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Next (bimonthly) Meeting:
7:00 PM, Thursday, August 19, 2010,
in the AVista Conference Room located across from the
Yoke's Foods parking lot, just off I-90's Exit 50 onto Hill Street,
if you are coming east from Coeur d'Alene. If you are coming from Wallace,
you would take Exit 51 and turn right, then left onto Cameron Ave.,
which you would follow until coming to Hill Street, where you would
turn left and proceed under the freeway to see the Avista building
next to the Exit 51 onramp. A gas station is immediately across the
street. Use the side door.
Note that this is a change from the previous announcement of the
meeting to be held in Avery, on the Saint Joe River. The tiny community is
fully engaged in their centennial celebration of the Great Fire of
August 20-21, 1910, that ravaged 3 million areas. We will reschedule them
for our October 21 meeting, when more locals can attend.
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Unfortunately, we have had to cancel the
Huckleberry Festival's Bicycle Hill Climb
scheduled for Saturday, August 21, 2010, because of unexpected
construction on Dobson Pass Road.
Other Events
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bicycle trail conditions as of August 8, 2010
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The
Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes
is a year around recreational opportunity.
The Trail, and the restrooms and wayside
rest stops along its 72 mile length, are routinely cleaned.
Unfortunately, sometimes maintenance requires brief closures along
parts of the Trail.
The seal-coating begun on Monday, July 26, 2010, has been completed.
We have having our typical beautiful summer weather
with daytime temperatures reaching into the high 80's, then cooling into
the 50's most nights. Occasional thunderstorms, so dress in layers.
Please call Kathleen Durfee, Old Mission State Park Manager,
at (208) 682-3814 for more information about specific parts of the
Trail, administrative questions or concerns.
Remember that State Parks and Recreation
only manages the Trail from Mullan to
Harrison. For information on conditions between Harrison and Plummer
you need to call Dean Chapman, Trail
Manager at (208) 686-7045.
typical Trail users
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The
Route of the Hiawatha
opened for the 2010 season on Saturday,
May 22, a week earlier than its traditional Memorial Day weekend
opening, thanks to last winter's below normal
snowfall.
Remember that there is a lot of great riding at lower elevations
in this area before and after the
Route opens.
One exceptional ride follows Loop Creek
BENEATH the trestles that define the Route.
The Pearson-Avery Figure 8 ride
is another possibility that might involve overnight camping beside
the North Fork of the Saint Joe River. Both rides would begin near
the Pearson Trailhead on the other side of Moon Pass from Wallace
on Forest Road 456.
IF you have the
free program Google Earth installed, then you
can, by downloading wallace2pearson.kml,
fly above Forest Road 456 from downtown Wallace to the Pearson
Trailhead, observing several hiking/bicycling trailheads and possible
casual campsites along the way. You may also
open or save pearson2avery.kml,
which shows the scenic Alternate Milwaukee Road signed last summer by the
Friends.
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At our 2009 December meeting,
Tim Standal of Seattle, Washington, was the recipient of
a $100 gift certificate to one of our business member's establishments.
His Membership, #399, was randomly chosen from amongst all 2009
Individual and Family Memberships. We are in the process of
contacting Tim with the good news.
This is an annual part of our Christmas celebration.
Please become a member, or renew your membership, so that you will be
eligible for the 2010 gift certificate. Better still, become or stay
a business or corporate member and be eligible to redeem the
certificate.
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Friends jerseys and T-shirts are available
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Our Frequently Asked Questions page has been
expanded to answer 15 questions that have been frequently asked during
the last six years.
We always want to answer unique questions, but
please read this page before writing to ask us a
question as your concern may have already been addressed. Thank you.
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October 18, 2007 — Rick Shaffer, Wallace Inn manager,
hands over a plaque to Jon Ruggles, Friends of the Coeur d'Alene Trails
president, while Jeff
Legg, Bank Street Printing owner, and Del Sanborn, Friends promoter,
hold up their award-winning map. Friends of the Coeur d'Alene Trails
worked with Legg to produce the brochure about the
recreational [bicycle] trails of the Idaho Panhandle.
The tourism brochure/map was chosen for the
Council's Choice Award given by the Idaho Travel Council through the
National Idaho Tourism Alliance (NITA) in recognition of "Outstanding
Marketing Promotion." The brochure was made possible by tourism grant
money from the state's 2% lodging tax. Shaffer accepted the award at this
year's Governor's Conference in May.
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Rick has agreed to make his cell phone number available to anyone who has
a complex or immediate question that does not lend itself to
normal email correspondance.
However, please read our Frequently Asked Questions
page before consulting our busy Prime Minister of Recreation.
Please remember that Rick lives in the
Pacific Time Zone if you
call
(208) 691-9169.
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A MILWAUKEE ROAD
page has been added to this website. It features our work
to incorporated the Milwaukee Road railbed as part of an
185 mile loop
that promises to gain worldwide attention for the variety of
scenery and topography that it encompasses.
Google Earth
animations have been added to this new page, so a bird's eye view
of the entire loop is available for study and day dreaming.
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| Please visit our Sponsors
and Business Associates
page to see those local businesses that support our efforts. Some of
our supporters also have their websites displayed on our
Links to Related Enterprises page,
along with the websites of other local and national organizations
of interest to the bicycle community. Please support those who support us.
Thank you!
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Completion Report due out soon!
