The Great Sock Debacle of Coeur D'Alene

DannyShane Ambassador Jon gives us a glimpse at a super-fun event-the Coeur D' Fondo in Coeur D'Alene this past Fall. Despite the "sock debacle", we can see why this event is already on his calendar for next year!  

From Jon:

Every Fall I try to pick a couple of Fondos, put them on the schedule, and plan a weekend around them.  The past couple of years the "Coeur D’ Fondo" in Coeur D’ Alene, Idaho has been a top pick.  Let’s face it-who doesn’t love a fun weekend of bike racing, riding and Oktoberfest?  If you have never been to CDA, it’s a small town built on an amazingly beautiful lake surrounded by mountains.  The fondo has lots of length options including one that ends with a ferry ride/happy hour back across the lake to town.

New last year was the inclusion of a crit race on Saturday under the lights through the closed off downtown streets.  While I didn’t race it this year, it’s on the agenda for next year.  The course streaks by lots of outdoor restaurants and bars that are packed with people cheering, heckling and generally having a great time… I am IN!

Sunday morning I woke up early and went through my pre-fondo checklist… Bibs, Jersey, helmet, food, socks, shoes…wait, socks?? Did I really show up with two of everything but managed to forget 1 pair of cycling socks? After searching frantically, I gave up all hope and put on a pair of black dress socks. If I don’t have the right ones, they at least need to look the part and match it all up.  Due to the missing socks, we arrived a few minutes late and had to start in the back of the 800 person field. All hope of being in the front group was lost, but we decided the fun factor would be high as we could ride our own pace and enjoy the fall.  The event rolled out with a police escort through town, and we settled into a nice pace riding the near car-free roads.  We arrived in the little shoreline town of Harrison and found an amazingly well-stocked feed station that included egg/sausage/cheese burritos.  After eating one and tucking another into my jersey to eat later, we hit the roads once again only to find the route included sections that were totally car-free including a cool river crossing that was once a train track.  The final 20 miles served up a stiff headwind, but with the promise of Oktoberfest, we rode on.

After putting the bikes into the bike check, we settled in for a great afternoon of wandering the town and enjoying the food, drink and live music that the city had going on.

I am already looking forward to the 2016 version and more burritos!