The Gritty-Town Traveling Bicycle Show

We have been wanting to get out and enjoy some of our surrounding nature and do some things we haven't done before.

Today we joined nine members from church for a bike ride on the first portion of the
"Trail of the Coeur d'Alene's"

We started in Plummer, Idaho and rode 15 and a half miles to Harrison on Lake Coeur d'Alene. We had lunch and then rode the same trail 27 and a half miles back to the cars. At least it seemed like it was that long.

The trail is an old rail bed that has been paved over and made into a biking walking trail. The first five miles after you leave Plummer are downhill so the ride starts off very easy as you glide through the forest.

At the bottom of the grade, Lake Chatculet appears and you ride along that for a ways. Then you cross this old railroad bridge and you are riding next to Coeur a'Alene lake for the rest of the journey to Harrison.

At Harrison, we enjoyed lunch. Susan and I decided to buy something when we got to Harrison. We found a nice place for a burger and then joined everyone back in the park. It took about an hour and a half to get to Harrison and we stayed there until 1:30. Now was the time to really pay the piper and return to the cars.

Again, an enjoyable trip but by now, my loins were starting to rebel. I had to get off the bike occasionally and walk around to get the blood flowing in that region again.

Remember the first five miles? It was down hill. That means that the last five miles are the opposite of that. It was a gentle grade so it was no big deal except for the fact that I had 25 miles under my belt and now the loins were on fire with soreness and numbness.

I stopped for rest every mile. To make it worse, I was out of water. The picture below accurately depicts my disposition at that point.



All in all, it was a great trip and now that I am in recovery mode, I'm glad I did it. But, I have a lot of getting in shape to do before I am ready to do anything that long again.

Susan and I got home and headed for the showers and then a cold beer induced nap.

One the most impressive features of the trail is this sculpture at the trail head in Plummer. I could not find the name of the artist on it but I know it is the work of David Govedare, a local artist who has done many similar sculptures including the Bloomsday sculpture downtown in the park.

It is really a wonderful piece of work. It has great detail and many subtle features you don't see right away. It's a pretty crappy picture that does not do justice to the sculpture.