September, Sun, Sunny Friends and Plenty of Wildlife on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene

What’s not perfect about Northern Idaho in late September?

Dear Reader: This is the last installment of my stories from the Road Scholar bike trip in North Idaho in late September. If this might be on your radar, consider booking now. There’s a host of reasons these trips book fast.

By the fourth day of the Road Scholar Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes bike tour, I was in love.

Not, sadly, with a new beau, but the area, the weather, the views, the terrific company. Oh, and the fact that I hadn’t used either of the white “bonk” vans because some part of me gave out. That was a real worry, and it needn’t have been.

Like many of us who haven’t ridden a bike for years, in my case eleven, I wasn’t at all certain I’d be up for the challenge. I was hardly alone. The first night, a few had shared that they weren’t sure they could keep up.

But for a sore rear end for two days, that was wasted concern.

Like other seventy-plussers, cycling came right back, even though my feet and hands weren’t as cooperative as I might have liked. That aside, my balance was steady once I had launched; my legs and lungs were up for the trip.