1. The weather was so cool, so mild today that waiting until about 11:30 to load my bicycle onto my new rack and drive it over to a starting point on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes was not going to be a problem regarding heat.
I hopped on my bike across the street from The Beanery and pedaled as far as the Smelterville trail head near the Silver Peak Espresso stand. I felt good so I kept going. Soon I pedaled to the area of WalMart and the Shoshone Medical Center building just past Smelterville and, feeling good, I continued to the Pinehurst trail head.
I got off my bike at this spot, drank some water, took out the book of crossword puzzles I brought with me, worked on one, and rested for a bit.
I headed back toward Kellogg, figuring that given what shape I'm in right now, that a ten mile round trip ride would be just about right.
I stopped for another rest at the Smelterville trailhead and biked back to the Sube in Kellogg.
I had my bike all loaded on the rack again when suddenly I realized I didn't have my cell phone.
I knew I had checked messages while sitting on one of the benches at the Smelterville trail head, so my phone was either lying on the trail somewhere between Kellogg and Smelterville or it was on that bench.
In case my phone had dropped out of my pocket (as unlikely as that was), I decided to pedal back to Smelterville, scanning the trail as I rode.
My phone wasn't on the trail.
I arrived at the Smelterville trail head.
My phone wasn't on the bench.
The coffee stand was still open.
I went to the window and asked if a phone had been turned in.
The barista I asked smiled, "I saw your phone on the bench and brought it in. Here ya go."
Relived, I biked back to the Sube again, my legs getting rubbery, but, thank goodness, the air stayed cool, the sun mostly hid behind clouds, and I made it. My ten mile round trip ride to Pinehurst had become a 14-15 mile ride.
Yes, I was pedaling slowly, but I made it back and was grateful that I held up pretty well -- and that I had my phone back!
2. I know that for many bicyclists, a 14-15 mile bike ride is just getting warmed up, but that's not true for me.
I spent time this afternoon hydrating, napping, and finishing that crossword puzzle I'd worked on at the Pinehurst trail head.
Not long after 4:30, Debbie brought me a bowl of food for dinner: a perfectly prepared chunk of salmon, disks of polenta, and a delicious kale salad.
I can't eat before I go on walks or ride my bicycle, so all I'd had to eat at this point was an orange and a small cheese wheel.
Hydrated and rested, I savored this meal.
3. Debbie and I wanted to listen to the fourth episode of Becoming Clarence Thomas, but it hasn't been released yet.
Instead, we went back a few seasons to the Slow Burn season examining the USA's war with Iraq and listened to the first episode, which we'd listened to before, months ago.
It examined the influence and the ambitions of an Iraqi dissident, Ahmad Chalabi, who not only was obsessed with deposing Saddam Hussein, but wanted to become, himself, the head of state in Iraq. His story and his attempts to make his vision for Iraq a reality was fascinating and this focus on Chalabi helped reveal a lot about what the US government thought about Iraq, why we supported Iraq during the Iraqi/Iran war, and how the Neo-cons in the USA came to see defeating Iraq as the first step in turning the Arab countries in the Middle East into democracies.
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