Day 4, out of Washington

Another modest day: 86 miles in 5:05, just 17.0mph or so for an average, but we’re happy with a modest day so long as it’s sunny, not too warm (armwarmers and vest to begin) and full of beautiful scenery. We started out in Spokane and had to ride right through the city center on downtown roads before escaping the traffic through 5 miles of strip malls into the countryside, headed at first north and then due east. For the rest of the ride it was all trees and hills, not mountains in size, but with the hard angles and edges of a mountain range. The route was on Rt 2 to the town of Priest River where we crossed over the Pend Oreille river and then paralleled Rt 2 on the opposite side of the water, a quieter route with a pair of Golden Eagles and nesting Osprey to boot. Into Sandpoint at just after 2pm for getting organized and fixing a slow leak in my back tire.

The big milestone of the day: we crossed our first state line. Out of Washington, into Idaho. More generally we’re now out of our comfort zone and into the wilds beyond, dependent on route maps and the occasional painted arrow on the roadway with a “P” next to it which signals a turn for us to take. For me this transition actually happened on the first day when we crossed the Cascade range which had loomed like a fortress wall to the east of Seattle in the clear, sunny days that led up to departure with Mt Baker to the north and Mt Rainier to the south as watchtowers on each end. Tom didn’t think much of the Cascades or really the ride from Wenatchee since he has lots of experience riding there, but now we’re both in terra incognito. New states, new roads, and new surroundings. From Douglas Firs and ferns around Seattle we’ve crossed Sage Brush prairies, wheat fields, the occasional marsh, cattle grazing fields where the hillocks collapse on one side into a pile of basalt rubble, then the occasional Ponderosa Pine popping up and 10 miles past Spokane we’re into a forest. Not just Ponderosa Pines, or Lodgepole and Western White Pines, but also Englemann Spruce, Western Hemlocks, and Western Redcedar, hundreds of shades of green across a hillside. If you want the simple version, we’re in the woods, the logging trucks pass by and leave a snort full of pine tar in our nose. We’ll be here I think for at least 3 more days.

Dinner last night was with Tom’s friend John at the Ale House in downtown Spokane, where the highlight was John thoughtfully (and subtlety) ordering a 2^nd dessert for Tom and I which we promptly devoured as with anything else put before us. And last thought: JFGI. JFGI is how to figure out the actual facts of a question or discussion, we use it not infrequently. J= just, G= Google, and I = it, will leave the "F" to you.

No road kill today.