Day 18 – This is What I Had Hoped For.

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I have spent the last couple weeks telling tales of woe even though I am having the time of my life. I suppose trials and tribulations make for more entertaining stories. And for the most part they do. These are the moments that make you grow or teach you lessons. You don’t embark on a journey because you know everything and you expect to coast and at the end feel accomplished. You go out in the world to see what you don’t know yet. You set off to see if you can make your way.

If you are thinking this is a big build up to a terrible day you could not be further from the truth! Today was as great a day as I could hope for. The type of day you scratch and claw your way through a blast furnace like eastern Washington for.

The heat wave has broken. High today was 87. I had fallen asleep last night at 8:00 with the sun still up. I woke before the sunrise and swiftly repacked my worldly possessions and slipped onto the Trail of the Coeur d’alenes as the sun was just beginning to brighten the waters of the lake I was camped at (it is connected to lake Coeur d’alene but they have a name for every inlet and bay).

The trail is paved and while uphill all day it is only 1%. In other words it is cruiser. I just pedaled my way across and along the lake. Yet another pedestrians only bridge 10 times longer than any vehicle bridge Larimer county maintains.

No one was up except the deer that paid me no mind. I was startled with the beep of every 5 mile split. This was great because 60 miles was the plan.

The first 40 miles of this trail is either by the lake or travels through complex marshes and wetlands teeming with waterfowl.

It was both picture book and fairytale the whole way. I had blown by a marina in the first 10 miles that offered cold drinks and almost regretted it. Then I hit a small campground store and got a soda and candy bar. Yes it was 9:30 but I had 40 miles. The proprietor and his help regaled me with stories of fish in the river nearby (they were all “THIS BIG”) and it was nice to sit on a porch almost done with today’s miles before most people had opened the doors to their slide out campers.

Further down the road an even better surprise.

Yes a moose. Actually five different moose. The cows and calves I did not get close enough to take a picture. I have no intention on being the star of the next viral video of tourists misbehaving around wildlife. It was surreal.

Without realizing it I was in Kellogg. This matters because they have a bike shop. Ever since the “I’m an idiot” incident the rear wheel has been slightly out of true. I needed a mechanic to fix that before it becomes a real problem. The fine folks at CDA bike shop right on the trail welcomed me in, threw Alister on the stand and fixed the wheel in a matter of minutes. Truth be told I had been hustling all morning to make sure I had time to get this done.

These guys are great.

Now with a whole afternoon and only ten miles left what should I do? The folks at the bike shop offered to babysit Alister and told me to try the local brew pub. Seemed like a logical way to add to a perfect day. The bartender at the brewery was bubbly and motherly in an “you should have the wee heavy” while I tell my kids in the corner to finish their summer reading kind of a way.

The beers were great, both of them and the meatball sub was better than it should have been in small town Idaho.

I got back on the trail but not before talking to the lady at the bike shop. She recommended the golf course down the trail a few miles. She said it was just a mile and a half off the trail with a chuckle.

The chuckle was because of the hill. The mile and a half was straight up at 7% the whole way. I feel like that deserved more than a chuckle.

Shoshone golf club is a nine hole track tucked up on the mountain side of the valley. Another good example of what golf should be. It has a nice relaxed feeling clubhouse. They have Red Bull and hotdogs.

The course layout feels like the designers were too cleaver on many of the holes. The opener is exactly what it should be, a firm handshake that welcomes you to the course. After that, distance, elevated and domed greens, water features that protrude too far into the fairway, and doglegs that leave awkward second shots take over and madden the uninitiated. But somehow it works and I am sure the members love bringing friends here to take their money. It is maintained to an acceptable standard save for the collars of the greens (I think they let the new kid have a go at mowing around the greens). My play was great on five of the nine holes. We won’t talk about the other four.

So today was everything I had hoped for. Good miles on an outstanding trail, wildlife, good old boys, bike shop folks, beers, and golf.

I ended at a kitschy motel and absolutely passed out too tired even for dinner. It was a full and perfect day.

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One response to “Day 18 – This is What I Had Hoped For.”

  1. Shayna Jones Avatar
    Shayna Jones

    I love it! Living the dream ❤️