Ho Alahia Episode 5 ACA Northern Tier Route across the U.S.

Excerpt from Trip Journal:
29 June, 2024
54 Miles Today / 375 Miles for the trip
Kettle Falls, WA to Ione, WA

Tricked myself into thinking this was going to be an easy day. It was brutal. I don’t think I got enough sleep last night and the climbing was a bit deceiving.

Glad that’s over. All mountains down in Washington. Going to pull back my ambition for tomorrow a bit and stop in Newport. That’s another 54 miles I think.

Going to try and get to bed early tonight.

Kind of want to forget today.

30 June, 2024
87 Miles Today / 462 Miles for the trip
Ione, WA to Sandpoint, ID

After the suffer fest on Saturday, decided to push today all the way to Sandpoint, ID and take a rest day on Monday.

Setting out, I was worried about my legs. The trip would be 87 miles. The elevation profile looked pretty flat, but got tricked on Saturday when that small hill on the profile turned into a torture fest.

The day of rolling hills and shallow descents turned out to be one of the most enjoyable days so far.

Most of the day was following a river and passing several lakes along the way. I didn’t dare stop to take in the views though. When you stop, you’re instantly swarmed by mosquitos. How do they find you so fast?

There were a few small climbs where I shifted down to power up, but stayed in 8th most of the day. Learning how to distribute my power so it’s not so hard on my knees.

The last 6 miles in to Sandpoint was on a bike trail and it was amazing.

Finished the first section of the Northern Tier Route. 462 Miles and 29,997 feet of climbing.