Sunday, September 27, 2009

Spokane to Barstow



Ok ride. Perfect perfect weather.
About 75 F.
About 115 miles.
About 10 hours.
About 2 long lunches.
About 1/4 gravel.
About 3/4 back roads.

Newton Road.



Horses in the Colville River outside of Chewelah.



Addy Cemetery.



Cool place. About 5 miles outside of Colville.



Columbia River. There's two ways across this river: blast across balls out for 1/2 mile and hope the guy behind you is nice, or ride across this tiny sidewalk. Busy Friday afternoon: I took the sidewalk.



Columbia River.



Best junk food store in the world.
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19 comments:

  1. PonderoSeptember 27, 2009 at 6:21:00 PM PDT

    It looks/sounds better than an OK ride.

    Love the Newton Road photo.

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  2. Times ThreeSeptember 27, 2009 at 6:48:00 PM PDT

    BEAUTIFUL pictures. I used to live in Couer d'Alene, and I miss this area immensely.

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  3. AnonymousSeptember 27, 2009 at 7:29:00 PM PDT

    Nice indeed. Just OK?

    Do I see an Epic seat bag? Mine just arrived but I'm in the middle of a bathroom reno so no time to play.

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  4. mathan kumarSeptember 27, 2009 at 7:42:00 PM PDT

    hey nice post......the pictures were awesome!!!!!!!!coninue with your work buddy......check out my blog on cars at
    http://car-gizmos.blogspot.com
    and give your ideas to make it better!!!!!!

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  5. Pat SSeptember 27, 2009 at 10:17:00 PM PDT

    The sidewalk, though narrow, looks great. Bet you had it all to yourself. You made the right call.

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  6. RachelSeptember 27, 2009 at 10:47:00 PM PDT

    My grandparents live up there on Pierre Lake, and I have other non-blood family in Orient. Beautiful area, and yes, awesome store.

    Nice ride too!


    Have you stopped in at the Sharpening Stone at the little Mission museum just before the Kettle Falls bridge? If you haven't, it's pretty neat, and has an amazing view.

    Don't forget ice cream at Sandy's either!

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  7. tomzaSeptember 28, 2009 at 2:27:00 AM PDT

    nice

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  8. tomzaSeptember 28, 2009 at 2:28:00 AM PDT

    very nice

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  9. oes tsetnocSeptember 28, 2009 at 8:01:00 AM PDT

    Wow. it's amazing posting. Tks for sharing these to us.

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  10. AnonymousSeptember 28, 2009 at 8:17:00 AM PDT

    Yeah, Jouhn, what about that seat bag? Is that new? Epic? CD?

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  11. John SpeareSeptember 28, 2009 at 8:21:00 AM PDT

    I should've qualified the "OK" part. The upshot is that I just didn't feel very strong. A great ride is when it's mostly effortless with moments of strain. This wasn't effortless.

    Rachel: Pierre Lake is beautiful. Great spot. I've not checked out the Sharpening Stone. I will though. This was my first time to actually see Meyer's Falls. I've been creeping around this area since I was a little kid, and I'd never seen the falls!
    When I pass Sandy's it's all I can do to not stop and get a bunch of fried chicken. I do not stop there. It's still about 15 miles to go from Sandy's, which would be a super hard ride on half a fried chicken and a shake.

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  12. John SpeareSeptember 28, 2009 at 8:23:00 AM PDT

    Anon's: yes. That's an Epic seat bag. I got it about a month ago. It's a good solution. I'd rather have the old style Ortlieb seat bag that worked with Brooks, but they're no longer made and they never show up on ebay. It's the same basic shape as the Epic, but Ortlieb-waterproof. So far I like the Epic.

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  13. MichaelSeptember 28, 2009 at 10:55:00 AM PDT

    Looks like a great ride. It's a mere 1,296 mile ride to that other Barstow.

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  14. RJSeptember 29, 2009 at 7:26:00 AM PDT

    AWESOME.

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  15. Bill FossSeptember 30, 2009 at 4:22:00 PM PDT

    As always - inspirational!

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  16. mikeOctober 1, 2009 at 7:02:00 AM PDT

    Hey John - First comment from Anon was mine about the Epic (not sure why my info didn't take). Mine just arrived and I do like it. I have an h-bar harness system too. Haven't had time to set it all up. Really impressed with the workmanship.

    I too have and like the Ortliebs. I made em work with my Brooks Swallow (longer rails) - but they sit horizontal or slightly pitched down depending on how I run the Brooks. Too bad they can't make that clamp work out better for a wider variety of saddles.

    Nice ride, for sure. I had a similar run to my in-laws this year - it wasn't much fun after a certain point as I just wasn't riding strong most of the summer - and taking on a double was too much of a reach in the mountains and heat.

    Keep writing. Enjoying the blog.

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  17. John SpeareOctober 1, 2009 at 7:47:00 AM PDT

    Hey Mike,

    The old style Ortlieb seat pack has a connection system similar to the Epic -- with straps instead of a plastic deal. I sent email to Ortlieb and asked customer service about this -- how could they make a bag that didn't fit one of the most popular saddles of all time. They responded and said that the Brooks have different rail configuration than most saddles (which is well-known to anyone who needs more set back). I still don't know why they don't go with the strap design.

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  18. mikeOctober 2, 2009 at 10:49:00 AM PDT

    John,

    Yeah, the older Ortliebs (I've never owned, but from what I've seen) looked like a better solution than the new(ish) clippy thing.

    I went so far as to buy the sprung saddle adapter kit and tried to make it work... to no avail.

    Before I bought the Epic I was planning on using an older Bagman mount - and making some short rails that stuck out the rear to hold the Ortlieb. Still might as the Epic is quite large...

    -Mike

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  19. BethanyOctober 5, 2009 at 3:19:00 PM PDT

    My husband just recently did some ridding there a few months ago. It is a great place to do so there. Great pictures by the way!

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