Miles Ridden: 100.1
Avg Speed: 15.5 mph
Avg Heart Rate: 123
bpm
Climbing: 2,640 ft
Calories Burned: 4,326
Trains ... Cows ... Canyons ... Century ... Improvement
The highs and lows of cycling do not just apply to climbing and descending hills. Today's 100 mile ride did not start well ... a definite low. An early breakfast at 5:30 had us loaded and ready to go by 6ish. I held off leaving to ride with Mark, Dave, Jeff, and Joe. Mark had some issues with his new
Garmin and we did not head out until almost 6:30, long after almost everybody had left. It became quickly apparent that my knee was not going let me ride the boys today. Even though it had felt better last night, within a few miles it was hurting. I pulled back to ride at my pace. It was a lonely first 20 miles. Hurting with no one to pass and going kinda of slow (so I thought) had me pretty bummed. The landscape provided me lots of opportunities for pictures ... lots of trains, clouds, farms, sprinklers, plateaus, and the constant flow of the river. My knee seemed to get better with each mile that I rode. Just before the 1st SAG stop I hooked up with Gary from Connecticut. I was surprised to see so many of the other riders there. I guess I wasn't moving so slowly after all.
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| Early Morning Solitude ... |
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| Ridges and Plateaus a Plenty |
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| Another Early Morning Train |
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| Cloud Cover Gave Off Some Interesting Colors |
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| Quiet Roads and Gentle Scenery ... Time to Think |
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| The Open Road |
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| More Solitude ... |
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| The Old West |
Our route paralleled I-84 but stayed on some nice quiet back roads through a few small towns including Glenn Ferry, Bliss, and
Hagerman. From the first SAG I road out with Margot and Gary. We stayed together for awhile until I pushed on after one of the climbs. Margot has finally launched her web site ... check it out ...
Margot Cycles America. The route continued through the valley with great views on each side. By this time my knee was not bothering that much at all and I was increasing in speed and strength. After turning on a very remote and great cycling road, I came upon the gang. Mark had gotten a flat and was busy executing the 6 step process that Mike
Munk had tutored us on the night before. I pressed on expecting them to pass me soon enough. More great pictures along the road.
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| Sprinklers Everywhere |
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| The Valley Stretches Long and Far |
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| More Great Views ... |
I stopped in Bliss at a "stinky" store (see picture below). I had forgotten the lows of the early morning and was now on a cycling high as I was riding very strong and having a great day. I met up with
Kim and Tom from Washington. Kim is riding for World Vision. They pushed on while I went inside for a Monster. A little while later, Margot and Gary arrived and then the gang of 4. I headed out with Margot and Gary and rode with them past some great overlooks and fossil beds. Turned out that Dave got another flat at the store ... he had one yesterday and another one in our room last night.
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| A State of Bliss ... Well a Town Anyway |
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| Stinky's ... Monster for Me, Chocolate Milk for Mark |
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| Fossil Beds ... Great Views |
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| Me and "Leo" |
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| The Sign ... |
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| Margot and Gary at the Fossil Overlook |
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| Valley Floor |
Margot and I took a few pulls and cruised into the second SAG in a local park in
Hagerman. I was really feeling great at
this point. Margot, Gary and I pulled out of the SAG together, but I was feeling itchy and pushed on ahead. I was on fire and was just flying down the road. After the longest climb of the day, I caught up with Tom and Kim, but just kept going. The scenery changed over to cows and lots of them. I quickly reached Twin Falls and the Snake River Canyon.
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| A Few Horses Too |
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| Cows, Cows, and More Cows |
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| Another Cow Farm |
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| Hello Bessie |
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| The Start of Snake River Canyon |
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| The View to the East |
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| More of the Canyon |
The canyon is where Evil Knievel tried to jump in a rocket car. You can still see the ramp formation he used. Impressive formations and sights all around. Note the golf course built right into the bottom of the canyon. The bridge into Twin Falls is pretty impressive too. People BASE jump off of it. I did not see any, but Gerrard snapped a few shots when he crossed over. I followed the path on the rim and meandered the local streets to watch my odometer hit 100 before rolling into the hotel a little after 1:00. A few other folks including Bob, Mark from NJ, Beth, Margot from California, and
Rick headed to Tomato's for a light lunch and a nice cold Fat Tire (beer). Rick rode with ABB on their Cross Country Challenge from San Francisco to Portsmouth. After a nice nap, we headed to dinner at the Golden Coral. That was in keeping with the cow theme for the day ...
hrrrrrrrr.
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| The Bridge Into Twin Falls |
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| Great Views From The Rim |
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| Now That's A Golf Course |
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| Another Angle of the Bridge |
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| Me On the Bridge |
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| View from the Bridge |
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| Evil Knievel Jumped Here |
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| Yet Another View of the Bridge |
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| Evil's Plaque |
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| BASE Jumper from Bridge |
Tomorrow is a very short day ... only 38 miles into
Burley, ID. We will spend some time soaking in the sights at Shoshone Falls and Twin Falls. It is also time for a scavenger hunt ... we have temporarily changed our name to the "Geldings" for the fun competition. I will predict a victory by Sandy's team. To summarize my day ... "Looking good, Billy Ray! Feeling good, Louis!"
Good night moon ... good night Snake River Canyon ... good night trains ... good night Devin Marie (Margot's new niece) ... good night flats (at least Dave can say that) ... good night cows ... good night girls (hope you had fun at the drive-in) ... good night Mike (have a great 4th) ... good night
Besh (feel better) ... good night Nana
