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| Safeway (Official Start) |
I slept for two hours on trail-side, pine needles, covering them with my hammock. I stayed pretty warm with my quilt over the top. A hotel would have been nice, but I didn’t want to pay the cost for just a couple of hours of sleep. I didn’t commit to setting up my tent, or sleeping pad for that matter, due to the short duration of time I had before the sun came up.
After decent sleep, I shook the small greenish insects from my gear and pedaled in the direction of Cheveron.
The minimart provided water. A local Safeway, food. Outside of the store, I sat down and had breakfast and fine-tuned my bike. The Safeway sidewalk was the official launching pad for this summer’s ride - very glamorous.
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| SR 200 |
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| SR 200 |
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| SR 200 - Lake Pend Oreille |
Pedaling around Lake Pend Oreille on SR 200 was decent, but there was more traffic than is enjoyable. On a positive note, the road was solid and the drivers courteous.
My Adventure Cycling map put me on Denton Road (which parallels 200) and offered reprieve from noise. There was hardly anyone on the stretch. My cell coverage was good, and I was able to talk with Beth for a bit before my phone started getting choppy. Bluetooth headphones are a must.
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| Library - Clark Fork |
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| Library - Relaxation Zone |
Midday, I stopped off at Clark Fork Library for an extended period of time. I finished a blog post, read in my book “The Year of the Flood” and talked to Anders about improvements on our collaborative community tree site.
A man from the UK posted a tree recently, a first for us. Anders has also programmed in the ability for users to award other users with hearts purchased with Algos (Algorand cryptocurrency). This was a genius move. I’m interested in how this develops further.
Note: If you are interested in documenting and caring for trees in your community, consider visiting comTree.org. This is a very grassroots effort - patience…
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| Library - Lawnmower Man in the Distance (Stopsign) |
Note: A library patron in Clark Fork arrived on a riding lawnmower. He wasn’t wearing ear protection.
Around four o’clock, I cycled out into the heat. I’m able to carry three liters of water on my front fork, so, with my other frame water bottles, the pressure to keep hydrated is off. Adding the cages to the front is turning out to be a really good move for this trip.
As I’ve mentioned before, cycling in the evening is, really, my favorite time to pedal.
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| Crossing Clark Fork |
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| Open Country - Montana |
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| Bear Posting 🐻 |
Around seven-thirty, riding on SR 200, I spotted a little low point on Clark Fork that I thought would work for a campsite. I pedaled past it a bit, then left the road where I saw an entrance point into the woods. I worked my way in with the bike, scouted the area and found a perfect (secluded) spot to set up my tent. I locked my cycle to a tree, set up my tent, then skinny dipped Clark Fork.
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| Clark Fork - Dipping Spot |
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| Clark Fork - Freecamp |
I will have to say that swimming and bathing at the end of a long cycling day is an experience that I never get tired of. On this occasion, only one boat passed by when I was in action with the bar soap. Out of respect, I waded waist deep. I regret not waving.
After drying off, I had dinner on the bank, watching trains pass on the other side of Clark Fork.
In my tent, I was able to call mom and Beth, a perfect end to the day.
Note: Community watch signs were everywhere in Idaho, where it in the middle of nowhere.
Note: I’m cycling across Montana now; it’s big country.
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| Distance Covered |
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| Camp 🏕 |
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