I mostly wanted to use today's blog entry to Thank Lailla for supporting me on this crazy adventure. As I mentioned in my first couple of blog entries, this adventure has been on my bucket list for some years. On the other hand, Lailla isn't a cyclist. She's going along on this trip in her Subaru Outback as my support crew. She's making the hotel reservations, usually meeting me a couple times on the road each day to refill my water and Gatorade bottles, making sure I'm eating some during the day, picking up a few things at the grocery store as needed, and so on. And today, when I had a flat tire after 72 miles of riding, she picked me and my bike up. Without her, this trip would be much, much more difficult. I certainly wouldn't be riding 70+ miles each day. Thank You, Lailla.

Now a few other quick updates...

My rear tire did go flat 72 miles into today's ride. I was crusing along nicely and was considering trying to get to the Idaho state line, which would have put me close to 100 miles for the day. After stopping to take a couple pictures of the Pend Oreille River, I hopped back on the bike and noticed my rear tire was low. Ugh. I texted Lailla who was less than 10 miles ahead of me at that point and told her I had flatted. She came back to pick me up and I called it a day. Tomorrow, I will finish up Washington and take a rest day the following day before heading into Idaho on Thursday.

Now, "Pend Oreille River." How in the world do you pronounce that? Hint: I believe it's French. Luckily, Lailla grew up near here and she knew right away. She said it before I had attempted it...and I would have butchered it badly. It's "Ponderay."


I started the ride just outside Kettle Falls this morning. Within 1/2 mile, I was passing a huge Boise Cascade Wood and Timber facility. There were huge piles of logs being kept wet by large sprinklers. Throughout most of the day, fully loaded log trucks were heading the opposite direction as me and empty log trucks were heading the same direction as me.

Crystal Falls was a nice little roadside waterfall and a good place for an early lunch stop.

The Pend Oreille River south of Ione. On a hot day in the 90's, the water looked very cool and inviting.


Comments

  1. CarrieAugust 12, 2025 at 2:25 PM

    Liking your posts. And Lailla must really, really like you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. MetteAugust 13, 2025 at 1:16 PM

    Love to read your posts and see the beautiful pictures. I agree with Carrie - Lailla must really like you (LOL)

    ReplyDelete
  3. JudiAugust 14, 2025 at 8:24 PM

    Yay, Lailla! Oh, yea, and you too Craig! ;)

    ReplyDelete

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