The Northern Tier - Phase VI - New England

Continued from Northern Tier - Great Lakes - Phase V

Tom, my touring guru and resident of New England since his college days, looked at our plan and immediately advised us we were rushing through New England and was right.  We had tried to stick to our 60 miles per day, but we had trouble finding campsites, and my companions were more focused on finishing than savoring the experience, so daily mileage average went up in New England, and the hills were tough on us!

Day 77 19 August 2016 
Newcomb, New York to 5 Miles West of Benson, Vermont
70.1 miles  7:28 riding time 3,750 ft elevation gain 

Not stopping at Fort Ticonderoga was almost painful to me, but we cycled by its entrance gates and headed for the ferry knowing that the hills of Vermont would be significant.

Sean, Christy, Carol, and ferry worker on ferry to Vermont

Christy, Carol, and Steve entering Vermont (Sean didn't want in the sun and was in a bit of a hurry, so he took the photo instead of using my awkward tri-pod

As soon as we left the ferry, we headed up a hill, then turned off Adventure Cycling's route to go visit Carol's friends and former pastor Barry and Janie outside of Benson, Vermont.  We'd planned on going about 12 miles off route to get here, but we were continually on steep hills- either up or down, with much of the road on dirt or gravel roads.  Everyone felt worn out by the time we reached Benson, Vermont. Then we learned Barry and Janie lived another 5 miles out of town which in these hills is far more significant than it sounds.  They wanted to come into town to get us, so after our lengthy but pleasant break at the local turn of the century (or older) town store, they arrived in two vehicles. We loaded all the panniers in the cars along with Christy, Carol, and Carol's bike.  Sean suggested he and I ride out with his GPS and the complicated instructions he had while leaving Christy's bike at the store for Barry to pick up on his next run.  I fully trust Sean's GPS skills, so I agreed though I had no map of this area, no instructions, and no GPS. The steep hills continued and soon we were in intermittent dirt and gravel roads with occasional soft spots.  Going down one of the steep hills headed West in dappled shade, Sean passed me yelling, "Why are you going so slow?"  I like it when my friends enjoy the ride, but I'm slow in dappled shade especially when headed into the sun from a spot of shade.  My eyes just don't handle that well.  Just after his yell about going slow, I reached the crest of a hill.  I saw an insignificant turn off marked "dead end" where I thought Sean would have waited for me, but the turn off was so insignificant that when he wasn't there, I just followed the main road believing he'd ridden on not even noticing this side road.  The main road then turned hard to the South and I shot down the hill enjoying the speed in the solid shade where I could see.  I was more surprised to reach the bottom of the hill and Lake Champlain than to see Sean wasn't waiting for me.  I began to look for his tracks on the dirt road.  I didn't see any.  When I stopped to see what tracks I was leaving, I could see my tracks about 25% of the time but never his.  My concern grew, and I slowed down.  Then I reached pavement again, and assumed I was getting close to the next town.  With no visible tracks from Sean I turned around and went back to the small turn off marked "dead end".  There, I found a couple sets of his tracks- one went into the ditch like he was turning around there, but the tracks were so intermittent that I knew I couldn't follow them.  I was without my tent, sleeping bag, PB&J not knowing the name of our hosts or their address, so I couldn't even ask for help.  I did have my wallet, so I knew I could head into town.  This was a little scary to me- far worse than being dropped at the entrance to Niagara Falls where I had maps I could follow and knew the destination though I didn't want to navigate customs and that Canadian freeway solo! So, I decided to wait hoping Barry would see me while shuttling stuff!  Between 5 and 10 minutes later Barry drove up and loaded me and my bike into the car for the roughly 2 more miles to their home on the lake.  Barry and Janie are great hosts.

We're farther off route than we intended and worked out a plan to get to our planned Warm Showers host tomorrow. 


Day 78 19 August 2016 
Layover day 5 Miles West of Benson, Vermont

Layover days always pass too quickly.  Janie and Barry, Carol's pastor from years ago, were warm giving people whom we thoroughly enjoyed. We also enjoyed their location on Lake Champlain.

Janie and  Barry Tate

Day 79 21 August 2016 
Orwell, Vermont to Bethel, Vermont

63.7 miles  6:18 riding time 3,881 ft elevation gain
  
Although Barry is a pastor with a sermon to preach this Sunday morning, they drove us back to the route- so we weren't climbing those crazy short steep gravel hills again! However, Orwell is a couple miles further into the route than where we left it, so we broke the continuous east west line of my bicycle tracks, but the trip to Barry and Janie's added considerably more miles than had been subtracted today!

church in a common style

  

This kind of steepness was common both up and down

Carol seemed to want to stay in a B&B and had two preliminarily selected: one in Gaysville and one in Bethel.  Neither was taking or returning our phone calls, so I was pretty sure we wouldn't be staying at either, and was I beginning to think about stealth camping since no motels or camping were listed in the area.  There's nothing in Gaysville, so we rode on to Bethel.

downtown Bethel, Vermont

Although unable to connect to Nestled Inn B&B, we rode there.  Sean and Carol knocked and were "greeted" by a gruff guy with "What do you want" from behind a closed screen door.  The Ellis' said they'd been calling for a reservation, and the guy replied, "we got no messages".  Christy and I overhead part of this and headed across the street to check out stealth camping in a mini park.  Christy wanted to stealth camp at least once on the trip and had decided this would be the place before we even checked it out.  We found a port-a-pottie behind the bandshell in mowed grass where tents would not be visible, and I agreed. Carol and Sean were talking to the "host" again.  Apparently, as they were walking away he yelled out, "so, are you staying?". Eventually, he got the clear "no".  I believe Carol was looking for a B&B where she'd be pampered, and this place didn't appear to be that.  It was too early in the day to set up a "stealth camp" and everyone was tired, so we headed downtown to eat out.  Nothing downtown was opened, but there was a convenience store. Carol didn't want to ride the 1.9 miles down to a just-out-of-town diner, so she and Sean ate from the convenience store while Christy and I headed out to a great dinner, swimming, and finally a fancy dessert as we attempted to kill the remaining daylight hours before setting up that stealth camp.  

Christy taking a swim in lieu of a shower

While we were swimming, it started a warm rain.  We went back to the diner for dessert, and afterward it was still pretty early to set up a stealth camp behind that band shell. We headed back to the mini park to see what the Ellis' were doing.  I was hoping they hadn't set up the tents this early, but they were tired, and it was raining, meaning they'd be tempted.  Here's what we found!

"Stealth camp" in Bethel, Vermont

Hardly stealth camping, but the bikes, equipment, and people were dry under that band shell.  They'd tried to call the local police to get permission, but there was no local police.  At this point they weren't camping, just seeking shelter during the rain with no tents, so it seemed like a good idea.  As dusk began to fall, we all fell asleep on the floor of the bandshell- no tents.  As if there were anything stealthful about this site, it was also a busy bus stop the next morning.  We were on our way out of town not long after sunrise though!  That part of stealth camping we got right!



Day 80 22 August 2016 
Bethel, Vermont to North Haverhill, New Hampshire
61.0 miles  5:18 riding time 3,632 ft elevation gain
The climbing and descending of New England continued.  

Christy and Carol enter a covered bridge

We were spending the night with Sam, one of the two young men with whom we'd shared a few days of our adventure beginning in Bowles, MN.  It felt like Sam and Kyle belonged with us, so it was really good to see Sam again.  Climbing Bread Loaf at nearly 2,000 ft was a challenge, and we kept ourselves under some pressure to get to Sam's by 1630 when he estimated he'd be home from work.  We didn't want to miss any visiting time, and in our rush, we didn't even think about bringing something for dinner.  Not that Sam cared, but as a group we normally got the manners right.  We arrived just as Sam was getting to his rural home about 2 miles off route.  After a warm greeting, we set up our tents in the back yard.  Sam and Jillian fixed an excellent meal for us, and visiting kept us up later than our usual sunset bed-time.

Sean, Sam, Carol, Christy, and Steve - photo taken by Jillian

Day 81 23 August 2016 
2 miles out of North Haverhill, New Hampshire to Fryeburg, Maine
61.0 miles  5:18 riding time 3,632 ft elevation gain 

We were all sad to leave Sam's, but it looked like today's climb over Kancamagus would be the last real challenge of the trip with a lot to see along the way. We left in a thick fog that had everything wet, but we soon climbed above it.  I was psyched up for a full day of climbing and sight-seeing, and for what I thought would be the last day of adventure. 

a flock of wild turkey seen along the way

a delightful little waterfall while climbing Kancamgus

view of the mountains from near the top of Kancamagus

I climbed to a marked trail head on Kancamagus and found it was more of an overlook.  As I was rejoining the main road Sean and Carol appeared, and we went back to the "trailhead" for a few photos.

Sean, Carol, and Steve near the top

my bike at the top

looking down the other side - toward Maine

at the bottom Kancamagus was a popular swimming hole where I stopped to take this photo

When I stopped for this photo the group continued without me.  I rode on to just past where the route left the main highway, I couldn't find them though I found the route left the main highway for another dirt road with a neat covered bridge- much like the great short route along the Hudson River of a few days ago. According to the signs this one had at least 2 covered bridges and many swimming holes. This turn off was right where we'd expected it, and there were signs everywhere, but none of them said "Passaconaway" which is what A/C calls this road though I saw no evidence that the county calls it that, so I suspected my fellow travelers had missed the turn off.  I went back to the main highway and continued down it for less than a mile where I found the group waiting for me.  This highway offers no views through the trees that wall off all views, and the shoulder was broken up creating a feeling that the cyclist is bouncing down it.  Although they were less than a mile off route I was still unable to talk them into returning to the route to correct their mistake and see the sites.  So, we bounced on down the 8 miles of the busy highway's broken shoulder and into Conway for a short but hectic ride on one of the busiest two lane streets I've ever had the displeasure of riding.  Fortunately, we turned off to Fryeburg after about a mile of that hectic road leaving all that traffic to continue into the main part of town.

The Canal Bridge Family Campground outside of Fryeburg was great, and the manager or owner gave us a discount as cross country cyclists.  I took advantage of my position as dishwasher and went for a swim in the clear river while dinner was being cooked.  Dinner was done and the dishes washed before twilight, but unrolling sleeping bags, setting out the next day's clothes, and miscellaneous chores of preparing for the next day in the tents wasn't done until twilight.  This was the only evening that we noticed earlier nightfall affected us, and it means fall is approaching as our trip winds down.

Day 82 24 August 2016 
Fryeburg, Maine to Brunswick, Maine
75.6 miles  7:30 riding time 4,278 ft elevation gain 
I must have expected the Eastern Coastal Plain I studied in the 5th grade to extend up to Maine.  It doesn't, and there was lots of climbing today.  We always seemed to be going up or down. We rode within 1/10 of a mile of the world's last active Shaker Village and diverted there for a look around.  I'm not sure if the others realized this was off route or not.  I did and kept my mouth shut as we headed into the village.  Three Shakers remain on earth and are in this village  which has already been turned into a museum while the three continue living there.  We walked within 3 ft of the 50 some year old last Shaker man, but we didn't know who he was until a little later.

Shaker Village, Maine

Christy in one of the Shaker rooms where photography isn't allowed.  We took no more photos after seeing that sign

As we put together the rough plan for this area, we found little camping.  We found Pete and Leslie, Warmshower hosts, could host us this evening but not the next, so we pushed the mileage a bit.  We got in as Pete was finishing cooking the dinner Leslie had started before going to her duties at the local civic theatre.  We washed clothes, ate a great dinner, and pretty much went to bed. They had a nice place in a finished basement for us, and we were up early for breakfast when we met Leslie.  Leslie and Phil are active outdoors people but aren't avid cyclists.  Their son did a cross country tour a couple years ago staying with Warmshowers hosts, and his parents have been Warmshower hosts since.  Pete and Leslie are added to our list of great hosts!

Leslie and Pete, our Warmshower hosts

 .
Day 83 25 August 2016 
Brunswick, Maine to Duck Puddle Campground outside Damariscotta, Maine
49.3 miles  4:32 riding time 2,375 ft elevation gain 
This group doesn't add mileage to the route for much of any reason, and we've rarely gotten off route by accident or intent, but today was different.  We got lost a little leaving Pete and Leslie's but eventually found the great bike path we were supposed to be on.  As we were nearing its end a local cyclist warned us of construction, "Ignore the signs, go to the road closed barrier, turn right, then turn left at the next light, and you'll be back on route."  Really, we needed to go to the end of the bike path, turn right, and then left at the light-  ignoring the signs.  That would have put us back on route.  Between the two events we added about 10 unnecessary miles to what would have been an extremely short day. This  didn't sit well with Carol. I took these two errors in stride still surprised at how few navigating mistakes we've made.  Of course, the steep hills of Maine continued, and I think the group was tired from previous days unexpected elevation gains.  Anyway, when our lead rider of the day (that's never slow me) missed the final turn into Duck Puddle Campground and we all followed, there was a little friction in this group of friends that's been quite cohesive. I think our instances of getting lost or adding unproductive miles is remarkably low. 

Duckpuddle campground had good WIFI and and nice lake, but I only caught up on e-mail and none of us went for a swim although it had a good beach on a lake and friendly guests.
 
Day 84 26 August 2016 
Duck Puddle Campground outside Damariscotta, Maine to East Orland, Maine
72.5 miles  7:11 riding time 4,295 ft elevation gain
 
Good humor and a pleasant atmosphere seemed restored to the group this morning, and we were all prepared for the continual ascending and descending.  We did blow through Belfast, what appeared to be a neat coastal village which hasn't become too much of a tourist trap, but on the way out of town stopped for photos and met a woman who made recommendations to visit Fort Knox and see the view point from the top of Penobscot bridge. Normally the group chooses the "shortest, fastest, easiest route" regardless of what we'd miss, but today we took her advice.

Belfast- our first real Atlantic port

leaving Belfast, Maine: Steve, Sean, Carol, and Christy

Inside Maine's Fort Knox looking at a cannon

Penobscot Narrows Bridge - looking down from the observation tower

Sean, Carol, Christy and Steve on the Penobscot Bridge - photo by Kathy Neddeau a great person we met in Belfast

We stopped at Penobscot Narrows Bridge, rode the elevator to the observation tower and viewed Maine's Fort Knox (not Kentucky's where the gold is).  

Steve, Christy, Carol, and Sean from the observation tower of Penobscot Narrows Bridge

 

Verona, Maine from Fort Knox, Maine

Day 85 27 August 2016 

East Orland, Maine to Bar Harbor Maine (and back to Mount Desert Maine)
55.6 miles  5:19 riding time  3,077 ft elevation gain
I've dreaded the final day not wanting this fabulous trip to end, but it's here.  The hills continue, but they surprise no one by this time.  Sean wanted to shortcut in on hwy 1 but we stuck to the route.  Pete, our last Warmshower's host had strongly suggested riding around the last inlet on hwy 230 instead of the busy route 3 which is A/C's route, but we stuck to busy route 3.  We arrived at Margaret's house in Mt. Desert, took a little break, and headed on into Bar Harbor on the busy roads of a Saturday in a tourist town.  The town was so full of people that being in it was uncomfortable for me. However, the boat launch is a great place to dip the bicycle wheels.

Wheel dipping in the Atlantic: Steve, Christy, Sean, and Carol

   

our final ice cream of the ride - toasting John and Shari whom we met in Bay City Michigan, and who mailed my forgotten clothes line along with $20 for an ice cream treat.  We met great people everywhere.  Thanks John and Shari!

There's much to see on the island, so a few photos follow!

sunrise from Cadillac Mountain

hiking down to see Bass Harbor Lighthouse - Carol, Sean, Rick, and Christy

Bass Harbor Lighthouse

Since before the trip started we'd been exchanging e-mails with two Germans: Ursula Knopfle and Rudolf Borner who were a couple days behind us for most of the trip.  Today we finally met, caught up on their adventure, and shared a pic-nic.

Rudolf, Steve, Christy, Rick, Margaret, Carol, and Sean  - photo by Ursula

Ursula and Rudolf - complete the trip 2 days after us

Christy, Carol, and Sean delivering their bikes to Southwest Cycle for shipment home

Northern Tier 2016 final dinner (lobster) Ed, Muff, Carol, Margaret, Rick   Steve, Christy, Ed, Carol, Brian, and Leslie

sunset from our final dinner table

On 2 Sep Margaret, Rick, and I delivered Christy to the Bar Harbor Airport where a few tears were shed by all.  It's hard to say good-bye to great touring companions of the summer as well as admit the adventure is ending.

No tour is over until you're home and adjusted to the non-touring life.  I'd planed to ride down to Barrington, RI to meet my friend, Tom Germano, from the 1995 Southern Tier, and spend a couple nights with him and his family.  This went better than the plan.  At the last minute he was able to get 5 days in a row off, a rarity.  So, instead of my cycling down from Bar Harbor, he came up in his pickup loading me and my equipment for the trip back to New Hampshire.  Our favorite thing thing to do together is tour, so he gave me 6 choices I believe.  I chose a return to the New Hampshire which we'd rushed through too quickly.  

Margaret, Steve, Rick, and Tom

Day 93 4 Sep 2016
Lincoln, New Hampshire to Bretton Wood, New Hampshire
31.7 miles   3:23 riding time   2,051 elevation gain

These two days would be credit card touring.  Tom didn't believe he was in was good enough shape for self supported touring, but I think he'd have done just fine.  He did claim that in choosing Kanamangus Pass, I'd chosen the toughest of his 6 choices.  He was in the lead most of the time.  The route took us up a bike path with some short but really steep sections to Franconia Notch rivaling the roads of Vermont- but the steep sections weren't so long here.

Tom and Steve depart Lincoln, New Hampshire

The stream has carved this beautiful pond into the rock- tempting to swim in the crystal clear water, but it's forbidden

bike path up to Franconia Notch - photo by Tom

 
 At the top we caught a tram up a ski slope where we had some great views.

Looking back toward Lincoln, New Hampshire (from the top where the tram delivered us)

Our bikes at the Franconia Notch Tram

Steve outside of Munroe's Restaurant- a great find

We sped down the mountain to Munroe's Restaurant, a great place with excellent food and low prices, had lunch, and peddled on to Bretton Woods, New Hampshire.

 

Day 94 5 Sep 2016
Bretton Woods, New Hampshire to Lincoln, New Hampshire
50.9 miles   5:10 riding time  3,110 elevation gain

The Bretton Woods was a little over our price range, so we stayed at the affiliated lodge across the hwy and enjoyed their hot tub and food.  Steve in front of the Bretton-Woods - photo by Tom

Tom was just a little apprehensive about the 3 climbs of this day as his responsibilities at work and parenthood keep him off his bike.  The day has three passes: Crawford's Notch and Kancamagus.  As we left Bretton Woods Tom announced he was after some good coffee probably in Bartlet just over the first pass.

our route through the mountains of New Hampshire - we went clockwise

Separated.  As we reached the top, Tom announced, "take the descent fast or slow and enjoy the scenery".  I don't believe I gave a response as we naturally sped up as the descent started.  I saw a "scenic view" sign, verified Tom was in my rear view mirror, and pull in.  When I got to the spot, Tom wasn't with me, so I went back to the highway.  No Tom."Well, he must have gone on down without me I thought, I'll take a photo and catch him". 

my bike at the scenic overlook where I lost Tom

Tom's riding style and philosophy are so close to mine that I give little thought to being separated from him.  He'd wait at the next scenic spot or spot on the map.  I got to "Willey" a resort across from a lake, looked for him, and waited a few minutes.  No Tom.  I rode by a couple of parking lots next to waterfalls which would require a 1/4 mile hike to see the falls, but I saw no bicycle, and Tom's good at finding noticeable spots to park his touring bike.  I stopped at a convenience store where I thought I'd see his bike prominently parked, but they hadn't seen any other bicyclists that day.  Since he was looking for good coffee, they thought he would be in Bartlett at Bart's Deli.  Assuming I carried a cell phone the clerk advised me I'd get cell reception in about 7 miles.  I still kept wondering if I had left Tom at the top and that doubt resulted in slow speeds, but after this convenience store I decided to speed up. Slowing down for indecision isn't helpful!   My evolving plan was if I didn't find him at that deli, I'd start trying to borrow cell phones and call him and his wife.  However, when I got to Bartlett, he was sitting at the turn off where our route left the main highway- an hour of anxious separation for us both.  He had called his wife just in case I called looking for him.  He knew nothing of Bart's Deli, but we went there for the best blueberry muffin maybe of my life and a coffee for him.  We had another two mountains to cross.

Tom and Steve at the pass just beyond Bartlett

Tom enjoying the water before climbing Kancamagus Pass

We had our PB&J lunch at a 19th century cabin turned into a museum, and started the climb up Kancamagus.

Tom and Steve at the top of Kancamagus

Steve staring down the 9% grade on the East side of Kancamagus

Tom starting down Kancamagus

We sped on down the other side of Kancamagus to Lincoln where we got in the car for the drive to Tom's RI home where I'd spend a few days riding and visiting with Tom and his family, but I won't make my enjoyable visit a topic of the blog.

Day 95 6 Sep 2016
Cycling on Cape Cod with friends from the 1995 Southern Tier
28.5 miles   2:11 riding time  

My good fortune in Tom having 5 days off at my arrival time was compounded when we learned Meredith, a friend from our 1995 Southern Tour would be taking a couple days off work and cycling on Cape Code with her sister, Suzie whom we met at the end of that 1995 tour.  Meredith and Suzie set a brisk pace on this ride but did take me by some nice sights.  We enjoyed a leisurely dinner afterward where we tried to catch up on the years since we've seen each other.

Meredith, Tom, Suzie, and Steve on Cape Cod

 

enjoying a bike path on Cape Cod: Suzie, Meredith, and Steve.  phone by Tom

It was good to renew my friendship with Meredith who had added much fun to the Southern Tier trip and see how little she had changed. 

Day 97 7 Sep 2016
riding around Barrington, Rhode Island
39.3 miles   3:15 riding time  
Tom had chosen a local ride with a rural feel; something that's hard to do in the city, but we had lots of variety, mostly quiet back roads with even a tiny bit of farming.  This was our farewell ride and a bit melancholy for me at the end of the tour and the end of great visit with an old friend.

Day 98 8 Sep 2016
The Amtrack Experience
I'd wanted to ride the train across the country most of my adult life and set myself up for this mode of travel a few weeks ago.  Cost is cheapest if tickets are bought 30 days in advance; slightly less 15 day in advance, and still more if you buy your tickets less than 14 days before departure.  I've heard rumors of late trains, lost luggage and indifferent employees. Tom thought we might be able to get a quick morning ride in before driving to Boston, but we had to wrap the bicycle in bubble wrap, I had to finish packing, and I wanted to be at the train station in Boston a couple hours early.  When we got there, they had no parking, so Tom dropped me, my bike, and my stuff off in front of the train station with instructions to wait for him.  He had trouble finding a parking place, so eventually, I started shuttling my stuff inside the station.  I'd picked up my "electronic ticket" and had figured out where the excess baggage went (my bicycle) and was headed there to buy the box when Tom showed up.  Tom went to buy the $20 box, and I went to get the bike.  They wouldn't sell him the box since he wasn't a ticketed passenger even though he explained the situation.  When I showed up with the taken apart bike, they would sell me the box after seeing my ticket. Tom jumped in and packed the bike in the box.  That baggage employee would allow no extra luggage of any kind in the bike box which threw off my packing plans.  I had to repack stuff to get down to the required 3 checked bags (3 panniers 2 of which were very small) while I carried one pannier, my sleeping bag, and my handle bar bag.  We made the departure time with almost no time to spare.

 

Tom has my bicycle boxed and ready for check-in at Boston's South Station

Sleeping cars would have been almost another $1,000, so I rode coach.  I found the other passengers and staff on the train friendly and pleasant- much more-so than the airlines.  Seats had lots of leg room, and the train was less than half full, so I could take two seats to sleep.   WIFI is available in the East (about an hour after leaving Boston and about an hour after leaving Albany) it was turned on.  There was no WIFI west of Chicago though.

The train change in Chicago was somewhat unpleasant.  The board showed my train leaving from "North Gate", but nothing was labeled as "North".  Eventually I found an information desk, and they told me where to go, but still no signs and everyone was confused whether they were really in the right lines.  Staff here were bossy and condescending.  It turned out I was in the right line, and once on the train, the staff was again pleasant and relaxed which made a more enjoyable experience than contemporary flying.  The trip is long, and I had to sleep another night and a half in the train, but I met more pleasant passengers.

The 0140 arrival in Spokane was the biggest reason not to travel by train and would be the toughest part of the trip.  My bike was the first thing off the train followed by the other checked luggage.  By 0230 I had my bike put together and the panniers repacked and loaded on the bike.

I have my bike put back together and ready to receive the panniers in Spokane

 With only about 3 hours to wait, I spent the night in the train station.  I met a serious cyclist who recommended I catch 2nd Ave, and a new bike path that leads to US 195- the "shortest, fastest, and easiest route" to Colfax - not my goals in touring, but I was really sleepy and intimidated by the ride out of Spokane since I'd forgotten this would be Sunday morning when there's almost no traffic.  After that cyclist left I spent the rest of the night  with some derelicts and found myself unable to sleep for the short remainder of the night.  Station seating is set up to discourage sleeping, and I distrusted the group of people here as a whole.  At 0530 well before sunrise I departed the station for breakfast hoping to be riding at sunrise.

Continued The Northern Tier - The return home Spokane to Boise.
 

Happy cycling for fun, fitness, and transportation!


Steve