Date: 2007-06-19
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Miles today: 0.0

6-17-07Sandpoint, Id115 miles today4524 miles totalWe are in Idaho!!This turned out to be a great day. It started pretty much like all the other days...with Starbuck's. :-))The motel had a continental breakfast, so I ended up there. They had some really good cinnamon buns...I had two of those and a banana.I forgot to mention in yesterday's journal that when Mrs Gorp and I were in the grocery looking for something for dinner, she saw me over in a section of the store that had health foods. She said: "What in the h-e-double L are you doing in the health food section."I think she thought I was suffering from dimentia. :-))We got packed up this morning and left a little later than usual. It was 6:45am when we walked out the door. It was a cool morning in the 40's.I guess I was unprepared for the climb because I didn't really look at the maps like I usually do. I remember just glancing at the maps yesterday and thinking to myself; Oh, we only have an 1800 foot climb tomorrow.Well, it wasn't an easy 1800 foot climb. We would get to a steep climb that last several hundred feet, then we would go downhill and lose too much of that elevation.We were still riding in a beautiful area. I have really been surprised by all the trees in this area of Washington. I've been in eastern Washington a few times, but it's always been down towards Spokane where it's a lot more arid.I saw about a dozen whitetail deer today. It's been quite some time since I've seen any whitetail deer. The deer we've seen for well over a thousand miles has been mule deer. I also saw one turkey early today.The clouds thickened up and it started raining. I had bought a new rain jacket back in Burlington. They had a bright yellow Dri-Duck and they are very light. My other raingear I had was really only rain repellant and it wasn't repelling rain anymore. :-))It was so nice to actually stay dry in some rain.I was ahead of Mrs Gorp when I saw a small cafe out in the middle of nowhere. I pulled in and got under the canopy to wait until she showed up.It was still raining and the thermometer read 40 degrees. When Mrs Gorp showed up, we went inside the Gilette Lake Lodge and ordered breakfast.The rain had stopped by the time we finished eating, but it still felt cool, so I kept a jacket on for a while.My deep thought for the day was a sign that I've been seeing here in Washington at the entrance to some of the side roads. The sign says; "Primative road, no warning signs".Well, that sure seems like a warning sign to me. ;-))We got to the Pend Oreille River and followed that all afternoon. I've never heard of it before, but it's a large and beautiful river.We followed that river for probably 50 miles.When we got to Newport, our destination for the day, Mrs Gorp said that if we turned left, we could get to a motel in 3 miles.We were already at Newport and there were motels here...and we had already rode 85 miles.I looked to our right, then back at Mrs Gorp and she said it again; "If we turn left, we could be at a motel in 3 miles".I kept thinking; What the heck, if we turn right, we will already BE at a motel.Finally, when Mrs Gorp said it one more time; "If we turn left, we could be at a motel in 3 miles", I figured....well, maybe we should turn left. :-))We headed on. I think she knew that I would look at the map and realize that it was only another 30 miles to Sandpoint, the town we were getting new tires at tomorrow.I was in the lead, riding WITH a beautiful tailwind for a change and enjoying life. When I got to the motel in 3 miles, I didn't even slow down. :-))I found out later that's exactly what Mrs Gorp had planned all along.I was really enjoying riding on flat ground and moving along at 18mph with the wind. I was calculating just how long it would take to get into Sandpoint at this rate of speed when all of a sudden, the wind died down.The clouds were getting really dark and it started raining. Then the wind picked up again....in our faces. :-((We still had about 12 miles to town and the wind was blowing in our faces with rain coming down...and we were pedaling hard to go 10mph.We got to Sandpoint, found a room and put on dry clothes to go eat. We heard about the best steak house in town and walked the 3 blocks to Hydra Steakhouse.Mrs Gorp bought me a steak and said it was for Father's Day. It was delicious!! So was the huge salad, sourdough bread, a cheesy spinach type appetizer type thingie, IDAHO baked potato and asparagus.We left the restaurant to walk back to the motel and I saw Ethan riding by. I yelled and he heard me. I can't believe how we keep running into each other. :-))He rode ahead another 35 miles yesterday to Ione and was planning a zero today, but said he had to ride when he woke up this morning.I think we've seen him everyday since we started riding east.We went back to the motel after Ethan rode off and I started looking over the maps for the next section. My eyelids were getting heavy and it was only 8pm, but I had to go to sleep after a great ride today and that small dinner. :-))It feels good to be out of Washington and into Idaho. It makes me feel like I'm getting so much closer to Georgia. Ha!!Another great day on the Northern Tier Bicycle Trail....and thank you Mrs Gorp for that Father's Day dinner. :-))6-18-07Clark Fork, Id29 miles today :-))4553 miles totalYep, we rode just 29 miles today, but we had our reasons. :-))Today started with a pot of Starbuck's that I brewed in the room coffee maker.It was almost 6am before I started the coffee though. We walked down to the lobby at the motel in Sandpoint, Id. and had their continental breakfast.I fell asleep early last night and didn't get a chance to wipe all the dirt and grime off the bike from all the rain we rode through, so I did that after breakfast.The bike shop opened at 9am and we were there just as they opened the doors.Mrs Gorp got her tires taken care of and I decided to go ahead and have a brand new set of tires put on my bike.The rear tire that I bought new in Pueblo, Co was worn out. It was as slick as it could get. The front tire was still the original front tire that came with the bike. It wasn't too bad, but since I have almost 5,000 miles on the bike, I decided to replace it too.I got a new set of tires like Mrs Gorp uses...Schwalbe Marathon Plus. I went from a 37cm wide tire down to a 32cm tire and that made a big difference. They looked so skinny on my bike when I first looked at them.The thing I like the most is that they take 95 pounds of air pressure. My Continental tires only took 70 pounds and the rear tire always looked flat because of all the gear I was carrying on the back of my bike...that belongs to Mrs Gorp. :-))We went back to the motel and checked out, then headed east towards Clark Fork.The road was a busy road with a small bike lane. It was along the side of Lake Pend Oreille for all 29 miles of today's ride.I did get to see one eagle today, but I had to keep my eye on the road, so I didn't get to watch him long.We decided to stay in Clark Fork since we didn't leave Sandpoint until after lunch. We would have to go another 68 miles to the next town...we'll do that for tomorrow's ride.I was still tired today. I guess I just needed a little more rest than I got, so I took about an hour nap after I got in the room.I mailed home more stuff that I didn't need anymore, then we rode up and ate dinner.This town is only about 7 miles from Montana. We'll lose an hour when we cross the time zone into mountain time at the Montana border tomorrow morning.I was repacking my bike when I heard someone outside the room call my name through the window. I answered the door and met another cross country bike rider by the name of Bob Lee.The motel clerk evidently told him there were other bike riders here.We talked for about half an hour. He rode from Maine to Florida earlier this year and is now riding from Washington to Maine.It was nice to ride a short day today, but I'm ready for the 68 mile day tomorrow.Another great day on the Northern Tier Bicycle Trail. :-))6-19-07Libby, Mt69 miles today535 miles on Northern Tier4623 miles totalI made a pot of Starbuck's once again. :-))When we packed up, we rode the bikes up to the local cafe in Clark Fork and had breakfast.Mrs Gorp reminded me that I forgot my left over pizza in the room refridgerator. Lucky for me that I didn't lock the door when we left, so I was able to get my pizza on the way out of town.Bob Lee, the other bike rider at the motel, was just leaving, so we rode off together.It was a nice morning with a temperature in the 40's.We rode along the Clark Fork River for about 20 miles. At 8 miles into the morning's ride, we crossed into Montana!!I had forgotten just how beautiful it is in northwestern Montana.We had been stopping along the rode and taking pictures of the Cabinet Mountain Range. There are still snow capped mountains...and summer starts in a couple days.There was also a sign talking about the wildlife of the area. We are back in grizzly country again.Bob had rode on ahead. We all kept stopping to take pictures and enjoy the quite...when no cars or trucks were around.We passed Bob a little later. When we got to the junction of Rt 200 and Rt 56, we stopped at a small store for sodas. It was an Amish or Menonite shop and they were making a bunch of loaves of bread. I love fresh bread. :-))I didn't get any bread, but I did get an apple pie and it was very good.We headed north on Rt 56 and finally got some winds that were at our backs. That helped make it a very enjoyable ride.The water in the streams and rivers are crystal clear, the forests are a lushious green and some of the mountains still have snow in them.We rode by Bull Lake and I spotted two golden eagles flying around.We kept going and we came to a small bar and grill out in the middle of nowhere. We pulled in for a soda and saw Ethan's bike parked out front. :-))We went in and sat at the bar and was talking to Ethan, when Bob came in. This is the most company we've had from other bicyclists on this whole trip.Ethan bought our sodas for us...thanks!! :-))Ethen and Bob headed on while Mrs Gorp and I sat out front eating the food we packed out.When we got to Rt 2, we turned right and headed towards Libby, our destination for the night.That route took us along side of the Kootenai River...another river with glacial green water. It was a beautiful, fast moving river.We rode by the falls area and a swinging bridge. There was a bathroom there, so I lost Mrs Gorp. She really has never passed by a bathroom as long as I've known her. :-))I got to the top of the next climb and pulled off to wait on her to catch up.When she showed up, we rode on down the hill. The shoulder of the road was wide, so we were riding next to each other and talking.I heard a pop and a phsssss. The no-flat queen is no more!! Mrs Gorp got a flat!! Woohoo!! Yippee!! I was jumping for joy!! It wasn't me!! :-))Mrs Gorp has over 4700 miles on her bike and she finally got a flat. I just turned over 5000 miles on my bike today and I've had 5 flats...but just 4 on this bike trip.I thought about getting a recliner out and sitting in the shade, sipping iced tea while she fixed her flat, but I'm not carrying a recliner, I don't really like iced tea...and that would have been dangerous anyway, so I turned her bike upside down and we both fixed the flat. :-))We headed on when the tire was fixed and came up to Bob, who was stopped and talking to 2 westbounders...the first we've seen on the Northern Tier. Their names were Pete and Garth and they are both from Vermont.They had come across to the north of the Great Lakes, just like we are planning. They said it was a very nice ride and everyone was friendly.We headed on and came into Libby and got a room at the Super 8 Motel.We were planning on eating dinner with Bob tonight, but I had forgotten that he ate so late last night. When Mrs Gorp called him to see if he was ready at 5pm, he said he couldn't eat that early. :-))We have to eat early...sorry Bob.I had mentioned in an earlier journal about the pass-cam at Loup Loup Pass in Washington and how Mrs Gorp had got there first and had to pee....and how I pointed out the pass-cam when I got there...well, a couple friends emailed and sent me the url to the pass-cam, but said it has been shut down for the summer. That's too bad because that would have been a moon shot on Loup Loup Pass. :-))This was probably the most beautiful day for a bike ride that we've had since we left Virginia. Sunny and 70 degrees with low humidity...and in one of my favorite places in the United States.Another great day on the Northern Tier Bicycle Trail. :-))