Day Two Of The Great Pacific Northwest Deluge

September 18, 2021

Killing Time In Sandpoint

For the most part I've done a pretty good job of avoiding people, but that doesn't mean there have been NO human interactions. I have to say a couple of words to grocery store clerks and motel owners during our business transactions. I can't just walk away when a convenience store employee, park ranger, or even a passing mailman starts asking questions about my trip. That would be rude.

I try not to go into too much detail about my tour when talking to them, but I sure don't try to minimize the fun and adventure either. When I've finished bragging, every single person in the last four days has brought up the weather forecast. They make it sound like a hurricane is coming.

I assure them that I'll deal with it because that's what bike tourists do. Last night I did deal with it. I fell for the hysterics and managed to find perhaps the last motel room left in Sandpoint. The only problem was that I'd have to check out of one motel at 11:00 a.m. and find something to do in the rain for four hours until I could check in at the next motel. Not as easy to do as one might think.

If I were in pre-Covid times, I'd probably get a good restaurant meal and then hunker down in a bar for a couple of hours. I'd maybe even do that anyway if I wasn't in a hotbed Covid state like Idaho, where "freedom" means being able to denounce vaccines, not having to wear masks in public places, and overflowing the local hospitals.

So what did I do instead?

First, I watched a college football game on TV and waited until 10:59 to check out. From there, my plan was to do what a tough guy Minnesotan does on a rainy day. He rides in the rain.

I was ready to explore the city, ride its impressive bike trail system, and visit the next town to the west--Dover. First, however, I had to find out where the jazzy music was coming from when I walked out of the motel.

The musical sounds led me to a park where there was not only a bandshell, but also a farmer's market. Judging by the age of the musicians, I assume it was a band made up of high schoolers. The fruits, vegetables, wicker baskets, fresh smoked hams and other things on offer at the farmer's market looked great.

The Sandpoint farmer's market. MY Town is three times as big as Sandpoint, but MY Town's farmer's market is three times smaller. And I live in the agricultural mid-west.

Sacks of real Idaho potatoes. I would have loved to strap one of those things on my bike and bring it back to Spokane. That would have been a hilarious gag, but also an unrealistically heavy load.

By the time I got around to photographing the band, they were already packing up their musical stuff, the bulk of which were percussion instruments.

I managed to use up an hour at the farmer's market. From there, I connected with the bike trail to Dover. I was hoping to see some white cliffs or something related to England, but Dover had no such thing to offer. At least I got a picture of the sign at the town limits.

No cliffs, but there is a view of Lake Pend Oreille.

I turned around shortly after Dover and rode the trail back to Sandpoint. I rode some city streets and then headed to the very nice city park on the lake. I took a few pictures and another video along the way just to enhance this post.

I darn near passed up an opportunity to ride my bike through a convenience store.

I wonder what the guy working there thought of a soaking wet cyclist riding through, holding his phone in front of him, and not looking at the merchandise. Well, he didn't seem too concerned and he didn't yell at me or anything.

The Reckless Mr. Bing Bong and I arrive to the park.

Many geese grazed on the grass and graced the grass with their copious excrement.

I graced Lady Liberty with my presence in the New York Harbor of Idaho.

It was only a few blocks ride from the park to the fancy downtown area. It looks nice and it has everything you could want from a touristy area with an awesome lake beside it.

At this point I was surprised to see I only had one more hour to kill before the 3:00 check-in time. I figured the thing to do was the thing I said I wouldn't do. I hunkered down at a bar. The good news is that the bar was a brewery and it had outdoor seating.

I'll give the Matchwood Brewing Company's "Wild IPA" 4.5 stars out of a possible five.

I arrived at this evening's motel at almost exactly 3:00. I am glad to be inside and warm, but I don't care if there really IS a hurricane tomorrow . . . I'm going to be moving on.

Today's ride: 16 miles (26 km)
Total: 409 miles (658 km)

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Rachael AndersonYou sure know how to make the most of a rainy day.
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