When John Kolbe decided to open a bicycle shop here nine years ago, most of the locals thought he was crazy. At the time, the town catered mostly to the boaters and cabin owners who came to enjoy Coeur d'Alene Lake. Biking wasn't a notable part of the economy. His business, Pedal Pushers, seemed like a sure flop. But Kolbe, a former forester and trained airplane mechanic, heard there were plans to convert the old Union Pacific railroad lines in town into a bike trail. After doing a little research, he decided to take the plunge. "I did some research on rail-to-trail projects, and it read like a road map to success," said Kolbe, while working on a customer's bike in the back of his shop. "I opened the business two years before they paved the trail. It's just now being discovered"/William L. Spence, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Can anyone give a first-person account re: riding the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes?