last!

The Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes

An exaggerated curve in the Trail of the Coeur d'alines,
thanks to a panorama shot.

If you like to ride a bicycle, tandem or single, and enjoy getting “away from it all” while not really being too far away from civilization, then pay attention to the next couple of articles.  I’m going to share with you the “secret” location that we’ve been enjoying for the past decade: The Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes.  (Core duh-lanes: probably not the correct pronunciation, but it’s the way I’ve heard everyone in the area say it!)

If you follow the above link, you’ll find specific links to:  the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes, the Route of the Hiawatha, and the Old MilwaukeeRoad.  There are also other trails and links for you to explore.

With this installment I’ll write about The Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes; in the next article I’ll tell you about the Route of the Hiawatha. 

First of all, the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes is PAVED.  Yes, indeed – 72 miles worth of asphalt that might occasionally cross a few roads but is always separate from them.  Other than the occasional crossing, which seems to happen more after you pedal east of Kellogg, you’ll be riding on a dedicated path and never have to share a road with cars.  You might have to share the trail with a moose or other wildlife if your timing is good.

The trail follows an old railroad bed, and because of this the gradients on any inclines are minimal.  You’ll find that the beginning of the trail (at Plummer, Idaho) and the town of Kellogg, Idaho are at about the same elevation.  As you travel east from Kellogg, the trail noticeably “kicks upward” a little bit, and it becomes even a little more noticeable from Wallace to the terminus at Mullen.  Even so, remember this trail is built upon an old railroad bed and generally speaking the gradient usually is never greater than somewhere between 3 and 4 percent.

There are lodging opportunities in the area, from Plummer to Wallace and a few spots in between.  We personally like to stay in Kellogg.  Two of the places we have stayed at before are the Guesthouse Inn and Silver Mountain Resort.  The trail runs right behind the Guesthouse Inn; it doesn’t get any more convenient than that!  This motel offers complimentary breakfasts in the morning, which are always a great way to start a day of cycling.

Across the street you’ll find Silver Mountain Resort.  The rooms are a little more spendy, and there are a couple of options available.  You can rent from the resort itself, or directly from owners of the individual units (condos) through websites like Airbnb.  While there’s no complimentary breakfast, there is an on-site restaurant, pizzeria and espresso shop.  Also, most of the units come with a full kitchen so you can always whip up your own meals if you choose.

Another interesting feature of Silver Mountain Resort is an indoor water park.  While the cyclists in your group are out for the day on the trail, the non-bikers and the kids can splash about to their heart’s content.  Also at peak times during the summer, the gondola will run to the top of the ski hill, allowing mountain bikers to take advantage of what used to be only a winter wonderland!

The town of Wallace also has lodging and dining opportunities and is a great destination for someone wanting to ride the length of the trail in one day.  We stayed there last summer after being dropped off in the morning at the trailhead in Plummer and cycling back to the Wallace Inn. 

You will see many ages and abilities of cyclists riding on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes.  There are some who will ride the length of the trail in a day, while others park at one of the many trailheads along the route and plan a short “out and back” ride.  We have done many such “out and back” rides, either starting from our motel in Kellogg and going about 25 miles before turning around or driving to a trailhead further to the west and then riding to Plummer and back.

There are sections of this trail that are very remote, so a tool and patch kit are something somebody in your group should be packing.  Bringing enough water with you is also an important consideration; because of the remoteness of this trail running water is hard to come by.

The Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes crosses over the water
on the Chatcolet bridge, once used by trains and now
by cyclists and pedestrians.

There are many opportunities to view wildlife along the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes, depending on the time of day you’re riding.  We have seen bald eagles and several varieties of waterfowl, deer and moose.  In fact, our first trip to the trail was the most memorable as we saw a mama-moose with two little ones along side the trail.

This trail is a cyclist’s delight, whether you’re out for a day trip or have several days to spend in the area.  Whether you are riding solo, with a group or on a cross-country tour the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes is an excellent way to get off of the highway for a while and treat yourself to a little peace and quiet.  There is no charge to ride this trail, although you’ll find donation boxes at the trailheads – a lot of work has gone into the planning and maintenance of this trail and I don’t mind throwing ‘em a bone now and then.  Hopefully after you've cycled the trail you'll feel that way too!

If you’re looking for a cycling destination this year that’s “doable” for the average bike rider, look no further than the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes.  You’ll be glad you checked this one off of your “bucket list”, long before you even knew it belonged there!