Gig Harbor Washington to Bar Harbor Maine 2001

Weeelllbuurrr

Woke up for the last time this morning before 5am to a chorus of birds, trucks gearing down on the highway, and Misashi's labored snoring. A woodpecker periodically did its imitation of a ringing wooden telephone in the weeping willows overhead. Finally some raucous bird shrieked insistently until even Garcia was awake, yelling at the bird to shut up, It did.

Somehow everyone else managed to stay asleep, or at least in bed, till I pestered them at 6:30. We ate and packed quickly and were on the road by 8, or at least Gridley and I were, Garcia had to change a flat.

Masashi frying breakfast bacon

Gridley stopped for coffee and I kept spinning. My knee was hurting again today and I wanted to spin easy until it felt better. Both Mikes blew past together a little later. They rode together all day, far in front of me. I know my knee is part of the problem, but I think the bike is another part. I think maybe recumbents are just slower. I don't really mind, there are so many other advantages, but it makes riding with others impossible. Then again, maybe it's just me. We'll see how it goes after a day's rest.

The non-negotiable goal today was to get to Coeur d'Alene and spend two nights in real beds at Gridley's house. That's a little over 100 miles. Most of the day was roller coasters over ripples from the Lake Missoula flood a few million years ago. There weren't many significant climbs, just constant small ones. The weather was beautiful, enough clouds to keep it cool, enough sun to keep it nice. The wind was often behind us helping to push us along and pushing the clouds at about the same pace. I chased the cloud shadows on the road when I got too hot, chased the sunny spots when the clouds predominated.

I pulled into a rest stop mid-morning just as the Mikes were leaving. A man in his 60's talked to me for a long time about my bike. He was building a recumbent! He had it all figured out except for the seat. He was planning to use an old tractor seat at first. I'll bet he changes his mind quickly.

I was about ready to leave when Misashi pulled up. He was looking pretty beat, but his turnoff to Cheney was coming up soon. I was glad to have a chance to say goodbye. We'd enjoyed his company.

Traffic increased exponentially as we neared Spokane and we rode a little faster to get through it. We wound our way into downtown to a bike shop and picked up a few supplies. We were far enough off the regular cross-country route that we were real celebrities and everyone talked to us about our goals and adventures. It felt pretty good. On route, we're something between a nuisance and another vehicle.

We'd come to the Centennial Trail bike path end of the Trek WA maps and it seemed like we were done. Unfortunately, we still had 40 miles to Gridley's. The bike path was great after all the traffic. In fact, it's great anyway - riding along the river and backroads. About 15 miles into it, the weather that had been lurking along the northern horizon finally descended on us. It rained buckets and thoroughly soaked us before we had a chance to dig out our rain gear.

Leaving Washington at last

Both my knees were screaming now, but crossing the line into Idaho and turning 100 miles motivated us to pour it on for the final approach, with me still tagging along.

Entering Idaho

Gridley's house was a beautiful sight. I shook hands and raced for the shower. Aaaah. I relaxed in the easy chair talking with Gridley's dad while his wife, Darsey and daughter, Kathryn, made an incredible steak and baked potato dinner, followed by apple pie. It was a huge meal and I cleaned up my plates. It had been a hard day.

I found myself at midnight abusing their computer, trying to work out the bugs that kept me from uploading this on the road. If you're reading this, I was successful. I finally tore myself away and fell into the most wonderful device ever invented - a real bed.