Day 7: Idaho Bound
Starting from the bike hostel near Colville, Amy and I made our way up and down the hills towards Ione. We were mostly rolling through national forest land, and the hills were more or less deserted, giving us some good conversation oppourtunity on the bike. We stopped at a pond for lunch where I ate a triple-decker sardine sandwich. It was salty fishy deliciousness. The pond was still and reminded me of what I imagined Walden Pond to be like. I thought I might have seen a beaver lodge by one corner.
After a brief downhill to Ione we began one of the more tedious sections of the trip so far, 50 miles along the Pend Oreille River. As much as I was enjoying having Amy as a conversation partner, my legs were itching for some speed. I ended up taking off ahead of her then waiting while eating some PB and honey sandwich. Along this stretch we encountered our first couple agressive dogs who would run up to the road from their yards, growling and nipping at panniers and our pedalling legs. A few harsh words and a bit of extra push got us away from each one, though they defintiely got our hearts racing.
Eventually we reached the Idaho border after 90 miles. The weather was great, but our bodies were exhausted so we caved and split a large pizza at a place in Newport.
The pizza was amazing and everything we needed to recharge. We spent the night next to the lake, watching fireworks over the water and talking next to the campfire. The explosions echoed off of each hill individually, making a cascade of thunderous reverberation. The lake was utterly still and while the fire crackled we listened to each other divulge a bit of our lives. It was a bittersweet night because I knew I was going to cover a lot of miles the next day and was going to pass Amy along the way.
Mileage: 92
Day 8: Montana Ho!
I got a late start sleeping in and writing but I was determined to make my 80 mile average. I never ended up seeing her that day.
When I reached Sandpoint I stopped for some of the best pie I’ve ever had. Raspberry crumble and coffee really hit the spot. Here I changed maps to Section 2 and continued on around lake Pend Oreille. The mileage was easy going with fair winds and the lake for scenery.
I pressed on to the Bull Creek campground and spent a night listening to the rain hit the roof of my tent. I had a huge meal, thanksgiving style with instant mashed potatoes, instant stuffing, canned chicken and an entire stick of butter. Real stick-to-your-ribs camp food.
Mileage: 83
Day 9: Second Century, Huzzah!
With no Amy I had the opportunity to cover some big distances. She’s a strong rider no doubt, but starting at 10:00 when I like to rise makes it a bit more difficult to get the mileage in with her pace. I started crushing the miles, really pedalling through the wind and the rain.
The hills were long and low and I was having some mechanical problems with the bike but I couldn’t let it slow me down. I met a man riding 12,000 miles to raise money for hungry veterans although I never got his information. I should have asked but I was going fast and didn’t want to slow down. I asked if Amy had been through and it was only that night that she emailed and said she passed the guy just after I did.
I met a few other travellers on Surly Long Haul Truckers, also on the Northern Tier headed to Boston. They planned to stop in Libby and I had just caught up to them there after I ate my lunch. They were a nice bunch and I would have liked to have stayed in Libby with them but I was really feeling the century that day.
The weather began to clear and soon I was biking along Lake Koocanussa, a reservoir created by Libby Damn. After a bit more mechanical trouble and the rain back, I stopped by the damn and made some tea to perk my spirits.
Riding by the lake was excellent. There were only a handlful of cars the entire time, each giving a wide berth and the miles were flying by. I camped at Peck Gulch for thanksgiving round 2 and rested, enjoying watching the Ospreys hunting for fish and the yellow jackets wrestling with my leftovers. I’ve been very impressed with the generosity of the camp hosts so far. They’re nice, talkative, in Albeni Cove the host gave us a cord of firewood for free. The northern states are full of good people.
Mileage: 103
Andrew Bondesson 