Usk, WA to Sandpoint, ID
Confession: Last night there was a gorgeous sunset. I took many pix of it, the misty river and mountains, some of the wildflowers around the RV resort. Unfortunately, all of these photos, and those of the ospreys along the Pend Oreille Lake, our stop at Steve Frost's, and some from our days in Whitefish were lost when I bumbled downloading my pix to a flash drive later at Kevin’s Uncle John and Aunt Jane’s. So, sadly, the photos in this blog report are gleaned from Tim's blog and the Internet.
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| Internet photo of sunset and fog over the Pend Oreille River though I took several just like it |
We rose early, swept and tidied up the clubhouse, each leaving $10 for Chris and John’s hospitality; then headed back to Usk and breakfast at Boo Boo’s. Wendy (called Boo Boo when a toddler; hence, the name) was waiting for us, and she and her mother served us a great breakfast.
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| Waiting for breakfast at Boo Boos; Tim's photo |
After breakfast, we crossed the bridge over the Pend Oreille River (below) and headed for Sandpoint, ID. We rode along the river for quite a way, seeing several bald eagles and many osprey and osprey nests on manmade platforms.
On leaving Newport, Kevin and Tim got lost and separated from the group. After discovering their error and backtracking, they stopped in Priest River for lunch, so the rest of the group didn’t see them again until they had crossed Long Bridge into Sandpoint. (See Internet photo below.)
Rick sulked around in camp until Tracy Jefferies and the Sandpoint, Idaho, F.D rolled up to the campsite in a fire truck, lights blinking and horn blaring. Those on the truck had read Diane’s website. They unfurled a “way to go” banner. I never got the true connection to Diane, but because of Diane, one of the women had lost a lot of weight and had “abs of steel,” which she proudly displayed as she star jumped from the fire truck with Diane.
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| Tim's photo of Kevin (hand on hip) pointing out a Bald Eagle to me and Diane |
Shortly after Newport, we crossed into Idaho. Diane flagged down a passing driver to take a photo of us with the welcome sign.
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| The seven intrepid C2C cyclists |
We were now on Hwy 20/2. Riding the busy shoulder to Sagle was unpleasant and the bike trail from Sagle to Sandpoint was root heaved in places making for dodgy cycling. The bridge, however, was another story. Though riddled with seams that caused us to bump along, it was a beautiful, long pedestrian bridge and a RR bridge angling across the lake. The trains seemed to be floating on water (my pix of which are lost). There were a lot of peds on the bridge, and dogs, and cyclists, and skaters, so this meant constant focus on what we were doing. Bump, bump, bump across the seams and around the peds and flower pots and other cyclists.
When we got to the other side, we were faced with a narrow, paved path that was extremely tree-root upheaved, and then some heavy construction. After the construction, we took a break. It was then that we realized that our campground was back on the other side of the bridge! Damn! Diane had seen the sign, but we thought it couldn’t be our turn as we were in Sagle and not in Sandpoint yet.
So . . . we headed back to re-cross the bridge . . . and came to Tim and Kevin on the other side of the construction. They said that they were going to stay in a hotel in Sandpoint (Bill H. was already at it). This riled Rick—who was easily riled—and he announced for the third time on the ride that this was his “last day” of the ride. Nonetheless, he rode the nearly six miles back across the bridge and to the campsite, which was called Springy Point and was indeed way out on a point of land west of Sandpoint.
Rick sulked around in camp until Tracy Jefferies and the Sandpoint, Idaho, F.D rolled up to the campsite in a fire truck, lights blinking and horn blaring. Those on the truck had read Diane’s website. They unfurled a “way to go” banner. I never got the true connection to Diane, but because of Diane, one of the women had lost a lot of weight and had “abs of steel,” which she proudly displayed as she star jumped from the fire truck with Diane.
More importantly (to us) the well-wishers were bearing a huge bucket of Kentucky fried chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits & jam, coleslaw, an assortment of power bars, and drinks. This cheered us all and particularly Rick whose ego was bruised because he was not part of the Kevin, Tim, Bill H. “fast guy” group, but instead stuck with two “oldsters” and Diane, whom he disliked. He grew to dislike me as well, but that’s a story for another day.
Of course all my pix of the banner, fire truck, this boisterous group, and of Diane and Tracy doing a star jump from the fire engine are lost, but I hope to get some from Bill U. who also took pix. (Never did. Bill sent pix but hadn't taken any of this event.)
Tomorrow we have an 82-mile day. . . but no passes methinks. Tune in.
