The Middle of the Northern Tier 2018

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2796470971?share_unique_id=68 Short day today.  After a night of rain, we packed up and headed to our destination in Sandpoint, ID.  It was a beautiful ride in along the shores of Lake Ponderay. We arrived at the motel by 11 am.  Derald is taking apart his bike and we are awaiting the arrival of our ride home, Julie. Our total for the ride is 1877 miles.  We averaged over 60 miles a day, met a lot of nice folks, got in a lot of exercise, lost a few pounds and had a wonderful time.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2796453502?share_unique_id=60 Today was a beautiful ride of 63 miles.  About 11 miles into the ride we passes Kootenai Falls.  This was the falls that Leonardo DiCaprio floated down in the movie Revenant. Next we rode down the Bull river valley.  The wind was negligible, traffic light, roads good, climbing moderate and scenery fantastic.  I can't remember a more beautiful place to ride. We topped off the day entering the state of Idaho.  Our initial plan was to ride to Whitefish, MT.  We have exceeded our goal by getting to Idaho. 

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2792199162?share_unique_id=56 Another 70 mile day today. The weather was good, the road was wonderful and the traffic was minimal.  We cycled along a beautiful lake for most of the day.  It was actually a reservoir created by the Libby Dam.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2789729154?share_unique_id=54 With only 50 miles to ride today, we slept in until 6:30 a.m. . We started the ride through the beautiful countryside surrounding Whitefish Montana. We passed beautiful homes nestled in the valleys and horses grazing in the pasture. After 15 miles or so, we rejoined Highway 93 with the lumber trucks, fuel trucks, RV's and grain trucks and headed north towards Eureka. It was a nice ride, but a slight headwind in addition to the traffic, kept us from enjoying the forward progress we were expecting. Despite the headwind, we did get a slight rest day with only 4 and 1/2 hours of cycling, compared to the normal 6 plus. We arrived at our campsite, the Town Campground in Eureka, at about 2:30 p.m. . We were happy to arrive then, because the showers are only open until 4 p.m. Derald had a tough day, also.  I took a photo of him journaling/sleeping.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2787370813?share_unique_id=52 For the first time in the trip, we woke up to rain. It was a big day for us, cycling nearly 87 miles and crossing the Continental Divide. It had to be done in the rain and with rain gear. Despite the adversity, the day went very well. We were assisted, buy a nice tail wind and a drop of over 4000 feet. We arrived in Whitefish by 4 p.m. after putting in I nearly 7 hour day of cycling. We cycled around the southern border of Glacier National Park. We were treated to many beautiful views, despite the low clouds and rain. We stopped for second breakfast at the Izaak Walton Hotel. We learn that this was a very famous railroad stop, and to this day Amtrak stops there. Whitefish, was like being back in the city. There were brew pubs, coffee shops, good restaurants and a natural food store. We took advantage of all these amenities including a motel for the night.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2784977479?share_unique_id=50 Another 70 mile day today, assisted by a nice tailwind and a big finish.  The arrival in Glacier National Park was a highlight of the day.  After nearly 1600 miles, we have gone from the prairie to the mountains. Tomorrow we go over the continental divide at Marias Pass.  Our first choice would have been Going to the sun road, but it is buried in feet of snow for at least another two weeks.  It is a good reason to come back.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2782229226?share_unique_id=48 After a good night sleep, we're up early and hit the road. Today's weather forecast called for indirect tailwinds and the high probability of rain. The winds were not exactly a tail wind, but definitely were not a headwind. We packed our rain gear on the top of our bags so we could get to it quickly. After a stop in the town of Chester, and Spud's Cafe, we continued on. The big challenge today was 9 miles of road construction. The road had been dug up and it was 9 miles of loose gravel in dirt. We were very lucky that the rain held off and the wind came around to our backs. We sailed through the construction zone with few problems and then into the town of Shelby. Because of the forecast of rain we decided to stay in a motel. We are in a brand new Best Western and enjoying the luxury of a hot tub, pool and pillow topped bed. Our progress to date, has brought us over 1500 miles. Tomorrow we anticipa...