September 17, 2021
A Frantic Bike Ride To Make Up For A Wrong Turn
Sandpoint, Idaho
Good grief it got cold last night. I think it was less than 40-degrees (F). I slept with every piece of warm clothing I had, including my wool cap and long pants. When I emerged from my tent at 7:00 I added a pair of gloves to make my breakfast--two cups of coffee.
An hour later the sun was higher in the sky, but it didn't feel any warmer. So I began my hike fully dressed. I saw such wonderful things. The first thing was a crow going nuts with his caw caw cawing. Next were some jive turkeys. I saw some unusual plants too. I'll show short videos and pictures of all those things, and then another video of the spectacular "Earring" Lake.
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2 years ago
It was a great hike, but with all that clothing I was sweating heavily within a half-hour. I shed three layers before I got back to my campsite.
I wasn't in any hurry to pack up. I lounged around, wrote in my notebook like I always do, and tried to plan for the next couple of days. The weather forecasters are predicting two all-day rains and colder than normal temperatures. That sounds a little scary, but when I looked a little closer at the predicted rainfall amounts I wasn't left in awe. One inch of rain over two days? I've ridden through that in two hours in my home state. The high temperatures of 50-degrees don't sound all that inviting though.
Eventually, I had to load my stuff onto The Reckless Mr. Bingbong and move on. The first item on my agenda was to check in on the Frisbee (Disc) Golf Tournament.
I was amazed. The parking lot had at least a hundred cars. There were disc golfers on every hole, some of which were in open areas, others were in the woods. The competitors who had not yet teed off were doing stretching exercises or practicing on the Frisbee equivalent of putting greens and driving ranges.
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It was time to get on the road. I wanted to get to Sandpoint before the rain, but I also wanted to take an alternate route down to the resort town of Bayview instead of riding back to Athol.
Bayview reminded me of a Maine seaport town. It had the coastline surrounded by mountains. It had a beach. It had quaint restaurants and gift shops. It had a dock full of nice boats. It even had a well-secured U.S. Navy research station.
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2 years ago
2 years ago
I pedaled steeply out of Bayview and followed the road to a crucial intersection. My phone was no help because I had no reception down there. I love paper maps, but after making the wrong guess at that intersection, I am willing to admit that paper maps are not ALWAYS the best source.
After pedaling up and down a bunch of hills for at least ten miles, I found myself back at the entrance to Farragut State Park. I will not repeat the swear words I used upon that discovery.
Thank goodness I'm a positive thinker. I believed I could ride extra hard up Highway 95 and make up the time. I did pretty good too, until a nasty road construction zone on a one-mile climb with non-stop traffic buzzing by my left shoulder, followed by a one-mile descent, also with non-stop traffic buzzing by my left shoulder.
After that ordeal, I really did ride extra hard on a mostly flat Highway 95 into Sandpoint. I only made a couple of stops to drink some water and eat some beef jerky, and to take a couple of pictures.
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After the picture of Lake Cocacolalalla, I pedaled twelve miles without a stop. I saw rain clouds up ahead. I even felt a few sprinkles along the way. I needed to get to Sandpoint and find a motel room.
However, I did stop for one more photo shoot. Have you ever seen a wider bike trail than this one leading across Lake Pend Oreille into Sandpoint. I haven't.
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2 years ago
2 years ago
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In the safety of my Sandpoint hotel room, which I was lucky to get, I've been trying to catch up on my journal and to figure out what to do for the next two rainy days. One thing I know for sure is that I can't stay here for another night. This hotel and most of the entire town is booked up for Sandpoint Songfest (a music festival featuring local and nationally famous singer/songwriters), a youth soccer tournament, and some kind of ATV event.
Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 393 miles (632 km)
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AFAIK the free Ridewith GPS does not need a phone signal to work as it gets its data from satelites. The maps are unlikely to show where the nearest coffee shop or your hotel is but if you just want a map to check your position it is a useful tool.
2 years ago
2 years ago
2 years ago
You need internet to download the ap to your device but once you have it it works just like a Garmin or similar devices.
As Bob wrote the free version will record where you have been and show your current position on the map so you don't take a wrong turn.
Mike
2 years ago
2 years ago
2 years ago
TP due to its soft,tough, absorbent leaves performing the service so well.
2 years ago