It was another good day. I got an early start, around 8AM, that became even earlier in about 2 miles when I crossed into the Pacific Time Zone.
For the 1st ten miles I was riding in the Clark Fork River bottom with the Bitterroot Mountains on my immediate left and the Cabinet Mountains a short distance away on my right. It made for very scenic riding.
From Clark Fork to south of Sagle, I was on ID-200 and US-95, very busy roads with less than great shoulders. I did get two breaks from the traffic in this segment, however.
The first was just west of Clark Fork where I picked up the newly created USBR-610. This 7-mile bike route goes through East Hope and Hope and was a very quiet road with lots of morning walkers out and about.
My second break from the highway traffic occurred as I approached Sandpoint. There I picked up a combination of bike trails and city streets. Sandpoint was hosting street fair today and the downtown was very busy. Traffic was at a standstill, but it was very easy to get through the town and soon I was back on a bike trail that led to Sagle.
South of Sagle, I turned off of US-95 and onto Dufort Road, which put me back in the country again. It was a nice road, but there was a lot of up and down. However, the scenery made for a very enjoyable segment.
I made it to our motel in Priest River by 3 PM, somewhat hot, but happy about the ride. Tomorrow is a rest day - we plan to spend it finalizing reservations for the remainder of the trip and just chilling out. Life is grand!
Sunrise over the Cabinet Mountains from front porch of our Inn
Optical illusion. This is actually two bridges, an old railroad trestle that is now a pedestrian bridge and the roadway bridge. The Cabinet Mountains are in the background.
Kelly IniguezWe first discovered USBRs in 2021, while touring in Michigan/Wisconsin. We basically abandoned RWGPS's suggested routing every time we saw USBR, and were happy with the choice. Reply to this comment 1 year ago
At a convenience store in Kootenai, ID, we met a fellow touring cyclist and had a nice chat, comparing notes of our trips. Gene left Pittsburgh in May and is headed to Seattle.
Kelly IniguezAlthough we've cycled through Sandpoint several times, we must have never gone down Main Street. I didn't know they had a theatre. Google tells me that it is now run as a non profit, and has a board of trustees. I bet the marquee is pretty at night. I love old neon. Reply to this comment 1 year ago
There was a lot of activity on the Pend Oreille River on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The was taken just a couple of miles from the town of Priest River. Just after taking this photo, I passed a swimming hole that was filled with people. It was very tempting, but I didn't stop.
