Day 80,
August 8th, Libby, MT to Sand Point, ID. It seems unreal that I have been at this
quest for 80 days! I was awake and ready
to go today. My plan was to make it to
Clark Fork, ID to be close to Sand Point to make a stop at a bicycle shop. The rubber on my front tire has begun to
separate from the tire. I think all the
rocks and gravel have taken a toll on the tire.
Still, I believe I have gotten 5000 to 6000 miles on the tire. I got on the road, U.S. Route 2 going north
from Libby following the Kootenai River and the BNSF railroad. It was cool and the ride was just
spectacular. I saw a freight and the AMTRAK
Empire Builder heading east. The ride
was mostly downhill and the Kootenai River goes through a gorge and over a
falls. I made great time to the first
turn at 15 miles. Route 56 starts with
an uphill but then drops through a valley following the Bull River. It was almost 40 miles of mostly downhill
through the Cabinet Mountains, one of the last habitats of the Grizzly
Bear. Unfortunately, there are only
about 15 Grizzly Bears left in the Cabinet Mountains Wildlife Area. I saw many deer but no bear. I made 51 miles by noon! After lunch, I headed for Clark Fork where
the problems began. First, I crossed into Idaho and gained an hour, so I
started thinking I should keep going.
Then I couldn’t find a campground or motel in Clark Fork. I moved on to New Hope, ID, but missed a turn
and went passed all the campgrounds. At
this point I decided to make a run for Sandpoint some 20 miles away. Lucky for me the wind was out of the south
and I had a tail wind. The route
followed the shore of Lake Pend Oreille, a large lake but just the remnant of a
huge lake formed by glaciers. I rolled into Sandpoint following the
Adventure Cycling Route which took me passed my motel and I had to back
track. Along the way, I found a bike
shop and purchased a new tire. I am
ahead of schedule so I plan to sleep in, change my tire and do a short day tomorrow. Mileage was way more than planned at
99.42.
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