Day 13 - Long and Hot with a Headwind

Today was the most challenging day of the ride to-date.  We had almost 86 miles to go from Burley to Pocatello, but the bigger challenges were the day-long headwinds and the ever increasing temperatures. 

Let's start with the good stuff.  We left at sunrise, and were treated to a lovely light show and low clouds that kept the morning temps at bay.

This picture just about sums up the entire day.  Long stretches of chip-seal pavement, not a lot of scenery, and wind trying to make us go back to where we came from. 

We did hear later of a herd of cows that crossed the road in this open range territory, and another rider accidentally ran over a small rattlesnake, sunning himself in the road.

There was no opportunity to take pictures when we hooked up with other riders to form pace lines of 5-9 people, each taking a turn at the front of the line to battle the wind and help move the group forward.   

We didn't want to include another picture of wind turbines (which, by the way, were spinning quite nicely today), but we had to include this turbine billboard.  Evidently, flying vehicles were not being wary of the red lights on the turbines at night....or let your imagine go .....

The last shot of the day  before we rolled into civilization and Pocatello where the temperature reached 100 degrees. These large irrigation pivots were all along the roadsides, turning brown into green and luscious crops of potatoes, alfalfa, corn, and many others.

Tomorrow - Idaho Falls - our last lower elevation level day before we make the ascent into the Teton Pass on Monday. 

Day 12 - Twin Falls to Burley - Quick and Steamy

Today we journeyed a mere 38 miles (plus some bonus miles) from Twin Falls to Burley.  The bonus miles were the highlights of the day, as we made our way down two beautiful waterfalls on the Snake River, Shoshone Falls and Twin Falls.

Shoshone Falls was amazing, as shown below.  A total "Wow"!

Most of the riders made this extra loop, which involved a lovely descent to the river canyon floor.  We felt the views here were well worth riding the 550' or so back up to the road level. Here's a portion of the riders who were there with us.

Twin Falls!  What can I say!  There was only one! It was beautiful as well, but  we felt a bit of a "Bait & Switch" when we found that one of the falls had been eliminated by an Idaho Power dam and hydro generation facility back in 1939. We should have read our Wikipedia!

Because the ride today was so short, we were given a Scavenger Hunt list to find items along the way to bring to the dinner program tonight.  We four from Team Oregon (the Quackers) had a lot of fun hunting for many things, including a Popsicle Stick.  We could not find the traditional flat, wooden kind of stick in any kind of Popsicle that we encountered in our highway wayside freezer cases.  We decided to settle for a Jolly Rancher flavored popsicle treat, one which came on a long, strawlike stick. The next picture shows not only our documentation for our scavenger item, but it also shows what was needed on a 95 degree day when riding on the hot pavement.

By the way, our team tied for first place, and it wasn't due to the popsicle stick.  It very well may have been due to the "unusual roadside object" that teammate Greg picked up along the road.

Tomorrow, the road to Pocatello includes not only 87 miles of blacktop, but may also include our first century temperatures. Thinking cool thoughts!

Day 11 - 97 Miles & 95 Degrees into Twin Falls Idaho

After a 5:30 am breakfast call, the next call was that of the road to Twin Falls.  Some of the group were on the road as early as 6:00 am to avoid the heat coming in the afternoon, and we were off on a beautiful journey through miles of farmland, grazing land, and river canyons.

The early morning sun cast long shadows along the crops as we headed out into the beautiful morning air of the surrounding farmland.

Yea-Chi (pronounced Yaki) from Taiwan is a quiet, determined young woman making the journey with us.  She surprised and delighted us all when she showed her inner "shark" by purchasing a "Jaws"-looking bicycle horn, mounted at the center of her handlebars.

There was virtually no wind today.  Not a single one of the hundreds of wind turbines we saw today was moving.   

We stopped at a Scenic Overlook showing a body of water feeding into the Snake River.  Note the house just under the top of the cliff at about 1 o'clock.  We were wondering who could have built such a magnificent home on such a difficult site.  Perhaps a Simplot family member--the major supplier of the potatoes for McDonald's french fries?

Don took a shot of me gazing at the Snake River from a viewing platform after we rode across the bridge spanning the gorge of the river.  This was our intro to the town of Twin Falls, Idaho.  Note the long white sunsleeves which many of us are wearing for protection from the sun's UV rays, which we are exposed to daily.  They also help to keep us cool in the 95 degree heat of days like today.


 

View of the Snake River from the bridge overlook from the viewing platform, which is why I'm smiling in the picture above.  Not only a beautiful sight, but also the home of an impressive golf course.  There are greens and fairways on both sides of the river, which are connected by a low, white bridge over the river in the background.

Tomorrow will be our shortest day at just 38 miles.  We intend to do an "extra loop" to see some of the water falls that cascade into the Snake river.

Day 10 - Boise to Mountain Home, ID

The relatively short day of about 53 miles began with taking a bike path through and out of Boise. The path was full of bumps and lumps from tree roots growing underneath the pavement, but we dodged many to make our way safely to Route 21.  Shortly thereafter, we spent another 11 miles riding on the shoulder of I-84.  We did not take a photo until we safely exited to a rest stop, where our support team offered refreshments next to this replica of a covered wagon from Oregon Trail times.  Note the puffy clouds against the blue sky backdrop.  The horizon seemed to stretch as far as our eyes could see.

John, a chiropractor from Ashland, OR, kept up the old west theme today with a pair of socks adorned with a masked cowboy.  Later in the day, John would give us all tips on how to relax our shoulders and avoid back and neck pains while spending so many hours grasping the handlebars.  Thanks, John!

This picture pretty much summarized the look of the day: blue skies, puffy clouds, an endless horizon and lots of sagebrush.  We have additional pictures, but the internet connection at this motel in Mountain Home is being called to task with so many laptops trying to share the same wireless network. 

Our day on Thursday will be a challenging 97 miles with temperatures predicted to be in the upper 90's.  We are stocked with insulated water bottles, cooling neck bandannas, lots of sunscreen plus sunblocking arm- and legwear.  Breakfast is at 5:30 am to help us avoid the heat of the day as much as possible.  Signing off for now.

Day 9 - Rest Day

Need I say more?  Rest Day in Boise was full of tasks, but also with walking and exploring the capital city. 

We had a very good dinner in the Basque section of the city with fellow travelers, where we were treated to a meal of lamb kabobs, grinders, and sausage. 

Unfortunately, no other pics are available due to slow internet speed at our current motel. We will try to add more tomorrow.

Day 8 - Ontario to Boise

We started the day by riding across the Snake River into Idaho. Now it's our turn to mug for the camera as we cross into our second state.

Driving along farmland that included fields of peppermint and lavender, we came across one farmer's pickup, stopped next to an irrigation flow.  The farmer's dog was surveying the work being done from what we thought was an unusual vantage point.

We rode for miles along small roads surrounding the outskirts of Boise, and saw many lovely homes.  This one was not only patriotic, but had a penchant for growing roses.

Just as clouds moved in, we arrived in Boise, where many stopped for lunch at a grill along 13th Street in the Hyde Park section of the city.  Our entire group wore our red, white and blue Bike Across America jerseys today.  Here is a picture of three of our international travelers:  Kees from De Wilgen, The Netherlands, Terry from Ontario, Canada, and Brian from Cottsloe, Western Australia.  Brian is riding across America as a leg of his goal to ride his bicycle around the world!

Lastly, Don could not resist a picture before the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, where he has spent many a day, working.  His outfit and mode of transportation were a bit different today!

Tomorrow - Rest Day in Boise!

Day 7- Last Day in Oregon. Baker City to Ontario.

 One of the thrills of today was traveling about 14 miles along the shoulder on Interstate 84!  Don was taking this picture from behind a concrete barrier at a weigh station, and there was no time to second shots!  Here's Greg and I smiling for the camera.  Our biggest obstacle was dodging remnants of tires from blowouts, which contain fibers from steel belted radials.  They act like tiny needles and cause flats.  There were a couple of folks with flats on the Interstate, but they were changed quickly and we all made it to safer roads.

This shot is not exciting, but it was for me.  We were biking into a pretty good headwind, and two ladies from Delaware, Ann and Gail, and I had tucked in behind Don's lead for what seemed like many miles.  I took over the lead for a" big" 4 miles or so.  Here's my back from Don's perspective.  Did I help with the headwinds?  Hmmmmm - or do I need to get taller?

Headwinds lessening, we traveled along chip seal roads through small towns which gave us wonderful hospitality.  Settling into a pattern after lunch, we were treated to miles along the Snake River and the beautiful green landscape it gives to the neighboring community and farms.

We finished the day with a beautiful ride along not only the river, but many fields of wheat, corn, barley, and world-famous onions.  We rode most of that with Greg, and had a wonderful afternoon.  Here's our "Selfie" portrait as we arrived at our destination.  A very good day!