August 1, 2023
Day 81 Thompson Falls MT to Hope ID
Today was a great ride for many reasons. First of all, there was no significant headwind! Secondly, I ran into Nancy Graham who is a member of cycleblaze!
I left the campground around 7:15, wearing multiple layers as the temperature felt to be in the forties. Even wearing Irene’s fleece-lined leather gloves, my hands were cold. I relished any sun that would fall on me. I cut across Birdland Bay Road to get to HWY 200.
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The ride to Trout Creek was peaceful. I stopped for hot chocolate in Trout Creek but found none so I settled for a second cup of coffee to warm my hands. I even found a Breakfast Cookie; these are made in Bellingham WA and pack a lot of calories, something like 400. Just what I need. Properly warmed up, I continued down the road and was passed by a van with a bike rack on the back and a safety triangle hanging from the rack. I thought to myself “These people are my kind of people”. Just then, the van pulled over and two people got out and, as I approached, yelled “Are you Sandy?” I was so shocked, out here in the middle of nowhere, for someone to know my name. It turns out it was Nancy Graham who is a member of CycleBlaze and is following my journal. She and Susan have been on a trip to Minnesota and are returning to the Seattle area. They too have been traveling route 200 and Nancy knew from my journal that I was also. So we met on the side of the road. How cool is that?
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9 months ago
I will say that this part of Montana is much more verdant and the Clark Fork River became more beautiful.
The road was rolling, so lots of small , manageable climbs. Peter and Henry passed me and pulled over so I could greet Henry then Henry will drink water. Peter took a photo of this hitchhiker on my helmet:
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Robber fly. They are pretty good at eating pests.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asilidae
9 months ago
Thanks for all the great nature shots. That robber fly is particularly nice.
9 months ago
9 months ago
My youngest daughter has the potential, but not me.
I'm noticing that now I am losing what little I had. Without the internet to dig around in, I would not be much. Like I told the kids back in the late 80s on a backpacking trip, "In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king." -Because I knew a few wild edibles like blueberries, dandelions and nettles.-
If only I could remember a small percentage of what I look up, I might qualify to act as a Prof, but the old CPU is full and the RAM can't even keep up. Anyone got a spare lightly used brain?
9 months ago
About an hour later, I caught up to them again at the state line where they were waiting. There was another RV there which apparently had broken down. So Peter gave the man a ride into town. In all the excitement, I forgot to take a photo of the “Welcome to Idaho” sign. Luckily, down the road I was given a second chance.
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The shoulder mostly disappeared at the state line until Clark Fork then returned all the way to Hope. Our campground is on a little peninsula on Lake Pend Oreille. I can’t wait to go swimming tomorrow. Today was a great day on the bike!
Today's ride: 65 miles (105 km)
Total: 3,063 miles (4,929 km)
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