MCC Bike Ride - Day 2 (Spokane River Centennial Trail, from Post Falls to Spokane downtown Riverfront Park and back)

Ride Out


Ride Back

Today was a beautiful day riding along the Spokane River. As shown above on my strava data, It's the first time I've ever ridden across a state line and it was also the first time I've ever been stung by a bee. My buddy Jeremy also got stung a minute prior. We had a great tailwind on the way to Spokane and it really didn't get that hot till we were on our way back. Unfortunately we did not stop to swim in the river. The drive from Kellogg to Post Falls was also filled with beautiful scenery as drove past Lake Coeur d'Alene.

Heather and the kids have been amazing on this trip. Heather's help as support for the lunch services has been amazing. Today all three kids helped with making ice cream for our dessert tonight.

Tomorrow is our big day of riding and we'll be attempting to ride 100 miles. Most of the ride will be on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes bot instead of goind East like Monday, we'll be riding West toward Lake Coeur d’Alenes. We may even get to see Moose.

If you'd like to still donate you can visit my fundraising page. : https://donate.mcc.org/registry/carlos-cardenas-family-india-irrigation-crops

MCC Bike Ride - Day 1 (Kellogg, ID to Shoshone Park, Mullan, ID and back via Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes)

Day 1 of riding is complete and the trail we were on was already one of the nicest trails I have ever been one. The scenery was amazing. My buddy and I took a little detour up Nine Mile Creek Road to get some extra miles and to do some extra climbing. On the way up we got chase by a big dog, so I guess that's one way to ride faster of a hill. The ride up to Shoshone Park was a slight climb but we were able to move pretty quick. Coming back we had a nice tail wind and with the slight downhill, we were able to get some good speed. Fortunately we were starting to ride back as it was getting really hot.

Note: We were informed to not go off the trail because this area had been mined quite a bit in the past and there could be a potential for lead poisoning if we tried to get off the beaten path.

Tomorrow we will be riding Spokane River Centennial Trail, from Post Falls to Spokane downtown
Riverfront Park. It should be another 48 mile ride in the heat.

If you'd like to still donate you can visit my fundraising page. : https://donate.mcc.org/registry/carlos-cardenas-family-india-irrigation-crops

This is how we made room for 6 people, 5 bikes, 1 bike trailer and camping stuff :)

Not sure why these chairs are in the rest stop bathrooms, but we decided to give it a try.

First Meeting

Wooden Bridge on the Santa Ana River Trail and a recent close call going through Carbon Canyon

Training

Our first day of riding in Kellogg, ID will be on Monday, 7/30/2018. Training this year has gone well. My endurance on the bike is getting better and so far this year I've logged 3,369 miles and since June I've averaged 183 miles/week. Most of those miles have been commuting to and from work. This last Saturday I rode 75 miles with just water and 1 banana. I planned on being better prepared, but I slept in and didn't have time to have breakfast and coffee in the morning. Fortunately I felt great and I'm feeling really good for next weeks challenge. When it comes to endurance my main goal is to be comfortable sitting on the bike for a long period of time and I think I've accomplished that. The West Coast MCC Bike Ride 2018 will be approximately 261 miles over the 5 days. Here is the schedule for each day:

Day 1 - Monday, Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes east from Kellogg to Mullen. 46 miles total

Day 2 - Tuesday, Spokane River Centennial Trail, from Post Falls to Spokane downtown Riverfront Park. 50 miles total   

Day 3 - Wednesday, Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes west from Kellogg to Harrison. 72 miles total with optional century day, 100 miles.

Day 4 - Thursday, Route of the Hiawatha.  Crown Jewel of all Rails to Trail in the US with gorgeous scenery. 9 tunnels, Packed gravel road surface. 30 miles total

Day 5 - Friday, Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes from Harrison to Plummer. 35 miles total

I'm planning to post some photos for each day. I've been told that it's really nice up there.

If you'd like to still donate, you can visit my donation page at https://donate.mcc.org/registry/carlos-cardenas-family-india-irrigation-crops

Thank you for your support!