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It was a veritable Shagri-Las camping in the Tekoa Rest Area. We were spoiled by our personal source of water, picnic tables, and relatively clean bathrooms with whisper-close toilet seats (no banging of lids to wake one another from midnight relief). It was nearly too good to be true… then we discovered its shortcomings.

At 10pm a bright streetlight switched on right over Geeto’s tent. The Tekoa Rest Area was not a Dark-Sky Preserve. We were still feeling grateful for the Rest Area: Geeto and Lecy simply dragged their tents back towards Main Street, where a brick wall and a big bush shielded them from the light. I packed a sleeping mask so I didn’t mind staying put. Everyone happy and in sleeping bags at 10pm for a cool dry night.

At 5:00am, I heard a small rumble, then rain drops. A moment later I heard Lecy exclaim, “What the…!?!?!” I then realized it was not rain drops but the sprinkler system was roaring to life to water the Rest Area. I was sheltered from the initial onslaught on the other side of the bush, but Geeto and Lecy were getting drenched and in scramble mode. We didn’t ask for a 5:00am wake up call; certainly not one in liquid form.

I dragged my tent in the opposite direction to be clear of the bush watering. I wasn’t about to sleep anymore, so I started to pack up my camp and prepare our morning coffee. After 10 minutes, the system switched to another zone that put me in the direct line of fire. I moved again and 10 minutes later it found me again. My bike got the worst of it as it was always the last to move; I managed to keep tent, sleeping bag, etc. dry enough to pack away without concern. In the middle of that, I was happy to serve coffee to my homeless partners.

The early rise meant we weren’t going to wait for the coffee shop to open; instead we hit the road early to look for breakfast in Plummer. But first – shortly after leaving Tekoa, we were out of Washington and into Idaho. It was a nice milestone, and now we felt we were beyond the curse of Kevin. We were happy to be leaving the Palouse in our rearview mirrors, and started to see more evergreen trees.

From Tekoa WA to Plummer ID was only about 15 miles, but ten miles in we had to earn our breakfast with a 1-mile climb with average grade of 7.8% (topping out at 10% at the top). This was a bear that required 15 minutes to climb.

Breakfast at the Gateway cafe was lovely. We made tentative plans on where to end the day, and I predicted it was going to be a wonderful day.

And wonderful it was. We were headed to the Couer d’Alenes trail only two blocks away from breakfast. Upon arriving at the trail entry, we saw GRAVEL. After promising a wonderful day, this couldn’t possibly be our fate. It wasn’t; the gravel entry path was only about 100’ long and then smooth paved rail-to-trail. It was again pure bliss. For ten miles I may not have pedaled.

In Harrison ID we stopped at a bike shop. Down to our last spare inner tube, we bought five tubes for the Treks and two for me (though the Gypsy has yet to experience a flat). I also got another new kickstand (the one I got in Walla Walla was not good, though it was an absolute necessity as a lever on Lecy’s tire release last night).

We got an encouraging bit of news about Geeto’s wife today: Julie made dinner and used TWO PANS SIMULTANEOUSLY! This is a real watershed moment for the Reilly household. And no… I doubt I can fold a fitted sheet.

We stopped for lunch after 67 miles in Kellogg ID. Unfortunately, we had to climb a large hill to get into town, where we found a big gang of e-bikers who chose the same stop. We’ve seen a lot of e-bikers around this Couer d’Alenes Trail; I’m glad to see people out enjoying the trail, but it’s not really biking.

We looked around Kellogg and made a call for new tires for Lecy’s bike (one of his is starting to split where he picked up a thorn) but there were none to be had. Maybe Missoula if we have time, or Bozeman, or resort to duct tape.

At lunch we talked about the small aggravations that we must have with one another: I probably ride too slow and swerving when I’m in the lead. Geeto must call all the changes in leaders and when Geeto’s ready to get going, everyone better be ready. Mark climbs way stronger than us, and we’re certain he’s using some illegal P.E.D. In the end, as we discussed at lunch, it really doesn’t do any good to be so aggravated, we can’t control one another, we can only control how we respond.

We’re staying tonight at the Wallace Inn in Wallace ID. We rode about 78 miles today. It was a really great day, but most days in the afternoon it is appreciably warmer. Today was no different and I felt like falling asleep at the wheel. About 3 miles from the hotel, we passed a kid (10-12?) on his electric bike. As we passed he said, “Can you guys do a wheelie?” Uh, no. Then he said, “Wait, what are those things you’re riding? Are you guys traveling the world?” He caught up to us on his bike and had a few more questions; it felt good having him fascinated by our adventure.

The forecast calls for pain. I’ve attached the Strava map for what we need to do over the next two days to get back on schedule. 135 miles (67.5 miles per day) seems doable after averaging 84 the past three days, but the crossing of the continental divide will bring us a 15-20 mile 2,100 foot climb to start our day tomorrow. Gulp. Days 11 & 12. If you’re not on Strava, here’s how it looks for the next two days.

For music today, I know it wasn’t really rain, but I’m adding another John Prine song that seems appropriate for the soaking that my saddle took: Saddle in the Rain