2015-07-25 - ID - Days 59 to 60 - Libby to Sandpoint and Rest Day
After getting ready and meeting up at McDonalds for hashbrowns and breakfast sandwiches, we had a late start. Bridget, Kaylan, and Libby went back to camp together to get Bridget's jacket as Reed and I rode on. About ten miles in Reed got a flat, allowing Alex and Nils to catch up to us. We traveled together to the Kootenai Falls parking lot and took a hike to see the falls and swinging bridge. My thoughts traveled back to Niagara. Kootenai was less magnificent but more wild.
It was another fourteen miles or so to rest stop 1. Along the way, I helped retrieve the pair of sunglasses Nils had dropped and we passed by a dead deer.
I dropped back after a while to go at my own pace. I stopped to admire a deer, far enough away from me that it was more curious than scared. Having adjusted to my presence, it calmly bent down to graze, but whenever I moved it raised its head to stare at me -- typical prey animal behavior, eyes scanning for movement on all sides. Eventually, it shrieked and bounced away.
I reached rest stop 1, where I had a few snacks. I left with a group of riders but dropped back to ride alone. I listened to music and "Criminal" podcasts and saw a heron fly from the marshes about five miles from a town of the same name. I arrived at rest stop 1 while others were leaving. I had something to eat and waited out the rain before leaving. Before long, I left the Treasure State to enter the Gem State (Idaho). I passed by rock quarries as the Kootenai National Forest gave way to the Idaho Panhandle National Forest.
I dropped back after a while to go at my own pace. I stopped to admire a deer, far enough away from me that it was more curious than scared. Having adjusted to my presence, it calmly bent down to graze, but whenever I moved it raised its head to stare at me -- typical prey animal behavior, eyes scanning for movement on all sides. Eventually, it shrieked and bounced away.
I reached rest stop 1, where I had a few snacks. I left with a group of riders but dropped back to ride alone. I listened to music and "Criminal" podcasts and saw a heron fly from the marshes about five miles from a town of the same name. I arrived at rest stop 1 while others were leaving. I had something to eat and waited out the rain before leaving. Before long, I left the Treasure State to enter the Gem State (Idaho). I passed by rock quarries as the Kootenai National Forest gave way to the Idaho Panhandle National Forest.
The rain started again and grew heavy and I was freezing. I stopped in Clark Fork to wait out the worst of it while I ate an early dinner. After the rain stopped, I found a laundromat and indulged in a warm, eight-minute shower for four quarters and then hid in the bathroom wearing just my boxers as I dried the rest of my clothes. By then it was 7 PM. I realized that the sun would go down by 9 PM now that I was in a new time zone. Warm and feeling much better, I tried to cover as many miles as I could before sunset. At one point, a heron was gliding beside me across the surface of a lake, and later, a flock of migratory geese flew overhead.
By 8:30 PM, the sun had disappeared behind the mountains. At 8:50 I stopped briefly to answer the call of nature and check my phone. By 9:00 I couldn't see the gravel in front of me. At 9:15, I stopped at a gas station to check the route and regroup -- Just over five miles to go. The woman inside won a $1000 lottery, and when I walked up to pay for my large hot chocolate, the cashier waived the fee. I think the morning drinks are free that late at night. By 9:30 PM, it was as dark as it was ever going to get.
I cycled onward, half on bike paths that meant less worry about biker-unfriendly terrain like potholes. The high-pitched laughter of an unseen child walking with his family somewhere beside me caught me by surprise and might have been the scariest thing all trip. As I got into Sandpoint, the street lights made things better. A mile out, Ayhson called to check up on me, and I finally finished around 10:00 at the Sandpoint West Athletic Club. Sleeping on the warm floor, far from rain and close to a fully-functional bathroom complete with hot showers, seemed like the peak of luxury. I fell asleep with my pants covering my eyes, blocking out the light.
By 8:30 PM, the sun had disappeared behind the mountains. At 8:50 I stopped briefly to answer the call of nature and check my phone. By 9:00 I couldn't see the gravel in front of me. At 9:15, I stopped at a gas station to check the route and regroup -- Just over five miles to go. The woman inside won a $1000 lottery, and when I walked up to pay for my large hot chocolate, the cashier waived the fee. I think the morning drinks are free that late at night. By 9:30 PM, it was as dark as it was ever going to get.
I cycled onward, half on bike paths that meant less worry about biker-unfriendly terrain like potholes. The high-pitched laughter of an unseen child walking with his family somewhere beside me caught me by surprise and might have been the scariest thing all trip. As I got into Sandpoint, the street lights made things better. A mile out, Ayhson called to check up on me, and I finally finished around 10:00 at the Sandpoint West Athletic Club. Sleeping on the warm floor, far from rain and close to a fully-functional bathroom complete with hot showers, seemed like the peak of luxury. I fell asleep with my pants covering my eyes, blocking out the light.
On the rest day, more and more people picked up the stomach bug spreading through my group. Mike went to the hospital to get checked out where he was given an IV and some pills. I started feeling bad and ended up vomiting up more than I have ever done in my life. Mike's pill helped me fall asleep but around 1:00 AM in the morning, I woke up with a cold sweat and a fever. I threw up some more in the bathroom before falling asleep again.