Completely beat. The Trail was excellent. Will try to catch up with a double post tomorrow, but our route tomorrow (into Montana to Thompson Falls) has two mountain passes in it (4600 ft total ascent), so I may be looking at a triple post catch up on Friday.
In the meantime, here's what we rode today:
In the meantime, here's what we rode today:
65.9 miles. Almost to Montana. Pretty amazing. Get that sleep, man.
ReplyDeleteI notice you guys passed within a few miles of Hayden Lake, Idaho. Hayden Lake holds a special position of notoriety in recent US history. It served for years as the headquarters of Aryan Nations, one of the most vile white supremacist organizations. Fortunately, Aryan Nations appears to have moved on (I hope to oblivion), and northern Idahoans are apparently seeking to reclaim their image as just good folks who can grow a nice potato.
ReplyDeleteI miss my fix of your daily posts, Rog. I trust all is well.
In my first post on this blog (am I using the correct terms you young people use?), let me say that Roger and his buddy are f-ing crazy. If the idea of this ride didn't completely get the "crazy" point across, the details of Roger's posts drive the point home. By the way, Roger, your writing is excellent, bro'.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone is interested in the whole Hayden Lake-White Supremacist connection Greg mentioned, a great article can be found at http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/idaho-community-celebrates-10th-an... (paste in browser). Here's an excerpt:
"Richard Butler's 20-acre compound had long been the site of the Aryan World Congress, an annual event that attracted extremists from virtually every sector of the radical right: neo-Nazis, skinheads, tax protesters, survivalists, Klansmen, militia organizers and others. It was also home to the Church of Jesus Christ Christian, where Christian Identity theology – the spiritual arm of the Aryan Nations – was preached and led by Butler. The strange religious doctrine depicts whites as God's chosen people and Jews as the literal descendants of Satan."
In 2000, Morris Dees and the Southern Poverty Law Center obtained a $6 million jury verdict against Butler and Aryan Nations that bankrupted it and forced the sale of the compound. There is a black marble monument outside the Kootenai County Courthouse in Coeur d'Alene, honoring the SPLC, the jury and a philanthropist who played a role in the community's recovery.