Saturday, May 18, 1996
Day 7
Sandpoint, Idaho
Today's Miles: 0
Cumulative Miles for the Tour: 364
Degree of Difficulty: No Riding, Rest Day
Terrain: Lakes and Forests
Today we took a much needed rest day. Everyone slept in and didn't get up until 7:30am. If you would have told me two weeks ago that I would consider 7:30am "sleeping in", I would have told you that you were nuts. Now, it's just part of the daily cycle of going to bed when the sun goes down and waking as the sun is rising.
Our First Rest Day
breakfast at the campsite in Sandpoint, Idaho
The town of Sandpoint, Idaho is about 6 miles from our campsite. We walked the back roads into town, following the lake and the railroad tracks along the way. The road took us passed a go-cart track, where Adam, Ken, Paul and I paid our $3.50 to maul each other around the track for 5 minutes. Jeremy, the proprietor of the track for the day, was intrigued with the Bike America Tour and expressed an interest in joining us next year.
We finished our walk into Sandpoint, where they were having their annual "Back to the 50's" car show. The place was packed. Ken and I went and got the film developed of the shots that were taken this tour. I'm going to try and get the best ones scanned and put them on the site. Keep your eyes out for them.Paul left us today. He's taking the train back to Seattle to meet his girlfriend and see the country by car. He's going to keep in touch and maybe meet us in Washington DC.Tomorrow a big day. It will be the first time we have ridden over 100 miles in a single day. It will be the longest ride I have ever taken, so tune back in and I'll fill you in on the details.
Paul's going away picture
This is Joann, the assistant cook and chief bottle washer. It's interesting to cruise into a new town each day, seek a grocery store and wander up and down aisles to find ingredients for that night's dinner. We try to keep in mind that cycling builds appetites although our merry band of bicyclers seems to find numerous places to stop along the way for refreshments. Last night, Lee prepared Sand Point Spaghetti. Delicious!
Ken wangled a recipe for bean gumbo out of a cafe owner in TumTum, Washington, and we are going to try that some night soon. Ken says he'll make it and all the rest of us are surely looking forward to eating it.Joann Blair
"Lil" Adam
outside the movie theater in Sandpoint
It was a great week and I'm thankful for a day off the bike. We decided to stretch our legs and walk into Sandpoint from our KOA campground, about six miles into town. It's true what they say about exercise being use specific. After 300 miles on the bike, feeling stronger every day, the walk of six miles made my legs tired quickly, and I stiffened up more than usual after sitting forty-five minutes at lunch.
The walk took us through some nice farmland along the railroad tracks for the better part of 3 miles, then we wound back highway 95, the main north-south route through Idaho, which from that point for the next few miles into town has a dedicated bike trail beside it, which is two full vehicle lanes wide for the two miles of the causeway over Pend Orielle Lake into Sandpoint.Just before the causeway, the others decided to stop at a go-cart track and try a little spin, but I continued feeling the dual pulls of my appetite and my bladder. The solitary walk across the causeway, with water on either side and snowy topped mountains in the distance beyond as well as on the distant horizon straight ahead was breathtaking. The ominous black cloud rushing towards me from behind equally inspiring.I haven't been taking that may photos so far, but today I caught up a little, including a vintage Santa Fe diesel locomotive coming up the track for my nephew Jacob. I also caught a great shot of a snake crossing the tracks for Adam Iobst, in case he doesn't see any during the ride.I left the bikeway and walked along the rails for about a half mile hoping to capture another train with the mountains in the distance. No such luck. I got to the end of the bikeway before a train came along.The first business I came across was Espresso d'Roma. I spoke to Sam and discovered she comes from Tuckerton, NJ not far from Long Beach Island, and owns property in Upper Jay, NY, deep in the Adirondacks. I spent a weekend last summer on L.B.I., and a week not far from Upper Jay at Lake Titus. (Thanks Sarah) As we were chatting, a train finally came by, of course, but too late for me to photo.With a week behind me I'd like to let my friends know I'm doing great. Welcome home mom and dad. Hi to Jacob, Emma, Joshua and Adam. Thanks to Sarah and Dr. Sue for helping get my body ready for this -- I'm beginning to think I'm gonna make it! Cards are written and in the mail. Email me and let me know you're out there.Enough for today...Lee Smith
Bike America Tours
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