SANDPOINT, IDAHO (1)

Well, what a long strange trip it's been! We have safely arrived in Sandpoint, none the worse for wear. Our total mileage now reads 504 in 9 days; we are averaging about 55 miles a day which is pretty good for all of the mountains that we have been climbing. We have crossed some incredibly beautiful country, most of it very remote so, of course, no access to a computer to make our postings. So you will now get a huge dose of update from all 3 of us.

Tonight we are staying at the home of Geoffrey and Cathy Cant, U.S. Naval Academy class of 1959. They are being kind and gracious to host us and provide us a little creature comfort along our journey. Geoffrey is a classmate of Bob Beaton who was my company officer when I was a Midshipman at the academy. What a wonderful sense of connectedness there is among academy graduates.

After our last posting in Twisp, we had a big breakfast at a friendly local restaurant. Upon leaving the restarurant to get on our bikes, we discovered that my bike had a flat tire -- glass puncture. So we have had our first on-road repair (certainly not our last), probably because it was Friday the 13th! That day we cycled over a very difficult Loup-Loup Pass, probably our steepest overall climb. Because of that climb we only cycled 40 miles to Omak, where we camped in the local stampede grounds. We had a great meal in town at the Main Street Bar & Grill where Steve, Milo, and Jim were very friendly and helpful in giving us advice for the next day's cycling. We were even able to bring our bikes inside the restaurant for safekeeping. After dinner we provisioned at the local Safeway for 2 days worth of meals.

The next day (Saturday June 14) we deviated from our Adventure Cycling maps and headed across the Colville Indian Reservation. We changed the route because we wanted to avoid Sherman Pass to the north, which at 5575 feet would have been our highest climb. We had heard that it was very difficult, so we chose a southern route through the reservation. We had a beautiful ride along the Columbia River, with a few difficult but short climbs thrown in. We stopped at the Colville Indian Agency for lunch, eating our special pita bread sandwiches as tribal members came and went; that day were tribal elections. We had some interesting looks and some curious questions from the locals; I think to a person they thought we were nuts. A local tribal constable found out we were cycling along Bridge Creek Road and laughed. We found out later in the day why he was laughing. In the heat of the day we were trudging up steep (but thankfully short) roads -- Dave and I twice had to stop and walk our bikes up 10% grades to the top. We made it about 66 miles into the Kettle River mountains when we came across a clearing in the forest along the road with an outhouse and we said -- that's it. Dave could go no farther and we all agreed we should stop for the night. So we camped on the Indian reservation without permission, but no one bothered us. The next day we found out we had made a wise choice, because we had more serious climbing before finally descending 2500 feet at breakneck speed into the Columbia River gorge. We stopped for lunch at a town called Inchelium, along Lake FDR. It was a little hole in the wall gas station with a lunch counter with 5 seats. We ate fried food -- burritos, onion rings, whatever. It was delicious! We then proceeded to cycle up the Columbia River, stopped for a swim, and made it to Colville. We camped at the county fairgrounds and ate the best Mexican food we had ever tasted.

Yesterday (Monday June 16) was as beautiful a ride as the previous days were arduous. We had some climbing, but much of the ride was along the beautiful Pend Oreille River. We stayed at a deserted National Park Service campground right on the river; unfortunately, the mosquitos were bigger and nastier than those in Wisconsin. We ate pasta are went to bed early.

Today (Tuesday June 17) we had the most pleasant cycling day of our trip. We cycled 64 miles up the Pend Oreille river to Sandpoint, via Newport. In Newport we met Hughes "Crumps" Crumpler, USNA '65 for a Mexican lunch and had a nice visit. Thanks Crumps for the chance to meet you.

So that's the big update. Dave has some things to add, and Pat wants to get some photos on line. The Cants have some other USNA and cycling folks coming over to meet us, and we may even be featured in the local newspaper. So we are pleased with our progress, excited about the future, and having fun.

Bill Jenkins