Warning - lots of photos coming.
For several years I've had a goal of doing a 100 mile ride on the Trail of the Coeur d"Alenes in the Idaho panhandle. This MUP is 72+ miles long and completely paved. Because it's an old railroad line it is quite - ok, really flat. There are hills on each end but they're not more than 2-3%. I grew up in this area and love riding here when I come back - beautiful, scenic countryside with little traffic and incredibly friendly people. On a midweek ride in October there were times where I could go 90 minutes without seeing anyone. I tried chatting with the cows but they weren't very responsive. All morning I was the youngest person on the trail by a large margin and I'm 47. Every single person smiled, waved and said hi and so did I. Nice change from riding on the Seattle area MUP's.
I left the house at o dark thirty - actually 4:15am for the drive to the west trailhead. Took my time, grabbed some breakfast, dropped the laptop and a few things at my parents and was in the parking lot about 8:45. The temperature at the start was 39 degrees F. About 3 degrees warmer than when my dad and I rode the trail last year (when he crashed, broke his pelvis and my 100 mile ride ended at mile 14). Even wearing three layers, long fingered gloves, leg warmers and toe covers the 6 mile descent at the beginning was brutally cold with the wind chill. At the bottom of the hill you find yourself on the banks of Lake Coeur d'Alene. It's a picturesque and makes for a fantastic ride.
The bridge over the lake:
I was fortunate enough to get close for a photo on zoom before he took off:
Once you leave the town of Harrison the trail follows the Coeur d'Alene river so there's always water on one side and in many places on both sides as the railroad was raised above the swampy areas. I was really hoping to see a moose today - but no such luck. I did see a whitetail deer, a bunch of turkeys, the eagle and a lot of trout in the crystal clear water of the river.
Had about a 5 mile section of trail that had a lot of gravel on it from the cattle as the trail winds its way through a beautiful valley.
The worst thing about this ride was coming around bends and seeing straights like this - they just never quit.
