Alive in: Clark Fork, Idaho

I had a very late start today, since I wanted to spend as much time with Mary as I could. We parted ways in Sandpoint at about 2pm. Over the last week, I've fallen into a bad pattern of dawdling early in the day and then paying for it by riding late, and I'm determined to stop that.

I reached Clark Fork, about 25 miles from Sandpoint, at 5pm. It was early to stop, but the next town down the line is another 25 miles, which would have put me there no earlier than 8pm. Though my gut was yelling to keep moving, sense won out, and I decided to rest up and start early in the morning.

I rode past some beautiful scenery along the Pack River Delta, but I'm unable to transfer photos at the moment, and I haven't much else to report about today. I did take the opportunity to back post about Day 12 on the road, and Day 13 in Ione. I had an evening in Ione that was pretty entertaining, so I hope you'll check it out.

Day 15-17: Sandpoint, Idaho

The bridge over Pend Oreille Lake

I reached Sandpoint, Idaho at 3pm on a Thursday. The bike trail over the Pend Oreille Lake bridge led me right into the heart of town. I made a couple of lazy circles around downtown seeing what there was to be seen. I found the Monarch Mountain Roasters, a cozy, independently owned coffee shop, and settled in for the duration. (Give me a good coffee shop, and I'm happy.)


The fabulous carrot cupcake of Monarch Mountain

Mary was driving from Seattle to meet me, and she arrived soon after, an eager bundle of affection. We started calling area hotels and were surprised by the high cost of accommodations. Apparently Sandpoint is something of a destination spot. We booked two nights at a La Quinta just a block away from the Monarch.


Mary contemplates the biscotti at Monarch Mountain

We took a lazy, domestic weekend, sleeping in, stuffing ourselves at local restaurants (including Eichardt's, recommended by our house sitters, who are from here), catching showings of Hell Boy and Dark Knight, and poking through the Saturday farmer's market. For me, it was a vacation from the rigors of daily cycling.


The world's tiniest pizzeria

From our brief time here, my sense is that Sandpoint is a very pleasant city; clean, walkable, well laid out, surrounded by outdoor activities, with a vibrant culture that supports home grown arts, and a friendly, well educated and physically active populace. It seems to have many of the amenities that I appreciate in a big city - restaurants, music, theater - with a population of just about 7,000.


The Panida theater. Viggo Mortensen started here.