Sweep, Final Build Day, Into Washington tomorrow

Hey there, things are really coming down to the wire now.  We enter our final state, Washington, tomorrow and Seattle a week from today.  Today we had our final build day with the Coeur d'Alene Habitat affiliate, which was a very well-run, organized operation.  We put up a fence, put a second coat on a house, tore down an old shed, and built a front porch (among other projects).  

Our rides the last few days have been fantastic, including a few mountain passes (Lookout Pass on Saturday, 4th of July Pass on Sunday) and some gorgeous scenery.  Western Montana and northern Idaho are beautiful places to live.  

I had a really good day yesterday.  Beth and I were "Sweep," meaning we'd be the final two riders along the route to make sure everybody gets in to the host site.  We took our sweet old time and ending up arriving about 3 hours after everybody else; lots of good adventures throughout the day.  

It started with a time trial on a superb bike path between Wallace and Kellogg, ID.  6 of us decided to mark off a 4-mile stretch to test our speed.  Raj went ahead and timed us, and we shot off from the starting line every 30 seconds.  Danny won with a time of 10:32; Shawn was second at 10:38, and I finished third at 10:41.  Lots of fun.  

The time trial actually ended around 10, but Beth and I didn't leave Kellogg to 3 PM.  We had a solid nap (I'm finding out that I can sleep anywhere without compunction, this time in a park along the bike path) and then scored a discount gondola ride to the top of Silver Mountain ski resort, where we hiked around for a while.  It was beautiful up there.  We figured we were far too late to catch the group for lunch, so we phoned ahead and then grabbed a burger and ice cream at a local place.  

After another stop to enjoy the scenery along the Coeur d'Alene river , we decided to finally head to the host site around 5 PM.  We didn't get in til after 7, averaging a little under 5 mph for the 50 mile ride.  Safe to say, I missed a fair amount of what the rest of the group did for the day (although I hear that Lauren became our undisputed cake-eating champion by downing a full bucket of leftovers, probably about 15 pieces in total).  It was a great day, however, just enjoying the scenery and conversation.

From here, we move on to Spokane.  I'm hoping to catch up with some of my old roommates from Washington State while we are in Spokane tomorrow.  After that, we have a few camping days as we move across the Evergreen State.  I wish we were going closer to Pullman (home to Washington State, where I started undergrad), but the outskirts of Spokane have similar terrain to the Palouse.  Anyway, hope you guys are doing well.  Claire, sorry I missed your birthday the other day, I'll give you a call ASAP.  And a special shout out to Kathy and Hal: Maggie says hello!