Day 20: Harlem to Malta

Pictures: Diane and Susan with storm clouds on the horizon
Susan’s shadow
Old Church and graveyard
Cut hay field
Antelope
Saturday, an easy ride day. Pam and Sean met up with us in Harlem to carry our gear to Malta. We helped them load the BOB’s in the Excursion then hit the road. Small thunderheads were dumping light rain around us as a result of Kevin’s fire dance the previous night. We cruised along snapping lots of pictures and seeing lots of wildlife. Bill, Rick and I saw over 20 antelope along the way. I was amazed by the number of wetlands and the varied colors of the wild plants growing in the fields we passed. I commented to the others that it reminded me of being inside a French impressionism painting. I took some pictures of an old church and helped Bill change a flat on his bicycles rear wheel. We probably got to Malta by 10:30 and checked into a hotel that Pam and Sean had arranged for us. We took it easy for a while naps, lunch, laundry, shopping the old downtown stores then going to the Dinosaur Exhibit. We treated Pam and Sean to dinner then went over to the 25th year celebration for the local drugstore. Diane had gone to Mass and was already there with some of the church goers she met. (This reminds me, I need to give a shout out to George and all my Sunday School friends at Britton Baptist Church thanking them for all their prayers.) They had blocked off the street in front of the store and were serving roast beef sandwiches with potato salad and coleslaw. Most of us had a second dinner. We listened to 50’s and 60’s era music and watching the young kids dance and Bill‘s enthusiasm rise especially when the DJ started playing his requests. Then around 9pm we went back to the hotel and waited to hear the 9:30 alarm go off to signal the towns curfew.

Day 19: Joplin or Havre to Harlem

Pictures: Leaving Harve--Rick, Susan, Bill, Diane, Kevin

Campsite and grill;

Scorched earth in the gravel parking lot

Eating dinner;

Bill and Kevin.
Slept in; went back to Wal-Mart; mailed 4lbs 2ozs back to OKC; sat outside closed bike store and cleaned my bike chain; met up with the gang eating breakfast at 4B’s café after they rode in from Joplin. We all went back to the now open bike store and joined the crowd with the Okie Boys and the Louisiana Guys completely overwhelming the bike store owner. Got snacks at IGA then headed out of Havre. The road out was the worst we had encountered. No usable shoulder tons of traffic, rude drivers and lots of semi trucks. We made it to Chinook for lunch then headed out 21 miles to Harlem. As we left Diane queued up behind Rick. They opened up a hundred yard gap on the rest of us before I decided to chase. Rick was setting a pace of 21mph and Diane was working hard to keep with him while I lurked behind. This kept up for about 12 miles until a deer ran across the road in front of us. I hollered “DEER” and Diane nearly jumped out of her skin because she had no idea I was behind her. A couple seconds later a spotted doe came out of the same area and ran across the road then along side us for a few yards before jumping the barbed wire fence and charging off to find its mother. I took up the pace setting at the front trying to keep it between 20.5 and 22 above that and I started to see Diane fade. I thought it would be fun to make it to Harlem in an hour so the pace persisted. We made it in an hour and 4 minutes with Diane grinning from ear to ear proud of the 20 mph average.
Harlem is a gem of a town. Just a block from the Albertsons was the city park adjacent to the police department and city hall. Rick found out where we were to place out tents ( near the signs that say ‘Bicyclist camp here‘) we used the pool’s showers and they left the front door open for us to have access to City Hall’s bathrooms. There were nice shade trees and even a grill. Susan proposed that we cook steaks on the grill and have a great salad. After some more brainstorming we bought charcoal, 2 T-Bone steaks, brats, corn on the cob to roast, baking potatoes, aluminum foil, 2 bags of Caesar salad kits, chips and salsa, some beer and Rick got Champaign to celebrate our first thousand miles.
I thought my stove fuel, HEET or methanol, would work fine to start the charcoal. Kevin and I burned through 3 ozs of it. Kevin wasn’t convinced that the charcoal had caught so he got Susan’s fuel can that holds Coleman fuel for her stove and started to douse the charcoal with it when it ignited. He dropped the flame engulfed fuel can and it rolled into the gravel parking lot pouring out puddles of flaming fuel. Then he attempted to stomp out the flames but found out the fuel sticks to your shoe that makes you dance even more till the fuel burned off your shoe. The puddles of burning fuel attracted attention of some of the children swimming in the pool so questions and answers floated back and forth while we watched the fuel burn off over the next several minutes. Kevin put some ice on his ankle and admired his freshly fire shorn leg. Success the charcoal had caught and the potatoes et al were soon cooking. Chips, salsa, and another 6 pack of beer were consumed while things cooked. Then we feasted on the best camp meal ever. Stuffed to the gills with another beer run to top the evening off.

Day 18: Shelby to Chester to Joplin to Havre

Pictures: Riding up and out of Shelby
The Louisiana Blogging Boys; Pat and Dave
Susan on the road
Bald Eagle Nesting
Pronghorn Antelope
After a great nights rest and some camp oatmeal we headed out. The Louisianans left with us. We made good time. I saw hundreds of gophers, a Pronghorn Antelope, what I believe is a Bald Eagle sitting on its nest. Hit the Camber of Commerce in Chester around 10 learn of the spud’s café and that the library didn’t open till noon cause Thursday nights it stays open late. So I’m hanging out in front of the courthouse typing away. One woman walking by has already stopped and talked to me about the ride for more than 10 minutes. You meet lots of people like her that dream of the adventure of riding across the country.
I found the barbershop ready for business. I told the barber that I wanted a #1 on the sides #2 on top. He says #1 is short and he’ll do a 1 and ½ on top. I was like sure…okay. Kevin and Rick showed up and took the seat after me while I rode around looking for the others; eventually finding them at Subway. They had already eaten so inviting them to join us at the Spud’s café was mute. When I got back I found that even though Kevin asked for a #2 on the sides and #4 on top his haircut looked strikingly similar to my own. So I guess we learned that for $10 you get the haircut the barber wants to give ya not the one you request. After lunch and spending an hour in the library, I left for Joplin flying along with the cruise control set on 23. We drank some PowerAde in the bar/grocery in Joplin the went to the park to set up tents. Well, when your flying along with a tailwind you don’t think much of it but setting up tents in a 30 mph wind; difficult. Then watching the tent beat itself to death is a different thought altogether. After half an hour of Rick and me watching the wind torture or tents and reflecting on the kind of sleep laying in such an abode would provide, Rick came up with the idea of cranking another 34 odd miles to Harve. So we packed up our gear and took off for Harve. When I got to Wal-Mart my cyclocomputer read: 105.68 miles, time 5:45:47, for an 18.3mph average; my fastest century yet. We were beat though and the campground was right by the main road so we sought out accommodations at the Town House Inn.

Day 17: Out of the Mountains and onto the Plains

Pics: Sunset of day 16 the Sears Motel
Field of iris
Lunch at the C&L Café in Cut Bank; Susan and Diane
Bill Kevin and Rick examine the BOB’s Flat tire

Windmill with Fallow and Planted Fields patchwork

This morning I think everyone woke up from a restless cold night shivering and putting on every piece of clothing within reach. Rapidly we broke camp and made it over to the Whistle Stop Café before it opened at 7. We were told they had amazing French Bread but I didn’t have the balls to order it. Susan got huckleberry French Toast and it was a huge plate covering pastry filled with huckleberry cream.
Diana nailed the first pothole of the morning and flatted. Susan and I fixed her up and gave her instructions on how to fix a flat as we went. This proved apropos since 5 miles down the road Susan’s BOB flatted and Diane got to practice on it. When we made it into Browning, the hub of the Blackfoot Reservation, the others were figuring the worst had happened to us and were ready to hightail it across the rest of the reservation. With a 20+mph tailwind we did just that averaging over 17 mph we flew into Cut Bank for lunch at the C&L Café. The special was beef stew inside a loaf of bread. We discussed the itinerary and decided to cook it another 23 miles to camp at Shelby. On the way out of Bill noticed that Kevin’s BOB tire appeared low. It was going flat so we changed out 3rd tube of the day. All trip to this day we had only had 2 flats. We flew to Shelby still fostered by the tailwind and did the routine, tent, shower, laundry, BBQ. Staying in the campground is the two guys from Louisiana and 2 other guys riding cross country that we met today. Also at the campground were 4 other cyclist 2 boys and 2 girls heading south for Guatemala (I think). When we got back from dinner 3 other okies were at the camp. These are athletic/racing types, recent college grads cranking out 100 mile days with regularity sponsored by SoundPony, Sauced and Summit Co. They had been hearing about us and were pleased to finally catch up with us. They shared their tale of crossing Logan’s pass in Glacier (jumping the barricade to do so and getting caught in the same storm that had us staying in the cabin pinned the in their tent for hours on end eating Vienna sauges and pop tarts. Cool guys 2 from Stillwater 1 from OKC. Over dinner though it was voted our favorite day of the ride so far; based primarily on the ease of the miles though.

Day 16: Over Marias Pass to East Glacier

Marias Pass was easy and crossing the continental divide should never be easy. On the road by 7 with plans to get breakfast in 7 miles. The breakfast place didn’t open till 9 though so we went on to Essex and the Isaac Walton Inn for breakfast which had been our destination the day before. We got there to find several other c2c cyclist there eating breakfast. A couple of guys from Louisiana riding new carbon bikes pulling 2 wheel burley trailers and a husband and wife riding a collapsible bike Friday tandem. The Louisiana guys have a blog called http://patanddavesbiketrip.blogspot.com/ they’re heading cross country but didn’t seem to be in too big a rush since they had spent the last 3 days at the Isaac Walton. The other couple also blog at http://cyclingsanta.crazyguyonabike.com/ . Santa and Mrs. Claus were spinning along on the climb when Rick and I visited with them. They’re lovable but are heading back north into Glacier for a couple days at twin medicine lakes I think it is.
The climb was gradual along side a railroad and on top of the pass was a statue where Teddy Roosevelt had dedicated Glacier I believe but it was cold and windy and Rick and I left with Kevin when he arrived and motored into East Glacier. The town seemed dismal to begin with the campsite was supposed to be south of the highway and there was a sign but only shabby homes and trailers. So Kevin and I headed up the other way and found a campsite at Sears Motel right across from a nice hostel/grocery/bakery. Us guys enjoyed some beer in front of the hostel, admired the collection of dogs wandering about then happened in to a neat shop next door that makes wooden spoons and even wizard wands. The owner gave us the grand tour and answered all our queries. Evidently it is quite an affair to acquire one of his wizarding wands. You pretty much have to come in person and handle the wand to make the choice. “The wand chooses the wizard.” Then you get a course on how to take care of your wand and you sign you name in the ledger he keeps for each of the wands. Each wand has an id number that the ledger records. It also tells the type of wood, any graining characteristic, whether it has any special features. He had well over 50 wands made of varying woods and with differing twist and spirals in the handle but the sweetest was the dozen or so Harry Potter Wands. Made of flawless clear Holly each had a Phoenix feather included in the handle. The ledger listed over 7000 wands; is he the real Olivander? I’ll keep you posted.

Day 15 Leaving Whitefish 6/23/09

Pics: Riding out of west Glacier on Highway 2
Glacier
Bill

It rained most of this morning so we pushed back our departure time to 11:00. It was chilly and I improvised shoe covers with some Safeway grocery sacks and Velcro in an attempt to keep my shoes and feet dry. When we headed out the rain had cleared somewhat and for the first hour and a half we had no problems. Rick, Bill, Diane and I just made it to West Glacier when the cloud burst came. We hung out in a convience store sipping coffee and waited for Kevin and Susan. After half an hour or so the shower moved on and so did we about 15 minutes before Kevin and Susan got there. It wasn’t long, maybe a mile when the sprinkles started it showered on us in varying degrees for the next hour. The temperature was around 50 but I was chilled to the bone. Thank god I didn’t send home my lycra leggings. We didn’t stop riding for over an hour for fear of getting colder. When the rain stopped it became more tolerable but the 17 or so mile gap from West Glacier to the next settlement seemed to never end. When we dismounted it was in front of a family run café/bar/cabin place. We had more coffee and discussed our lodging arraignments as we thawed out. It was 11 uphill miles to Essex our original destination but we were spent and decided to stay in the cabins. They’re small and don’t have water in them but dry and heated (although the heated part is up for discussion too). What possessed me to think that going to the bathhouse and taking a shower would warm me up I’ll never know. Heat wasn’t available in the bathhouse and by the time I gave up on drying off I and got dressed I was colder than before. Now came dinner at the café part of the establishment. To start with it appeared the one adult male who had earlier served us coffee and checked us in was going to be taking our orders and cooking the food too. All this while hobbling around on a crutch. Soon grandpa returned from errands and after mentioning he had 27 grandkids and 8 or so great grandkids (I guess you don’t have much entertainment up here when your snowed in) he conducted the cooking of our food by some of the grandkids problem aged 14 thru 16. The food was okay but then we set around like a bunch of bumpkins waiting for our bills to be delivered for about an hour before noticing the only other people eating at the place who were served after us got up and went to the cash register to settle up without receiving a bill at their table. So I hopped up paid my tab and ran back here to get my feet out of my wet cycling shoes and try to warm them up. Before blogging I treated my shoes to Susan’s patented quick dry technique by densely stuffing them with newspaper. I put my feet in my one pair of wool socks then placed them in gallon ziplock bags while I type this but they still resemble ice cubes. Of course by the time you read this we will have cross the Indian reservation and gotten to Cut Bank.

Day 14: the long expected day off in Whitefish

Rick and I slept in, took it easy, worked over our gear. I transferred my stuff into my new waterproof rear panniers and continued catching up on the blog. We ate lunch a LouLa’s and cruised around downtown on our bikes. For dinner we headed back over to Uncle John and Aunt Jane’s. Rick bought Jane flowers on the way over and she immediately arranged them in a vase with a couple of her neighbors peonies earning Rick a gold star and first in line at the buffet line. Vidalia onion relish dip(from Kevin‘s daughter for fathers day) for appetizer sitting in the backyard (pic: Kevin, Oregon Bill, Aunt Jane, Susan in the swing, Rick, and dog Flossie). For dinner Mexican theme tonight; enchilada casserole, tacos, Texas hot sauce chased with ice cream. Uncle John kept us laughing with endless jokes then entertained us with his banjo playing. (Video) We loved visiting with them and appreciate their fine hospitality.
I also need to give thanks to Pam and Sean for all their hard work procuring the hotel rooms and bringing us dinner the other night. And thanks to the Grouse Mountain Lodge for giving into Pam’s tenacity and allowing us to stay in these beautiful rooms for free.

Day 13: the ride into Whitefish

This morning Sean and Pam drove Diane, Kevin and me back out to the Dickey Lake campgrounds. Pam was joining us for the ride to Whitefish after being inspired by Diane to get her bike out of the garage and begin riding just 20 days ago. Sean carried all the baggage and drove sag. About 10 miles out the fast boys stopped at a coffee shack (drive thru) and took a break. We had coffee and muffins and flirted with the girl running the place. Today is Oregon Bill’s birthday and we arranged for her to put some candles in a muffin for him. We all studied a small Subaru utility truck that was for sell in the parking lot as a potential sag wagon to use for the rest of the trip. Right side drive, rear engine and only 44,000 km on the dial. Unfortunately the whisper price was twice what any of us expected. Bill arrived shortly and was surprised (pic) by the muffin and coffee and all us hooting and hollering. After the brief celebration we saddled up. A while later a white car with a pole mounted to the roof passed us. Tulsa Bill said that car had passed us yesterday. A mile later the car was pulled over to the side of the road and I arrived to find Bill quizzing the driver about the contraption on his roof. The driver told us it was a 360 degree camera and that he’s collecting the photos for Google Maps. He only stopped because a bug had struck the lenses of the front facing camera. He said that there were around 200 other cars doing the same thing in the US. He showed us the route he had driven the day before and it coincided with our route and he remembered seeing us too. He said it would take about a year for the photos he is shooting today to be available on Google Maps but that we would be able to see ourselves captured on these two days by his camera equipment, immortalized in the Google databank.
In Whitefish we ate lunch at LouLa’s which I highly recommend, though it is slightly pricy, and hung around Glacier Bikes for an hour or so getting minor repairs fawning of some of their offerings. Rick decided to share the room with me at the lodge while the others, except Diane, planned to stay at Kevin’s, Uncle John’s and Aunt Jane’s house about 3 miles away.
We all went over to John and Jane’s for some dinner including Pam and Sean (Pam cycled all 35 miles, way to go). Excellent Cornish hens, and all the fixing’s including John’s famous sourdough biscuits and homemade brownies. John has had quite a life as a veterinarian and shared dozens of stories about cowboys, livestock, snakes and stupid hunters. Everyone was stuffed to the gills and looking forward to a restful nights sleep.

Day 12 Lake Koocanusa campsite to North Dickey Lake campsite

Today’s photos come from Rick.
Me(Tim) looking at Lake Koocanusa;
The bridge crossing the lake near the town of Rexford
Tulsa Bill warms himself by the fire
Oregon Bill jots down some notes concerning the day’s ride.
The steep climbs continued along the eastern shore of Lake Koocanusa. My legs were feeling great and I soon noticed that I was in the middle chain ring at the top of the climbs. I only used granny on the first hill climbing out of the campgrounds. After regrouping on the road with the others to firm up the days plans Rick and I headed off in the lead foolishly wasting time and energy to ride down to the town of Rexford on a Gatorade Quest. Between Rexford and Eureka the two of us were caught in a good rain shower that chilled us off and soaked us to the bone. Grabbing lunch at Subway we debating getting a hotel room next door ainstead of fighting the elements for another 16 miles to our camping destination. As we returned to our bikes Susan pulled up and told us that Kevin and Tulsa Bill were farther in town having lunch at Jax Café. We joined them and learned no one else had gotten rained on. After trying with only moderate success to find some supplies in town Rick and I headed out toward the campgrounds into a headwind and dropping temperatures and me wearing wet shoes and socks. Kevin and Tulsa Bill stayed behind to do laundry, I figured it would just rain more so I would do laundry at camp. After a short stop in Fortine for chocolate milk (the recovery drink of champions…or maybe just peons) we began the last 3 mile ride to the campsite. I was freezing, maybe the milk cooled me off too much, and never did warm up on the bike. Arriving at camp I found out there were no laundry facilities and I had no clean cycling shorts and few clean dry clothes. My mood soured with this news only compounded by the mention that a bear had pulled another cyclist BOB around a campsite 2 days before pining for a snack so we would have to put out foodstuffs in the back seat of the camp hosts truck. Susan who had arrived before us loaned me her rain pants to cover my legs. I set up my tent; aired up my mattress; and climbed inside my sleeping bag to warm up and work on my mood.
About an hour later I heard some noise and just figured it was someone else arriving. Well it was but it wasn’t another cyclist. It was one of Diana’s followers who came out to support us and ride with us the following day; Pam and her husband Sean.
They had travel 6 hours from eastern Montana and brought all sorts of snacks and salmon for dinner. Theyu also had booked an extra room at the Grouse Mountain Lodge. I guess since I had been whining since arriving at camp they chose me to occupy the extra room. So I ate dinner, broke camp and headed into whitefish with Sean, Pam, Diane, and Kevin who was going to stay at his uncle’s house. I wish one of the others would have joined me in the room but no one else would come. It was great to catch up on laundry and begin catching up on the blog, especially with the knowledge that Sean was transporting everyone’s gear to Whitefish making tomorrows 35 mile day a breeze.

Day 11Through the Cabinet Mountains to Lake Koocanusa

Got up to a chilly damp foggy morning. Oregon Bill got an early start while Kevin and I pulled up the rear. I was using Kevin’s iphone to order a new set of waterproof rear panniers. It took a while for the people at Performance Bike to realize I was standing in the Montana outback and didn’t have the stupid catalog numbers with me. BTW Alltel doesn’t have much coverage up here so I do have an excuse for the delayed blog postings. (I opened the panniers last night at Kevin’s Uncle John’s place and it had a sample size of Speed Stick Pro Extra Dry Antiperspirant I didn‘t know the iphone came with smell-a-vision)
Upon departure Tulsa Bill reminded everyone that the next 51 miles were without services, nothing until we reached the town of Libby. Those 51 miles in the Cabinet Mountains were great(pic,pic,pic,pic) some up’s and down’s but little traffic and nature’s beauty lapping up to the edge of the shoulder. I shot a video at a scenic vista (Video). The miles clicked by Tulsa Bill and Rick pulled out ahead after 30 miles. Approaching the intersection of highway 2 I was just ahead of Oregon Bill and Kevin. On a fast downhill I managed to swerve and miss two sets of rumble strips designed to wake up drivers and forewarn them of the stop sign ahead. Bill and Kevin, however, went across the strips with their BOB’s in tow, bouncing along the way. Kevin lost a pad from his handlebars and stopped to retrieve it. Bill and I entertained ourselves with snacks and weighing our bikes and ourselves on the truck scale at the weigh in station at the junction (it rounds of to the nearest 20 lbs). Kevin decided to stay behind and warn the girls to avoid the rumble strips. Bill and I continued toward civilization in Libby along a busy stretch of highway 2.
Oregon Bill was ridding strong I was having trouble keeping up. The first restaurant coming into Libby from the west is Fiesta Bonita Mexican. Low and behold that’s where we found Tulsa Bill and Rick sitting down with huge plates of food on the table. We joined them for lunch then went on into the heart of town. We found a green patch of grass in front of the Chamber of Commerce and spread out our wet tents to dry and laid on the grass to nap. About an hour later Kevin, Susan and Diane showed up. Diane had had pedal/cleat problems and hitched a ride into Troy for a basic pair or platform pedal and toe clips. She was riding in a pair of tennis shoes borrowed from Susan and looked tired and stressed. We still had 25 miles to go to get to our campsite (making up 10 of the miles we lost yesterday). The first 10 miles were nice and easy riding beside a wide river but the last 15 miles were tough. Relentless big steep hills in the heat of the day pushed even the strongest riders to their breaking points. Rick and I got to the beautiful shore side campground first, made the arrangements and set up our tents. Oregon Bill came next and he and I bought a six pack of carbs and celebrated the 75 mile accomplishment and chatted with some dog walkers before heading over to set up camp and share the brew. After wonderful dinner at the camp’s restaurant I found myself getting chilled so I rode over to use the restroom on the way back to camp. When I sung my leg over the saddle to dismount my right hamstring locked up in a cramp. I rifled through my handlebar bag to find some Tum’s (the calcium usually helps my leg cramps) and in the process my camera fell on the concrete sidewalk. The camera doesn’t work now but I managed to get the photos off and will use Rick’s photos and camera till I can replace or repair it. The end of another stressful yet awesome day.

Day 10: Sandpoint ID to RV park in MT

We met up with the group at Wal-mart. Morale was low because of the extra miles the ones that went back to the campsite had to log and the dodgy start to our longest scheduled day so far; 81.6 miles. The first 35 miles were beautiful as we continued to travel along the shore of Lake Pend Oreille (pic). Some of the fast riders spotted 2 moose in a marshy area of the lake but they moved behind brush before their pictures could be captured. Traffic was somewhat heavy but the miles ticked off. We were passed by a fast group of riders. They had shared the same campgrounds so most of our group recognized them. We caught up with them in the town of Clark Fork and made a brief video of them which appears on http://starjumpsforjoy.blogstop.com. They are 16-18 year olds from New England biking across America raising money for cancer research(pic). From Clark Fork we took a longer more scenic route away from the traffic we had been encountering that morning. Before we got halfway through the 14 mile scenic route a cold rain started to fall and we got soaked. A nice man named Steve came by and mentioned that he was building a house and had the roof on and we could stay there and dry off and even spend the night if necessary. The road to his house was the first one after the road surface changed, i.e. the first piece of property in MT. We went done to his new house and enjoyed his hospitality for a couple hours until the sky cleared off and we moved on. Now hours behind schedule on our long 81 mile day. The next 4 or 5 miles of road in Montana were rough (pic) but it was worth it, some of the best pictures of the trip were captured along that stretch. Field after field of daisies and wildflowers with mountains as backdrops (pic) made up for the minefield like quality of the road. Soon we were at and intersection and our natural tendency was to continue to the right into the town of Heron. We crossed the RR tracks which was mentioned in the route list and continued on down the road to a beautiful lake feed by a waterfall; clicking of dozens of more pictures. Next the road turned to gravel, this caused pause with our more experienced touring cyclist and the route maps came out and we realized we were 3 or 4 miles off course and on a dead end road. With no other options, we headed back. Stopping for a snack break in front of the Heron Store General Merchandise where I snapped a photo of the way they grow there shingles up here in Montana (pic). I hear the store has a lovely bathroom, sorry no photo of the WC(ask Stillwater Susan for details). Chain/Derailleur problems further delayed our exodus and when we made it back to the main road, SH200, we knew stopping at the nearest campsite was our only choice. Exhausted we showed up at a RV campground near the intersection of SH 200 and SH 56 just in time to set up our tents before another rain shower hit. 25 miles short of out 81 mile destination. All my clothes were soaked, my panniers weren’t at all waterproof and I hadn’t taken care to place my clean clothes in Ziploc bags because they were still moist from washing the previous day. The most miserable, depressing, emotional end to an interesting day full of unplanned occurrences.

Day 9: Cusick WA to Sandpoint ID

After a wonderful night at the RV park’s clubhouse (pic) with expectations of an easy 56 mile ride along a Priest River scheduled. We met for big breakfast a Boo-Boo’s restaurant (pic) in Usk. We had a great breakfast and wonderful comroudere visiting and congealing as a group.
A beautiful foggy morning made for lots of good video and pictures. Stillwater Kevin spots a bald eagle (pic) and we all stopped to glimpse it sitting in a tree and flying along the far shore. Things went fine till we left Newport. Shortly after finding a nice volunteer to take our photos in front of the Welcome to Idaho sign (pic) Kevin and I managed to get separated (lost) from our group and we rode about 2 miles out of the way before being brought to our senses by a phone call from Tulsa Bill. We reversed direction and began to chase down the group but in was after noon when we reached the town of Priest River and decided to grab a lunch across the river in town so we did. The others continued on as we fell farther behind. The next 20 miles or so after lunch were very beautiful and we observed many manmade nesting platforms with osprey in the nests. (pic)
Riding the busy highway shoulder to Sagle was unpleasant and the bike trial from there to Sandpoint was rough in places causing my right rear pannier to fall off a couple times. Long story short the last 15 miles were unpleasant. After crossing the old bridge to Sandpoint we met most of the group heading in the other direction to a campsite 3 miles outside of Sagle, ie backtracking 7 miles. Kevin and I went on into town and met Tulsa Bill at a local watering hole. The three of us ended up getting a hotel room in town and headed back over to the brewery at 7 to participate in a trivia completion which our table lead until the last round then lost by a point. Things rapidly died down once the competition was over and we headed back to the room with wounded pride.