Day 12 -- July 2nd -- Twin Falls, ID to Burley, ID

Miles Ridden: 45.0
Avg Speed: 16.3 mph
Avg Heart Rate: 122 bpm
Climbing: 1,760 ft
Calories Burned: 1,911

Waterfalls ... Tailwinds ... Scavenger Hunt (not) ... Short Day ... Back with the Boys

I got to sleep in this morning.  We did not load the truck until 8:30 ... those couple of extra hours of sleep felt good.  The late departure was on account of the short day (only 38 miles on the official cue sheet).  There were two optional diversions early on ... Shoshone Falls and Twin Falls.  Both falls sat the bottom of the canyon so we descended for some great pictures.  What goes down must come up ... the climbs out, while relatively short, were among the steepest we have had so far.  Shoshone was a little longer of a climb and maxed out around 10% grade.  Twin Fall was not as pretty as Shoshone, but had a mean 15-17% climb out.  It was an eye opener for some who had to walk.  I lowered my gear and climbed out without any issues.  My knee felt pretty good ... still some acheyness and tenderness here and there, but improving.

Shoshone Falls from Overlook

Shoshone Overlook to the East

Shoshone Overlook to the West

Shoshone - Canyon and Power Plant

The Niagara of the West - After the Descent In

Shoshone - Mist

Shoshone - More Mist and Smaller Falls

Shoshone To The East

I Was There

The Last Shoshone Photo

Snake River and Canyon at Twin Falls

Twin Falls ... Carved into the Rocks

Twin Falls is Used to Generate Lots of Power

Mark and Katie Take a Break at Twin Falls

After another few miles we crossed over the Snake River again on the Hansen Bridge.  A Suspension Bridge was originally built in 1919 (see postcard below).  It was replaced in 1966 by the current concrete structure pictured below. We stopped at an overlook just prior to the bridge to marvel at the 400-500 feet drops above the the canyon and river.  Later in the day we would tell a tall tale of how Toronto Mark tried to save "Little Jimmie" the dog from falling over the edge, and in so doing dropped all our scavenger hunt items.

Taking Pictures on the Rim ... "Hey Where's Little Jimmie?"

Hansen Bridge

Snake River from Hansen Bridge

500 Feet to the River Below

How Long Did It Take to Carve This Canyon?

Hansen Bridge Looking East

One Last Picture of the Bridge and Snake River

The Original Bridge ... Cost Only $100k to Build

We hovered close to I-84 along some nice frontage roads past farms.  Lots of potatoes and wheat.  With a nice tailwind, we made good time and enjoyed the chance to chat and soak in the surroundings.  The wheat fields seem to flow like a river with the wind.  A couple of tiny little dogs gave chase at one point ... too cute.  The only SAG provided fresh water and an opportunity to chat strategy (or lack thereof) on the scavenger hunt.  Our ABB staff had provided a list of 16 items to collect.

Riding the Flat Lands to Burley ... Note the Westerly Wind

We quickly arrived in Burley and got a feel for how hard the helpful wind had been blowing when we turned into it for the approach to the hotel.  Burgers and milkshakes were on order at the neighboring Perkins. Mike Munk provided a useful drive chain maintenance talk mid-afternoon.  A heart pasta dinner was followed by the scavenger hunt presentations (look for pictures of that in tomorrow's blog).  As expected, the "Geldings" (a slant on the Thoroughbred name folks have given us ... we said that as husbands we were all geldings), did not fair well in the scoring department, but we did win the most laughs each time we mentioned that our item "Went over the cliff with little Jimmie."  We did manage to score a few points.  It was a fun evening with some very creative skits and items.

A Clean Bike is a Happy Bike

Dave and I both cleaned our bikes and clothes while we had the chance.  The next two days should remain flat and the winds look to stay in our favor.  80 miles tomorrow into Pocatello.  We ride into Idaho Falls for the 4th of July.  After that the big climbs of Wyoming loom.

Good night moon ... good night waterfalls ... good night tailwinds (please come back tomorrow) ... good night fields of wheat ... good night little Jimmie ... good night Joel (feel better) ... good night Amy (take good care of the gee's)