Day 9: I had a wonderful rest day. The weather was very nice. Everyone in the group seemed to be doing different things. I chose to take the Boise Tour Train around town. I saw some century old houses that always have been heated with 156-degree water from a natural hot spring.
Boise is a quaint town with a nicely restored historical downtown area. My next stop was the Boise Historical Museum. It highlights much of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Of course, I also found a Starbucks and lingered over a long cup of coffee.
Day 10: I have been trying to eat appropriate sized portions of food that agree with me, as I have been overindulging a bit. Today for breakfast I had a waffle with fresh blueberries, some other fresh fruit, and toast with honey. It was perfect. I also made a peanut butter and honey sandwich to eat on the way. We took the local bike path for 7-8 miles to get out of town before heading over to I-84. A good tailwind helped me keep my speed up while keeping my heart rate low. A flat desert landscape bordered by low mountains could be seen in the distance. Riding on I-84 was good, as the shoulder was wide and clear of debris, with the exception of having to dodge many large dead snakes during the course of the ride. The Best Western we are staying at tonight has a beautiful pool with a large rock waterfall. The water temperature is perfect.
Day 11: A very efficient pace line with Rich, Julie and Ed pulled me through strong headwinds during today's ride, which was just shy of 100 miles long. Under Rich's command we rotated every half mile. It was very effective, and I especially needed the help today. At mile 40 I bonked (had a low energy point) due to not eating enough food. I stopped and ate, and the group was kind enough to wait for me. I recovered fairly quickly and felt strong again during the second half of the ride. Our pace line group had two flat tires. I have been very lucky regarding flat tires. So far, my flat count is zero.
A light cloud cover kept the temperature down during the day, making the ride pretty nice overall. We passed many potato fields and cornfields, as well as one vineyard. There were large dairy farms near Twin Falls. The "pleasant" scent stayed with us for a while. During the course of the day, we were treated to great views of the Snake River Canyon.
Due to the flats and a few other minor slowdowns, we arrived at the hotel at 3:45 pm. I had a great evening, as a long time friend, Asa Chandler, visited. We had a wonderful time at dinner and I enjoyed seeing her very much. She moved from Newport Beach to Sun Valley a while ago. She is also a cyclist and will participate in the Alaska AIDS Vaccine ride in August. She greeted me with one brilliant pink peony and some late blooming lilacs from her garden.
Day 12: Today's ride was an easy 40 miles. I slept in a bit, and left later than usual due to the short length of the ride. There was a nice tailwind, and the group arrived at the hotel in Burley, Idaho before the rooms were ready. Unfortunately, during this short ride our group experienced a serious car versus rider accident. The rider involved in the accident, Harold, broke his jaw and fractured his vertabrae. Ouch! Let us hope his recovery is speedy. We all feel terrible about the accident.
/Gunnel