Sandpoint to Sagle Bike Ride

Background

A year ago, Stephen discovered the nifty bike trail between downtown Sandpoint (really close to our hotel) and the small town of Sagle, almost 10 kms south. The niftiest part of the trail is that for about 3 kms it goes on an old road/bridge right beside the bridge over Lake Pend Oreille. The current bridge is the 4th incarnation. The current bike trail is the 3rd incarnation.

There is a big writeup at the History of Sandpoint website.

A day or so ago, Stephen decided to ride it again, while I relaxed.

But we woke up today to an absolutely gorgeous day: blue sky, green grass, birds singing - you know the kind of day I'm talking about. And my knees felt quite capable.

So we hauled both bikes out of the chariot, and pedalled off down the road.

We even managed to get 3 geocaches! Woo-hoo!!

The Geography

Here are the Google Earth view showing our biking track and the Google Maps view of the general area. The hotel is at the northern end of our ride. The ride was just over 19 kms in total.

The ride

Most of the ride was easy and flat, especially on the bridge. Here are some shots from the bridge. The first is looking south. You can see the vehicular traffic on the other side of the guard rail. And notice the kayaker about to go under the bridge. Some hours later, I noticed him returning to the dock near our hotel.

And the second is looking north. No, that's not Stephen. But you might notice the railroad bridge in the distance. And notice how wide the bike path is - it's two lanes!

Of course, I need an I-was-here shot!

Here are some views of the lake from the bridge:

South of the bridge, we were in farming territory. Again, because it was a beautiful day, the views were quite pleasant and peaceful. But I can't say that for the trail, which definitely deteriorated the further south we got - a combination of being much hillier and much bumpier due to a multitude of tree roots trying to break through the asphalt.

The Fauna

At the southern terminus of our ride, there was a little drive-up hut selling coffee and cold beverages. As we were pondering the menu, all of a sudden Stephen hollered "Judy, give me your camera, quickly!". And he took a photo of my back. And then showed me what was on my back! Aaaccckkkk! But it was just a grasshopper.

Tomorrow

As usual, we haven't planned anything. But we figure it's going to be really crowded with tourists here, it being the Canadian long weekend. Already, the swimming area near the hotel is jammed with people, way more than we have seen thus far.