Spent most of the day eating, sleeping and schlepping around Sandpoint. I ate breakfast and came back and napped. Ate lunch and came back and napped. Ate dinner and stopped at Starbucks for a Mocha. Couldn't sleep till 4 am. At least the hot tub was refilled and hot after a disappointing earlier attempt to soak in an empty tub. Checked out all the used book stores and the one new book store looking for more Louise Erdrich. Finally found a huge, heavy hardback of Tales of Burning Love. The bookseller didn't think it was a native-american book because of the racy cover. I bought it anyway and looked closer at the cover later. It's a woman in a slinky negligee on satin sheets - alone and watching television. That's Louise Erdrich.
Talked to Lisa and found out that Jake was scheduled to go to an amusement park the same time Sunday that I was supposed to be visiting him on campus. Circumstances screw Jake out of treats like the amusement park so often that I was damn sure not going to let my visit screw him out of this one.
Stats: 0 total miles, avg speed 0, max 0, bike time 0, altimeter read (since inception) 367.6 for 0 feet today.
I spent a few hours the next morning waiting for his counselor, on her day off, to find out if he could still go and if I could go with. If we could both go, and there was room for me in the van, then I'd ride the 30 miles north to Bonners Ferry. If there wasn't room in the van, I'd stay in Sandpoint and ride the 15 miles south to Silverwood. It was time to check out of the motel and I still didn't know what was going to happen, so I took off for Bonners Ferry anyway (with the cell phone on). It was a great ride. I was flying, averaging over 15 mph, even with bob. I decided that this might be my only chance to ride to the campus (which was, after all, my goal for the trip) so I just did, even though I hadn't arranged for a visit that day. I attempted a shortcut I knew existed. I knew where both ends were (one on the highway and one right by school), but I wasn't too sure how to get from one to the other. I wound up back on the highway in downtown Bonners Ferry, so all I accomplished was adding a few miles and missing a great downhill run on the highway.
When I finally got to the school, I ran into some staff right away who said it was ok for me to be there. I found Jake caring for his baby starling that had fallen out of it's nest and been abandoned. I'd brought some meal worms for it and it was a lot of fun watching Jake and friends try to stuff the worms down the bird without chewing them up and spitting them down it's throat. Jake showed me a great wire sculpture of a bike rider (George, because the head is a quarter) on a wood base with my favorite Vashon Loop illustrated on it, that he'd made for my birthday. We found out that we could both go to the amusement park, but there was no extra room in the van. We talked for awhile, then I had to head back to town while it was still light and I could still get food.
Stats: 47.9 total miles, avg speed 14.4, max 37.7, bike time 3:19, altimeter read (since inception) 368.0 for 1300 feet today.
So, I got up as early as I could stand to, packed up and, by 8:30, took off to ride the 30 miles back to Sandpoint, check back into the motel there, drop off bob and ride the 15 miles to Silverwood by 11:30 when Jake would get there. About 10:30, 8 miles out of Sandpoint, the van passed me, tried to slow down and was nearly rear-ended by an RV, and eventually circled back. Turned out that one student had dropped out of the trip so there was room for me. Doug, the driver, offered to throw the bike and bob on top but it would have taken so much time and trouble to get all 100 pounds up there, that I was afraid it would have eaten into the kids' time at the park. Besides, I didn't want all my stuff bouncing around up there and frying in the sun for hours. And I wasn't that far away.
The wind and hills were working against me. I wasn't moving nearly as fast from Bonners to Sandpoint as I had from Sandpoint to Bonners the day before. It was noon before I got checked into the hotel, dumped bob and everything else I didn't need. (I took the water bladder out of my backpack and put a change of clothes, camera, bike pump and lock in it.) I'd already lost some time, but I only had 15 miles to go. The first 5 miles were on the first bike path I'd seen the whole trip. A couple of miles was on the old two lane bridge that paralleled the new one. The path was great. As soon as I hit the highway I saw a sign for Athol, where Silverwood is, 19 miles away. Since I'd already ridden over 5 miles, the fifteen miles just turned into 25. I tried to pour it on, but the headwinds and hills defeated me. I'd only eaten a pb bagel in Bonners and a muffin and oj in the motel lobby in Sandpoint. The peach I'd been carrying for a few days was rotten, so I wolfed some gorp during a rare break. The park was actually past Athol and it was almost 2:00 when I finally got to Silverwood after a 62 mile ride, but we still had till 5:00. It was a much bigger park than I expected, but Jake found me quickly after I changed out of my soaked, reeking bike clothes.
The first thing Jake told me was that they had to be back at school at 5:00, so we only had an hour before they'd have to leave at 3:00. Damn! Screwed again.
Nevertheless, we had a good time. Jake and a buddy went on the big horizontal hamster wheel (no idea what the real name is) that sticks you to the wall by centrifugal force, then turns vertical. I had no food in my stomach to puke, but I passed on that one anyway. Then Jake and I went on a rollercoaster that ran on big metal tubes and plunged you to your death a couple of times then twisted you upside down a couple of times, just to make sure you were dead. The longest minute. Then we did it again, but sat in the front. Awesome. Scary as hell. We got some popcorn, lemonade and icecream and headed for another rollercoaster (they have three). This was built like an old fashioned wooden one, except that it was much bigger. Jake held his arms up the whole way. I made it to the first drop. As soon as I left the seat and started floating up to the sky (who cares if I was strapped and barred in) I grabbed on and didn't let go. We had a wonderful time, but time was up. I walked out to the van with him and said goodbye. Then I went back in and got a hamburger. I considered checking out more of the park, but it was so pathetic to be a 45 year old man, alone in an amusement park on Father's Day. Not to mention another 30 mile ride ahead of me.
Even though I was pretty worn out, the ride north was much easier than the ride south. It must be the wind. I made good time. Got back to the motel, bathed and headed off looking for more food. I'm looking forward to choosing food for taste instead of fuel value. (Although eating my fuel, and lots of it, is another of my favorite things about biking.) Went back to the mexican place and back to Starbucks afterward. There were 4 familiar teenagers in there and when I heard them talk about New Jersey, I knew I was right. Their names are Monica, Abby, David and Charles and, dammit, I forgot to ask their ages. They were meeting a Rotarian who had a place for them to stay. (They're sponsored by Rotary, I discovered.) They had done alright eating excess power bars, etc. in Newhalem. (Where I had met them at then end of day 3 after they had discovered the store was closed.) I asked how they'd done on water on Washington Pass (where I had run dry). A cyclist who was driving that day warned them about the lack of water and stashed a bunch of water and Gatorade near the pass for them. Some of the Redmond Cycling Club riders on their way to Mazama had carried some of their panniers and gear over the pass to Mazama for them. I asked if they'd taken any layover days. They hadn't intentionally, but did have some 15-25 mile days due to bike problems.
I still wish I'd gotten their picture, but I was thrilled that I ran into them again. I don't really know them, but I'm terribly proud of them anyway. I'm a little jealous too. They're having a tremendous adventure and bringing out the best in a lot of people. I gave them the address of this site. Monica! Abby! David! Charles! Good Luck! And, if you're reading this from home, Congratulations! Write something about your trip. You'll be telling your grandchildren about this summer.
Well, that's about it. Tomorrow or the next day, I'll ride up the mountain to Schweitzer Ski Lodge, where the conference will be Thursday and Friday. Maybe I'll ride around the trails a little. Lisa and Amanda will show up Wednesday night. Saturday we pick up Jake for a couple of days at Ainsworth Hot Springs in Canada. Then Dale and Bob will be shamefully hung from the back of the van and dragged home.
I've had a blast riding and writing. Hope you've enjoyed reading. If you're inspired to ride, give me a call. I'll go along. Stay tuned. In 2004 Sandpoint will just be a layover day on Jake's and my trip following Monica, Abby, David, Charles, Wally, Colleen and all the others all the way across.
Today's stats: 90.5 total miles, avg speed 14.4, max 36.3, bike time 6:17, altimeter read (since inception) 371.4 for 3400 feet today.
Total for the trip: 727.4 miles, avg speed 11.8, bike time 61 hours and 42 minutes, beginning altimeter read 332.5, ending altimeter read 371.4 for total elevation gain of 38,900 feet. Whew!