Day 6 Sandpoint, Idaho (76 miles)

Hi, Patty here. I will be posting for Chuck today. Chuck said that he spent yesterday (a rest day) walking around in downtown Spokane. He wanted to get a rear rack for his bike. Yes, you heard me right, he actually bought a rear rack. Everyone who knows Chuck and his aversion to having any extra weight on his bike will be surprised to hear this. He bought a new camera (Nikon D300) before we went on vacation to Belize. He even took a photography class at Pierce College before we went on vacation. He got a small camera backpack to put the camera in with the intention of carrying the camera across the country on his back. I just laughed at him and said that would last about a day. Well, he lasted less than a day, because he took off the pack before climbing to Snoqualmie Pass. Thus, as he says it, he has crossed over to the dark side. He bought a rear rack at REI that he could attach to his seat post. He then walked back to the dorm at Gonzaga and realized that putting a rear rack on a carbon fiber post was not such a good idea. He got on his bike and rode back to REI and the good folks there adapted his bike so that he could attach a rear rack on his frame.


Chuck's bike with new rear rack and bag ( He calls it a trunk)

Day 6 started off with a call to me. Yes, he woke me up. That was okay though, because I had a lot to do. He cut off the call when Darrell arrived at the dorm. Darrell rode for a while with the Big Riders today. He took the following pictures of Chuck:





The Big Riders got to enjoy the parade in Newport on the way to Sand Point. One of the riders had a big red nose that he was wearing. I guess Chuck decided to clown around, literally. He went out into the parade and hugged Ronald McDonald and the guy with the big red nose put it on Chuck. Someone got the whole thing on video. Hopefully, we can add it to this post at later date. From the sounds of it, Chuck was hysterical.


Chuck and Ronald

The Riders entered Idaho, their second state of the trip, and Chuck got his first flat of the trip. He was going back up to the road after taking a picture under the Welcome to Idaho sign when it happened. The next part of the ride was very nice because there was an eagle circling above the Big Riders for a quite awhile. Chuck couldn't quite catch it on film though. He got some awesome shots of an eagle from the dock below our condo in Sooke on Vancouver Island when we were there last month. He posted them on face book, if anyone wants to see them.

Chuck called me right before supper. He was sitting at a restaurant overlooking Lake Pend Orielle with a band tuning up in the background. He told me that his day was very good with a nice pace of about 16 mph. I asked him if he was the first in and if he had to unload the truck. He said, "no there are about 5-6 riders who are really gung ho and are riding pretty fast in a pace line." We both agreed that if they keep that up they will regret all of the country that they missed seeing at the end of the ride. I hope that they realize that the Big Ride is about the journey and sharing it with some great people, not about racing to the next camp each day. Chuck told them that too and if anyone can give that kind of advice to some jack rabbits it would be Chuck. He says that his ride this year is much different than in 2008. He is stopping to take more pictures because he learned that if you see something that you want to remember... stop and take a picture of it. He even bought a small point and shoot camera that he can put in his front bag so that he can take some pictures while riding. I think he plans on posting pictures as soon as I show him how to do it when I join him in Montana.

Chuck ended his day by having a black berry shake at an ice cream shop before heading off to bed. Tomorrow they ride to Thompson Falls... a very beautiful ride and a great favorite with Big Riders every year. They also cross over into a new time zone.