I confess. I have not been completely honest up to this point.......but for a really good reason.  You see, Karen was not supposed to accompany me on this venture, but a friend of hers said she would love to keep Karen company for a few days on the road following me.  So, Karen and her friend, Esther Harmon, have been following me for the last three and one half days. I had concerns about our house being robbed, so I did not go public with the information.

They would drive ahead and wait for me with iced cold water, Gatorade and power bars. On the Orondo Grade they would wait 2 miles up hill (30 minutes of climbing), but on more level areas, they would go 8-13 miles. More than once I was tempted to lighten my load by throwing my panniers in the car, but God is not the temptor.

After 2 tough days, riding 73 miles and 68 miles, I was looking forward to today's ride of only 60. Of course that mileage was predicated on my paying attention to the road signs. Apparently, when the sign says to turn right, one should do exactly that. Two miles into the ride this morning, I rode past this enormous sign instructing me to turn right if I was to continue on Highway 2. Three miles later, I suspected something was wrong, and called Karen to get directions from the motel owner. Fortunatelly, I had not gone further astray. At the end of the day, my odometer showed 66 miles riding.

Today I learned that the SPF 50 sunblock does not work on areas that I miss when applying the lotion.

Tomorrow, I will ride directly into downtown Spokane, then hop the Centennial Trail, a bicycle trail, which connects Spokane and Couer d'Alene. While the distance is around 70 miles, the last half will be level.

After five days of riding, I will be taking a day of rest in Couerd'Alene on Sunday. It is truly something I am looking forward to. That and a laundromat!