Three Beautiful Things 06-23-2023: Slowly Biking from Pinehurst to Cataldo (and Back), Pizza and Beer at The Beanery, Crashing with a Crossword Puzzle

 1. I loaded my bicycle on the rack and rocketed out to the Pine Creek (Pinehurst) trail head and pedaled through lush trees and bushes and splendid views of the Coeur d'Alene River for 6.7 miles to the Cataldo trail head. Overall, it was the shady ride I'd hoped for, but in the last stretch before arriving in Cataldo, the sun was a bit more overbearing than earlier on the trail. 

My pace slowed way down and once I reached Cataldo, when a couple left a picnic table set up in a shaded spot, I rested there for about 30-45 minutes, cooling off and drinking water. 

It wasn't a hot day. I simply don't tolerate direct sunlight very well.

I got cooled down and began my return trip to the Sube. 

The pedaling was easier. I made a couple of stop to rest for a while, and eventually concluded my afternoon on the Trail of the CdAs. 

I kept thinking what a pain in the neck I'd be if I were biking with others. 

I'm slow.

I need rest stops.

I don't whiz down the trail the way many other bikers can and, unlike others, I don't have an electric bike that would allow me to venture forward while resting.

But, as Popeye used to say, "I yam what I yam", and even as my legs get rubbery, I get winded, and get overheated a bit, I enjoy rides like today and hope, over time, to build up my stamina and, who knows?, maybe even become more tolerant of the sun!

2. Once I arrived home, Debbie and I decided to head over to The Beanery for a wood fired pizza. I can't eat much before I go walking, hiking, or bike riding, so I hadn't eaten anything for about seven hours when we settled onto a picnic table on The Beanery's expanse of lawn.

I ordered a glass of water and a refreshing pint of Big Wave Golden Ale and soon our Homesteader pizza arrive, an innovative vegetarian pizza with beets, arugula, onion, feta cheese, sunflower seeds, pesto sauce, and possibly other ingredients.

This pizza was unusual and very tasty. It was at once light and filling, and its complex of flavors and textures invigorated me. 

As it turned out, my pint of Golden Ale blew the keg, a mild disappointment -- I enjoyed this beer a lot.

But, The Beanery had another excellent summer beer on tap, Grand Teton Brewing's Lil' Critter Kolsch, carefully brewed to simultaneously have the qualities of an American ale, while also rendering the pleasures of Germany. At first, the German quality of this beer threw me off, especially after drinking the tamer Golden Ale. I adjusted, however, and the deeper I got into this creative Kolsch, the more I liked it. 

I should have expected as much: Grand Teton Brewing is a rockin' brewery located in the Teton Valley in Victor, Idaho. 

3.  Refreshed by an early evening out with Debbie, a fresh and robust wood-fired pizza, and a couple of excellent light beers, I sat up for a little while and decided to crash early.

I got settled in with Luna and Copper, both eager for attention, turned the air conditioning on really low, got started on the Saturday New York Times crossword puzzle, and enjoy resting my tired biking body with a night of sound sleep.