Trail of the Coeur d'Alene

September 10, 2016
58 miles

Our day started out cold (48 degrees) but we shouldn't expect otherwise since we are pretty far north. By 10 a.m., the temperature had risen to the low 60's. I dressed in many layers, wore my full fingered gloves, and earmuffs and was very comfortable. We are staying in Harrison, Idaho and our cabin is right on Lake Coeur d'Alene. In this section, the trail runs right beside the lake and is basically right out our front door. The only problem is the path down to the trail is very steep so we ride into town where there is a road going right down to the trail. Since we are staying along the trail and not at one end or the other, we decided that we would do two rides today; one to the NE, and later, another ride to the SW.  

The views are breathtaking! It is so crisp and clear. Smelling the pine-scented air was invigorating. We made many stops to enjoy the scenery. Each time we stopped I would shed an article of clothing as it was quickly warming up. We rode until lunch time, found a picnic table at a trailhead and enjoyed eating our lunch outside. On the way back to Harrison we spotted a young moose out in a swampy area. We looked for the parents but never spotted them.

Arriving back in Harrison we decided to spend a few hours resting before biking down the trail in the other direction. We discovered that there was a classic car show going on. Clay and Tom went looking at the cars and Susan and I went shopping. All were happy!

We started our second biking trip today just after 4 p.m. and it was 80 degrees. By this time, I was in shorts and a sleeveless jersey. Hard to believe that this morning I was dressed for cold weather. Biking the trail in the SW direction we stayed right along the lake. More beautiful views! What a perfect day it has been. Tomorrow we head to Montana and colder weather. I may be wearing ALL my biking clothes to stay warm!

Chehalis Western Trail, Washington

September 8, 2016
43 miles

We got an early start this morning. Left Beaverton, Oregon by 8 a.m. and got in Portland rush hour traffic. I would sure hate to deal with that every morning. I can see now why so many people in Portland ride a bicycle! Our drive to Lacey, Washington was a short commute, about 2.5 hours. We were able to check into the VRBO early. Our plan was to unload our luggage and then start our bike ride. Everything was going as planned until it was time to air up the bike tires. Apparently, Tom has issues with tire pumps. He likes to break them! And, unfortunately, it happened today. (Sorry Paul, you'll be getting a new pump). So by the time we replaced the pump and ate lunch it wasn't until 1:15 that we actually started riding. This is two days in a row now that we've had issues that have delayed us. Hope we aren't setting a precedent here.

The trail today was very nice. It was extra wide and overall the trail was pretty flat, with a few exceptions. Both yesterday and today were basically the same distance but today we averaged 2 mph faster than yesterday. Hills will do that to you! Just like yesterday's trail, today there were lots of trees, shrubs, ferns, bushes, etc. that we enjoyed as we rode. I don't know why but I am very enthralled with all the ferns. We did have a little mishap today. We ran over a snake. Clay tried to avoid it but, unfortunately, it was impossible and the snake did not survive. Tomorrow is a travel day which will probably be good. A few of us are suffering from blisters and leg cramps so I think we need a day of rest!

 North end of the Trail

 Lots of Blackberry Bushes, Clay enjoying a snack.

 Bicycle Roundabout

 Have you seen this commercial? Well, it happened to me!

Toward the end of the ride, enjoying the scenery and weather.

Banks Vernonia Trail, Oregon

September 7, 2016
43 miles

 Car Trouble

Today didn't start out as planned. We were all loaded and ready to leave for our ride when the car wouldn't start. So, 2 hours and a new battery later we were on our way. Despite starting out with problems it turned out to be a wonderful day and this is one of the best trails I have ridden.

 Happy People

This trail starts in Banks, Oregon and goes to Vernonia, Oregon, approximately 21 miles. That means if we want to ride the whole trail we go all the way to Vernonia and then back to Banks, making it a 43 mile ride. Even though we got a later than expected start we still had plenty of time to bike the whole thing. Today we packed a lunch to eat somewhere along the trail. We found a lovely picnic spot and enjoyed eating al fresco.

 Great Advice

From Banks the trail gradually climbs and then there is a steep grade down, you cross a road, and then there is an 11% switchback climb back up the other side. We did take this signs advice and walk with our bike. Since the tandem is longer than a regular bike it makes going through the switchbacks very harrowing and the stoker (me) wanted to walk, and remember, it's the captains (Clay) job to make the stoker happy.

Below are some pictures taken on the trail today. It was very beautiful, therefore, I took lots of pictures. Here are a few of my favorites.

 Trees 

(I thought they were pretty so I had to get a picture)

 Tree Canopy with Fern Ground Cover

Buxton Trestle

(700-foot long, 80-foot high)

Perfect Picnic Day

Boise River Greenbelt, Boise, Idaho

September 5, 2016
21 miles

Woke up this morning and it was 45 degrees. That is way too cold for me to be biking, so while we were waiting for it to warm up, we took a tour of the Old Idaho Penitentiary. We had a great tour with a very informative guide. It was a very interesting tour!

After lunch it had warmed up and was in the 60's, warm enough to ride the bike, and we were ready. After driving 4 days and 1700 miles we were anxious to be pedaling instead of sitting in a car! We started out at Baggley Park and took the customary selfie before riding.

Boise has a great trail system that runs along Boise River through neighborhoods, parks, Boise State University and the downtown area. One thing we couldn't help notice was how bumpy the trail is. My bicycle seat broke before leaving on our trip and I didn't have time to replace it. We used a seat off of one of our hybrid bikes, which is a little larger and softer, to replace the broken one. I was very thankful today to have that softer seat, it absorbed a lot of the trail shock from all those bumps! Interesting note: on the local news this evening they spoke about the bumpy trails. It was announced that they have the funds now to resurface the trails. AMEN to that!

As we were biking along the river South of town, I heard a bird squawking. I could tell that it was a larger bird and coming from somewhere above me. I started scanning the trees to see if I could locate the bird. I spotted a cell tower close to the trail and on the top was an eagle's nest with the eagle in it. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a picture but it was so exciting to see! Even though the day started out so cold it turned out to be a very delightful day! I hope the rest of our biking days will be as nice.

Dog Days of August

I'm sitting on the back porch watching the hummingbirds while writing my blog. It is a very pleasant day for August and in the shade it is heavenly!

What a busy summer it's been. We have been riding the trails around here but really nothing noteworthy to write about. Clay and I have ridden 800 miles so far this year which I feel is good considering how rainy it has been this summer, two new grand babies, visitors and a couple of vacations. We have been getting out and riding in the mornings before it gets too hot. We usually end up at Subway for a salad or sandwich before going home.

Photo from the MCT Heritage Trail

Today we rode 31 miles down through Glen Carbon and then out toward Marine. East of Interstate 55 we passed 3 people riding horses on the trail. This is the first time that has ever happened. The trail out that way had lots of twigs, leaves and other debris strewn all over the trail. Several times we hit twigs big enough that it bounced me off of my seat. Because of the tree canopy and the shade it was hard for Clay to see and miss those things. Clay said that whoever mowed along the trail recently mowed the wrong direction and it threw everything up on the trail instead of back in the trees.

I have been nervous about crashing lately. It is a combination of a friend's recent crash on the trails here, the horrible crash of the Dutch cyclist, Annemiek van Vleuten, at the Rio Olympics and just the concern about getting hurt before our upcoming biking trip. Clay has been really understanding when I have expressed my nervousness while out biking and has adjusted our speed at intersections and/or curves in the trails! Thanks dear, you're a Great captain!

This time next month we will be in the Northwest adding 5 more states to our quest to ride in every state. Susan & Tom, my sister and brother-in-law, are joining us again in our adventure. Here are the trails we plan to ride:

Banks - Vernonia State Trail - Oregon

Boise River Greenbelt - Idaho

Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes -Idaho

Chehalis Western Trail - Washington 

Great Northern Historical Trail - Montana

Grand Teton Multi-Use Trail - Wyoming

Looking forward to seeing the beautiful Northwest and praying we'll have good weather and safe travels.

Ode to the Tandem

May 2016

Ode to the Tandem

by Clay Burkholder

Day after day you stood on that display, beckoning a pair of riders to take you away.

One of us was gung-ho, the other one not so much so.

A vacation ride on one like you, was the trick to make the other willing too.

So began the many travels, with hopes the marriage wouldn't unravel.

But through miles and miles and fifteen years, sore bottoms and a crash didn't bring tears.

You've carried us to places with beautiful sights, spurring conversations but never a fight.

We look forward to fifteen more, if one of us doesn't wear out before.

May was the anniversary month for buying the tandem. So, happy 15 years to our bike! It is hard to believe that we've had it for almost half of our marriage. We have had lots of adventures (retracing my Great Great Grandfather's move West), taken lots of silly pictures (see 10-3-2012 post), benefitted tremendously health wise, and seen so much more of our great country from the seat of our bike instead of behind the dashboard of a car! I'm looking forward to many more years being the stoker on the back seat of the Cannondale!

Recent ride on Madison County Trails

Tunnel Hill State Trail, Illinois

September 7, 2015

41 miles

On the spur of the moment we decided to drive south a few hours and ride the Tunnel Hill State Trail. This section is located in the Shawnee National Forest. We started in Vienna, Illinois and rode uphill 9 miles before reaching the Tunnel. It was originally 800 feet long but in 1929 a portion collapsed now making it 534 feet. After going through the tunnel we enjoyed an up and down ride to the small town of Stonefort. The trail map indicated that there was food there but we couldn't find any. Our plan had been to eat lunch there before making our return ride back to Vienna. Thank goodness that we had a huge breakfast this morning at Country Schemes Bed & Breakfast!

 View coming up to the tunnel from the South

View looking South from the tunnel

It was hot and humid, and even with the tree cover, we were still glad that we had gotten an early start and had finished before the hottest part of the day. 

Random thoughts as I rode through the tunnel:

*Ahhh, the coolness feels wonderful!

*I sure hope there isn't an earthquake while we are in here.

*Maybe we should have gotten off and walked. (I had the strangest feeling while in there, almost like vertigo)

*Why did I leave my sunglasses on. I actually reached up and tried to remove them but, of course, they weren't there!

Our hostess from the Bed & Breakfast was actually one of the people in this area that got this trail started. It was very interesting to talk to her about it and what she had to do to get it going. Thanks Norma, your trail is a great asset to the area!