Spokane and Sandpoint

Day 05

This was an off day.   We got to Spokane at the end of the ride from Odessa and were setup at one of the dorms at Gonzaga University.   Had some bike issues to deal with and I headed to a local shop and they took care of it straight away.  Then dinner in the Gonzaga cafeteria.  Several of us went out to buy beer and bring it back to the dorm.    Since it's a Catholic university, we tried very hard to collect all of our bottles and caps and whatnot and keep it cleaned up ( sorta like hiding stuff in high school ).

Bing was a Zaggie !

The next morning we did a bike wash on the lawn outside of the dorm, and attended to chores.  I got to see the biggest Red Flyer wagon in the world, and also looked at the Spokane Falls.    There is a dam and some rapids there that make a great tourist destination.  Breakfast was at Wolfie's with some really great eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy.   Steve, Rick and I had supper at Wolfie's again, with shakes, burgers and fries, and it hit the spot.   Was great to have an off day and just hang around.   Even wandered downstairs and caught 10 minutes of an old Seinfeld episode.

Hanging Out at the Dorm

One sad thing.  Molly needed to go back to Seattle to get her thumb worked on.  She had a hard fall on Day 01, and has been riding bandaged up.   The docs here in Spokane said she needed to get some surgery on it, and she needed to go back to Seattle for that.  She is planning to rejoin the Big Ride in Billings, and we all hope to see her back with us.  Love you Molly !

Day 06

Back on the road this morning to Sandpoint, ID.  We breakfasted at Gonzaga again, and the ladies in the cafeteria heard that we were going to DC, and were doing 70 miles today.  They seemed genuinely impressed.

As we headed up State 2 on our way to Newport, a deer ran across our path and the path of a car in the outside lane.   Rick decided that he didn't want to be in front any longer and then we separated out and some of us really picked up speed and rolled along at 22 mph or so to our first Checkpoint.  It felt really good.

Todd and I ran across a couple who are touring the country on their bicycles.  They are from Tucson and have been on the road for 3 1/2 years.   Wish I could remember their names.

More rain, and we rolled into Newport, as is was beginning to thunder pretty closely.  Newport was having a rodeo parade and we caught a little bit of that.   Doron and Steve went to Kelley's Saloon and I followed and had a really great cheeseburger.   The place was full of motorcyclists.  Apparently they used to have a room with a tame bear in it, and when a drunk got particularly belligerent they would put him in that room.  It had a big bar that had traveled around the Cape, and then from Seattle to Newport in a 3 month trip.  

Corolis Steam Engine behind me

We watched a bit of the rodeo parade, and then set off for Sandpoint, ID about 30 miles away and got our first state crossing of the trip.  There are several more to come.   Got ourselves setup at the SouthWest Athletic Center.   Doron, Steve, Rob and I are blogging ourselves, and some of the others have hit the pool.   This is like summer camp !

IDAHO State Line  WooHoo !