Exploring Coeur d'Alene bike paths....

The Coeur d'Alene area is replete with bike paths and bike lanes going in all directions all over town.  There are two long bike paths, or trails if you will, for which the area is famous: 1) Northern Idaho section of the Centennial Trail, and 2) the Trail of the Couer d'Alenes.  

Centennial Trail - Idaho

Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes

Over the past few years I have ridden portions of the Centennial Trail in the Spokane area.  The trail begins just north of Lake Coeur d'Alene and follows the shoreline of the the Lake to the Spokane River and then westward to Spokane.  

The Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes uses old railroad right of way and begins in the town of Mullan, Mt and ends at Plummer, ID on the southern end of Lake Coeur d'Alene.  It is pretty much all downhill from Mullan.  This trail of part of the "Rails to Trails" national network utilizing old railroad right of way.  The great thing about railroad right of way is that the grade never exceeds 3% up, or down, which makes these trails very rideable, even for the least experienced bicycle riders.

Over the next few weeks we will be riding large portions of both of these trails.  After attending church with our friends on Sunday we got out our road bikes and set out from our friend's home down to the Centennial Trail and then eastward through the resort area along the lake about 7 miles.  

Sunday evening we enjoyed a few hours sitting by the outdoor fireplace in George and Brenda's backyard.  I love outdoor fireplaces!

Then on Monday morning we rode westward on the same trail using our recumbent trikes about 7 miles.   After we have settled into our month long sojourn in Spokane we will drive up and ride portions of the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes.  The portions of the Centennial Trail that we have ridden are well paved, and very clearly marked so you know at every intersection which direction to take to continue on the trail.  Other trails we have ridden, specifically the Jordan River Bikeway in Utah a couple of weeks ago, are not well marked, and it is easy to take a wrong turn on a regular basis.  In an hour or so we will head out to explore more of the Centennial Trail on the tandem.

Our plan was to move over to Spokane on Thursday, but it appears there is a 60% chance of rain on Thursday, so we will move tomorrow, Wednesday, when there is zero prediction of rain.  It is no fun moving in the rain.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay over Memorial Day weekend with our friends, but the workaday week is now upon them again.....George left this morning for Dallas, TX on his job, and Brenda will be heading off to her job later this morning, so we will be on our own today.

The weather here in Coeur d'Alene remains very cool....mid to high 60's with rain falling for several hours Monday night/Tuesday morning.  As I write the sun is out, but it is in the low 50's.

Well, that wraps up Sunday and Monday....we're off in a little while to do some riding on the tandem.

Thanks for stopping by!