Bike Ride of a Lifetime (C) – Page 9

Day 11 – When Irish eyes are smiling …

June 28, 2018
Day 11 – Mountain Home to Twin Falls, ID – 97 miles, 3,230 feet vertical

May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
— Irish Blessing

Today, we had … e) All of the above.

But before we get to all that, I want to wish my son, Matt, a most happy and joyous birthday. He turned 37 today. Matt embraced cycling early on and for a time, he was the “student”. The student became the master quite some years ago and now he is just plain awesome. The photo you see was taken at the top of Bear Mountain on a beautiful 90-mile ride a few years ago. Last year, he completed his first half-ironman out in Montauk, Long Island. That’s 1.2 mile swim, 58 mile bike and 13.1 mile run (half-marathon) – in just about six hours. He is currently training for the New York City Triathlon (a powder keg of testosterone laden youths) on July 1, which unfortunately, I will miss. I’m with you in spirit, son. Happy Birthday, Matt. I love you.

As for the Irish blessing, we had all of those things today. There was general agreement from the hammer train that with a 97-mile effort today, we should start out steady but not crazy. “We all on board with that?” I asked. “You bet.” “Sure thing.” “Absolutely.” “Yup, no sense killing ourselves right out of the gate.” And so on. Nodding heads all around.

Anybody got a pen? Because I should have gotten it in writing! After an all-too short warm up, Randy started putting down the hammer and revving us up to 26 mph. Now it turns out, we were blessed with a pretty nice tailwind (item 2 above), but still. After some abject begging and pleading, we dropped the pace down to a respectable 22 mph.

There was a good deal of cloud cover and the sun was straining to break through, which it eventually did (item 3 above). But in the meantime, it made for some spectacular views of the clouds interspersed with streaming rays of light. “Look at that,” I said. “God is speaking to us.” (I get like that every once in a while.)

No interstates today, so the roads were lightly traveled for the most part. The terrain varied from flatlands to rugged rolling hills with amazing geological formations. A beautiful butte. A gorgeous gorge. Our bike train was accompanied throughout the day by real trains – amazing mile-long freight trains chugging through the rough terrain. Occasionally, we’d be close enough together that the conductors would blow their horns at us to cheer us on.

At about 45 miles, I let the train go on ahead. (Translation: I’m breaking up with you before you break up with me.) This let me catch my breath and get back to my Lawrence O’Donnell book. Eventually a number of other riders caught up and we rode together, more or less.

The second half of the ride was mostly through farmland with crops as far as the eye could see and cows and hay as far as the eye could see. The fields had immense irrigation systems that, with the fierce wind conditions, gently sprayed us from time to time as we passed nearby (item 4 above).

So, no, I didn’t forget the road rising up to meet us (item 1 above). It did do that – and over 3,200 feet worth. But I think there is a less literal meaning as well – to wish you a safe journey, with no obstacles, and with friendship and companionship along the way.

We had all of that. In spades.

Please click on the first picture below for an annotated slide show chronicling today’s ride and don’t forget to click on “Where’s Jeff” at jeffblye.com to see where we are.

The morning train gets revved up…

Spectacular.

Oops, rough road on the detour due to construction.

Back on course.

Ew rider Gina is all smiles.

Welcome, welcome, welcome…

Yes, those ARE Idaho potatoes in the middle of the gas station!

Abbe and Tami.

ABB veteran staffer Karen is riding with us today.

Continuing on …

Amazing formations.

Some sections were pretty desolate.

…and lonely.

Onward to Twin Falls. Note the wind turbines.

Overlooking the Interstate (not on it today).

Karen’s on the bike wearing her Cycle Therapy outfit.

Now, how could a place like Bliss only have a population of 318??

More geological history …

… about this gorge.

I don’t know about you, but this is a pretty weird welcome sign.

SAG 2

Attention Seniors: Today’s activity will be a 97-mile bike ride!

Meet Fred – doing what we’re doing, but UNSUPPORTED.

Hay bales (green)

Yup, that’s where we are.

One of the locals.

Knock, knock. Who’s there? The interrupting cow. The interrupting c—-. MOO!

Michael rides in front of some crops

Hey!! Um, I mean, hay!

Miles of cow farms and hay bales.

I just love this sign.

Scenic overlook? I’ll say.

The gang.

Wow.

Wow.

Officially in Twin Falls.

We had about a 4-club wi d, in case you were playing down there.

Great ride today (thanks to the tailwind).

This bridge is pretty spectacular.

Yes, there’s a Tesla charging station here.

This photo is dedicated to my friend Herb (a Psychologist), who used to have this as his email,

Abbe is going for laps at the end of the day.

Day 10 – Show me a sign

June 27, 2018
Day 10 – Boise to Mountain Home, ID – 54 miles, 1,590 vertical feet

First things first. That is an actual sign that you will find in Mountain Home, ID if you are proceeding east on E 10th North Street and in one block, your Garmin tells you to make a right to proceed south on N 18th East Street. I swear, I have not been drinking.

After a wonderful recuperative rest day, the ride organizers gave us a gift of another easy-peasy day of only 54 miles with very little climbing. And so, with a relatively late 8:30am load and go, I found myself calmly at the back of the peloton. I was next to last to pull out of the parking lot and rode solo for much of the first half before SAG 1. This let me catch up on some reading (audio books, played through the frame mounted Bluetooth speaker). I just finished Jake Tapper’s The Hellfire Club, which I thoroughly enjoyed and today I started Lawrence O’Donnell’s Playing With Fire – so alternating fiction, non-fiction. I find this to be both a productive use of “alone time” as well as a diversion from having to listen to myself think.

It was back to the interstate again for 11 miles, but by now I-84 and we were old friends. Stay to the right, no pacelines, rear blinkers on high, watch for debris, etc, etc. Oh yeah, and put Lawrence O’Donnell on hold. Sorry Lawrence. I’ll get back to you later.

SAG 1 was located at a major truck stop, the Boise Stage Stop, with a distinctive tacky western feel. We stayed only as long as necessary and then continued on across a long stretch of pretty desolate flatland. The entertainment was provided by a series of ironic street signs: Ocean View Ln, Seabreeze Ln, Ditto Creek Rd and so on. At one point we passed what looked to be a rusted out boat hull. I mentioned to Tom that the last time there was water here was 100 million years ago. “That’s why it’s rusty,” Tom quickly retorted.

I should mention that we are honored to have Tom Gjelten on our ride. Tom is an award winning correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR) and we rode together and talked for the next 28 miles or so. Although Tom enjoyed all of the weird signs, he was especially energetic at the corner of Martha Ave and Ditto Creek Rd. (Tom is married to Martha Raddatz, whom you may recognize as the Chief Global Affairs Correspondent for ABC News.) Anyway, in spite of lolling along, Tom’s room still wasn’t ready. (Mine was.)

This was our first “truck stop” layover outside of the main town with not much around. Still we managed to head over to Wingers for lunch and later to AJ’s for dinner, where the dessert pies were out of this world. No nightcaps – it’s an early night tonight. Tomorrow it’s back to work with a tough 97-mile ride to Twin Falls with over 3,000 feet of vertical.

Say goodnight, Tom.

Click on the first picture below for an annotated slide show for more about today’s ride and don’t forget to click on “Where’s Jeff” at jeffblye.com

Really should have brought my clubs.

Hey folks, this lot is AVAILABLE! Hurry.

Look how nice…

…this neighborhood is.

Brad is all smiles this morning.

Continuing up and over the Boise River

The Boise River seems, …um, … tamed.

Photo op at the top.

Here we go again, … for the next 11 miles.

Nice shoulder. Whew.

Signage Day.

Wanna get weighed?

SAG 1 – sells … FIREWORKS!!

Um, … seriously…? Maybe 100 million years ago.

Back to Old Highway 30.

Tom really liked this sign.

… so we stopped to record his next land purchase.

…and OVER the highway this time.

More imaginative signage.

A whole lotta nuthin’

Quick water stop.

I swear I wasn’t drinking.

Oops, …

Wearing my new outfit. Hopefully it will fit better by the end of the ride.

Our little oasis as the sun sets where we came from.

Day 9 – Basque-ing in Boise

June 26, 2018
Day 9 – Boise, ID – Rest day

The only problem with our rest day was that it was way too short.

The morning was taken up with a late start for breakfast, a just-in-time laundry run, Judy loading up our Garmins with navigation for the next eight days, a cautious peek inside Meeting Room A to see if maintenance had cleaned up after our beer pong tournament and finally (for me) a much-needed professional massage. Oh yeah, and patching a few of my punctured tubes, hopefully, not to be needed for a while.

We finally emerged after one o’clock for a leisurely walk into town under a brilliant blue sky and a visit to the Idaho State Capitol. It was quite beautiful, with lots of marble, and virtually no security that we could see. We found the Governor’s office (answers to “Butch”) and walked right in. The receptionist greeted us with a big smile and asked if we’d like to go into Butch’s office. Uh, …sure. So we looked around and took turns sitting at Butch’s desk and looking at all of Butch’s memorabilia. I never met Butch, but I can tell you, Butch was one big fan of Ronald Reagan. Rugged pictures of Reagan were everywhere with featured quotes about the importance of state’s rights. (I guess that’s a big deal in Idaho.)

We capped off our walking tour with a visit to George’s Cycles, an enormous and amazing bike shop in town. Several folks took the opportunity to tweak their bikes, or in Tami’s case, get new handlebars and a “new old” seat. I decided I don’t have enough cycling jerseys (sorry, Joanne), and bought a George’s cycling outfit – mostly because it memorializes our presence here in Boise.

Italian or Basque? What do you want to do for dinner – Italian or Basque? Civil war was averted when we decided to split up. Turns out, Boise has the largest concentration of Basque Americans with approximately 15,000 living here. Boise is also home to the Basque Museum and Cultural Center and we picked a delightful restaurant next to it. The street had been blocked off for an outdoor gathering of a few hundred people attending an international conference from the power industry. Lots of dancing and fun.

Oh, did I mention? June is Idaho Wine Month.

At dinner on Monday night, we said goodbye to Mary and Bob, who were leaving the ride, and welcomed two new riders, Gina and Joe. They will join us for the next segment.

Click on the first picture below for an annotated slide show for more about today’s restful day and don’t forget to click on “Where’s Jeff” at jeffblye.com

[Note: photos for the Day 8 journal did not post originally. If you missed them yesterday, you can check back now. “User error” (mine) ]

A nice collection of Garmin cycling computers. We’d be lost without them.

Judy loads up the nine routes for our next segment.

Everyone found this plaque interesting, especially noting how much power is in our phones and cycling computers today.

Self-timer photo op in front of the Idaho State Capitol.

This is what happens when we try to time our jumps to the countdown timer. Audrey, my how you’ve grown!

Inside the State Capitol.

I will literally do anything to get a good shot.

I have something to say to the Guv’ner.p

“Butch”? Seriously?

The Idaho House chamber

The Idaho Senate chamber

Paella for 200 looks and smells incredible at the Basque festival.

Half the gang went Italian, but we chose Basque.

Traditional Basque dancers put on a show.

Day 8 – Bill Gates walks into a bar . . .

[pictures added, journal entry below]

Early riders Hugh, Abbe and Jeff load up

Jon hands over his luggage to Pam

Randy is all smiles this morning. Rich, less so.

Lush farmland in the early morning sun.

Tami is first wheel on this sunny morning.

Rut-roh!

Photo op of a photo op!

We all stop as Randy has to take this call. “Yup. Got it. A quart of milk and a dozen eggs.”

Idaho rules.

Mmmmmm….

Oops! (Good news, we made a right turn just BEFORE this wall.)

Karen told us last night there’d be a couple of signs like this …

… just ignore them.

I promised Abbe I’d take a picture her every day.

The gang relaxes at lunch in Boise …

My new friends. “Hey, where y’all riding to?” … So, I told ‘em.

Idaho State Capitol

A fantastic bike shop – George’s Cycles.

Check out the student driver in a PICKUP!

End-of-day briefing.

June 25, 2018
Day 8 – Ontario, OR to Boise, ID – 64 miles, 1,640 feet vertical

Ten men are sitting in a bar having a drink. Each man makes $30,000 a year. Bill Gates walks in and orders a drink. Now each man is making over $100 million a year – on average.

Well, on average, I’m getting less than a flat a day. But yesterday I had three.

Before I bore you with the gory details, let me first apologize for this late posting about yesterday’s ride. To celebrate the successful completion of the first segment of our ride (Astoria, OR to Boise, ID, 653 miles and 32,000 feet of vertical), and in anticipation of our first rest day, Audrey organized a beer pong tournament after dinner last night – “for all you older folks,” she said. Audrey is a former high school math teacher who is riding across country before switching over to Law School. She’s also the youngest female on our ride, but makes it a point to put up with us geezers. All I can say, is that after a couple of hours of beer pong, and then hitting a couple of downtown Boise bars, I was in no position to write anything. (Audrey is wise beyond her years and cautioned me against posting anything from the second bar. And it’s too bad, because it would have been really funny.)

Anyway, back to the statistics lesson. My bike had been fine since the double flat on Day 2, but yesterday morning, as I wheeled my bike and luggage out to the 7:30 load, I noticed something odd. The bike wasn’t rolling well. Uh, oh. I looked down and saw that both tires had gone flat over night. Ace tire changer Judy sprang into action on the front wheel while I changed the back. My hammer train stood by patiently (or impatiently, I really couldn’t tell), but we had waited a half hour yesterday when Jay’s crank fell off, so I figured we could beat that easily. And we did. The only problem was, we couldn’t find the reason for the flats. “Was anyone in your room last night?” Judy asked. “Um, … no.” “Are you sure?” she continued. “Hey, look, I was pretty tired, but I think I would have remembered.”

The good news was we finished the repairs pretty quickly, but the bad news was that we couldn’t find the reason for the flats. And, inevitably, the rear wheel went flat again at 48 miles. Garry kept me company as I fixed it and found the culprit – the tiniest and sharpest little piece of metal that had wormed its way into the rubber. I pulled it out with my tweezers and we were rolling again. Tami, Jay and Rich had waited for me under a shady tree. Randy had already peeled off to visit his Aunt, who happened to live near our route. Last night, I found the remaining culprit in the front wheel, so I hope that’s it for awhile.

Ok, enough of that, and thank you for listening.

The morning was sunny and clear, the air was fresh and crisp and we set out over beautiful and lush farmland. We smelled fresh spearmint. (Was spearmint a crop? I thought it was a weed.) Everyone was in a great mood, not just because of the change from pine-covered forest to farm crops, but because the weather was fantastic, we had an easy day of riding and a rest day ahead in Boise.
The hammer train even stopped for photo ops. (Let me repeat that – we actually stopped for photo ops!)

We got to Boise so early (just past noon) that we all decided to stop for a relaxing lunch at a wonderful bistro. When we got to a beautiful Courtyard by Marriott, all our rooms were ready. Life is good.

Click on the first picture below for an annotated slide show for more about today’s ride and don’t forget to click on “Where’s Jeff” at jeffblye.com

Day 7 – My way or the highway

June 24, 2018
Day 7 – Baker City to Ontario, OR – 84 miles, 2,150 feet elevation

No kidding, we got on the Interstate today. We had a very appropriate scare-the-pants-off-you safety lecture at Rap last night. Strict rules: stay to the right of the rumble strip, rear lights flashing, no pacelines, maintain separation, strict protocol at entry/exit lanes, watch for debris. We all followed these to the letter, and frankly, it was an exhilarating experience with spectacular scenery.

We had been hammering along on old Highway 30 accompanied by mile-long freight trains from the Union Pacific. But the rugged terrain left us no choice when our tranquil road ended. At that point the highway shared the designation of both I-84 and Route 30. We were on the highway for three short segments and we executed to plan.

To be honest, the big rigs were less of a menace here than they were on some of the other two-lane roads we had been on since we had a pretty good size shoulder. The ABB staff had done a really good job of mapping this out and minimizing our exposure. We didn’t even need our E-Z Pass.

The only small setback was Tami picking up some shrapnel in her front tire requiring a flat change after we got off the highway. To her credit, she gave a master class in tire changing and pretty soon we were rolling again.

Rolling into Ontario, we lost an hour as we passed through our first time zone change – now in Mountain Time (ET-2). This severely cut into my nap time, but I still managed to soak in the hot tub and take a dip in the pool. Tomorrow we cross our first state line into Idaho, en route to Boise and our first rest day. It can’t come soon enough for me.

Click on the first picture below for an annotated slide show for more about today’s ride and don’t forget to click on “Where’s Jeff” at jeffblye.com to see a map of our journey.