Day 10. June 26

Day 10.  June 26

Yesterday was a rest day, a much needed and appreciated rest day. We arrived in Boise on Monday afternoon, by about 2:00. It gave me a chance to empty e suitcase, do all the laundry and repack.  It was so nice not to have to worry about getting up at 5:30. I think I slept in until 6:00. After breakfast, a few of us walked a little over a mile to the Cathdral of St. John to attend morning Mass in the basement chapel. It was nice to see about 40 people at Mass.

Afterwards, a few of us walked into the state Capitol building.  Beautiful! The inside was all highly polished plaster that looked like marble. The governor's office was right there when we went in. I should have been a bit bolder and walked in. He wasn't in, but his secretary later let two of our riders go into his office and sit down in his chair. I think one even put his feet on the governor's desk. Entering the building was surprising, as there was a very conspicuous absence of any security officers or devices. It was a bit weird just to walk around so openly.

The lobbyists' locker

In the afternoon, several of us took a trolley ride around Boise and learned some of the local history. Boise was named by the French. Those of you who know French may know that bois is tree in French. (I may have misspelled that). But that is what they saw as the came over the ride line. Trees surprised them, as beyond is just brown desert like territory. We went through a lot of that - just mile after mile of relatively flat terrain (1400 feet of climbing), brown with a fair amount of scrub brush. Actually it was a bit boring today, as we rode less than 55 miles into Mountain Home, IDaho. A beautiful day, though, for riding -reaching e low 90s in the afternoon.  It would have been nice had the wind been at our back, but you don't get everything all the time!

Today was a tough day to meet anyone. After leaving Boise, we rode 25 miles to our first SAG stop which was an interstate exit/entrance (we were on I-84 again today for about 11 miles).  Then it was another 23 miles to the hotel. We barely saw any houses, people or animals today. It is barren here and where we travelled, not irrigated. Not sure what they do here, and, as there was no one to ask, I didn't find out much.

Tomorrow will be a bit different. Breakfast is at 5:30 so as to accommodate the 97 mile ride. There will be a little more climbing as well (2,350 ft). I guess we get back toward the Snake River and will go over the gorge. Some of you may remember Evel Knievel tried to jump the Snake River gorge several years ago on a rocket powered motorcycle, but scrubbed it due to the winds. And we get to ride over the bridge tomorrow. Those of you who know me well know that I don't do we'll with heights. My strategy is to close my eyes and ride over the bridge as fast as I can. If it works and I survive, I'll tell you about it tomorrow. If not, you can read about it on the American by Bicycle website under rider journals!

Be well

Don