Day 10 The Hills Are Alive

Destination: Sandpoint Idaho.
We left the Newport campground and headed to the local Safeway for coffee and breakfast. After hanging around for a while we headed east. Uh oh. Apparently towns are not built on tops of hills.ok, it's just not how I wanted to start the day. Man, I gotta pay more attention to the road profile that tells you what kind of terrain is ahead. Maybe I should have held back on breakfast a bit. 2 things: 1) I wasn't prepared mentally for the up part and 2) I just didn't know what to expect!
The first climb was steep but gratefully pretty short. Maybe a mile or 2 long. The second was also steep but not as long. The good news is it had a fun downhill! Top speed was only 35.6. The fun came to an abrupt halt  after making a bend towards town. Surprise! Brakes work fine... After that bit of fun, the riding adventure continued.
When you drive a car in hilly terrain, you can hardly tell unless you pay attention. On a bike, much less one loaded with gear, your entire being becomes a level. The strain of simply making the pedals go around in little circles becomes increasingly challenging. The cardiovascular system takes the que and ramps up its responsibility. In order to keep the entire effort in check, the hands come into play.
(Note: My bike has 27 gears. Two shifters. 3 gears (chainrings) in the front. 9 in the back (cassette). A total compensation of up to 27 gear ratios or speeds.  Without turning this into a lesson, just know that some gears are better for climbing than others to make the job possible. Just like gears in a car but not automatic.) The levers at the ends of the handlebars essentially shift the gears. Come on hands don't fall me now!
Actually, shifting isn't a big deal. Once you get used to it it's no big deal at all.

I shift into sensible gears that don't overtax my system. I find gears that allow me to maintain a decent pace. Up I go. Drink water. Pay attention to what's ahead. Communicate with anyone behind you about what you're doing. Alert them about any road hazards like potholes or glass that sort of thing. Don't want to cause an accident.

The hills were relentless. Most of the time today was either up or down. But because we are timing our arrival at Whitefish, MT for Pam to catch her flight home, we are taking our time. That means shorter riding days.
We found a campground run by the Army Corps of Engineers. It's well kept. Nice bathrooms with showers ($.25 for 5 min) Stores too far away (3 hilly miles) so we knew to bring our supplies with us..
Today we rode 36.5 miles
Tomorrow we head for a campground at rt. 200 & rt 56. Probably 2 Rivers RV Park and Campground
Thanks for following us!
Cheers!
Kim