Day 11. June 27

Today was an early day, with breakfast at 5:30, loading at 6:30 and departure right afterward, as the route was a bit over 97 miles. It was a gorgeous morning, not a cloud in the sky. It was a bit cool, but we knew that wouldn't last long. There were 6 or 7 of us that joined up just outside town and formed a nice pace lime at 19 to 21 mph for the first 15 to 18 miles. Very sweet!  The advantage of a pace line with everyone working together is that you can draft off the person in front of you (generally somewhere between 2 to 5 or8 feet behind the wheel in front). You've probably seen race cars get real close?.?  Same principal. The guy in front breaks a lot of the wind resistance and the guy behind can go the same speed, but only work about 70% of what the rider in front is putting out.

The pace line broke when someone dropped somthing. From then on, we were in small groups of 2 to 5, some faster, some of us a bit slower. We rode past huge irrigated fields of corn and hay. Hundreds of sprinkler heads shooting water out most of the day. We went miles, seeing very few houses, occasionally passing through very small towns (eg Hammett, Glenn Ferry) before coming to Bliss at mile 50.  By that time (10:15), it was starting to get warm and we were starting to get a bit hungry, so we pulled into the Ox Bow Cafe, where there was a couple getting ready to leave and a guy at the counter who had just ordered. So I sat down and started talking with him. I learned that Frank and his wife had moved to Bliss (what a great name for a town) about 10 years ago when they bought a piece of property and sold their house in Idaho Falls. He then bought a bar and renamed it Outlaws and Angels (Frank claimed to be the outlaw). He told me about a fundraiser that they have been doing for the community for the past several years.  www.rockchuckderby.com.   I learned from Frank that a rock chuck is a marmot, a large ground squirrel that does a lot of damage to farms. The derby is to shoot these critters. Frank told me that last year, they raised just about $100,000!  I guess people come from all over Idaho to shoot rock chucks.
Montana is called Big Sky Country, but I'll tell you, Idaho has it's share of big sky as well.  The farms go on for miles!  And sometimes the road does as well. We were on a lot of chip and seal roads today, some just put on as we were passing through. Riding a bike on these surfaces, mile after mile after mile is not only boring, but hard. The surface is very uneven, so there is lots of bumping around, making your legs and arms tired quickly. When we'd turn onto a road with a smoother surface, our speed would pick up 3 to 4 mph.

At about mile 71, needing some cold water and wanting an ice cream bar, we stopped at a little dinky store in the middle of nowhere, outside Buhl, ID. There was a little four year old girl, Yuhelia, with bright blue-framed glasses who met us at the door with a tall glass of ice. She was very shy, but quick to "give me five" when I put my hand out.

As the ride was long and the temperature hot (reaching the mid to high 90s today), our plan was to stop frequently, take a breather and make sure we had lots of water. We also brought some v-8 juice to keep supplied with electrolytes. It's very important to keep them in balance.

As mentioned yesterday, I was worried for two days about crossing the Snake River Gorge Bridge (Perrine bridge) here in Twin Falls. I'm so glad I didn't try to find a picture beforehand. I'm not sure I could have made it across. Those who know me, know that I do not like heights. Not at all. We could ride across on the road or on the sidewalk that was about 5 feet wide, but a lot closer to the edge. Unfortunately, the road was very busy, so I opted for the sidewalk. Now, I can control a bike pretty well and ride a pretty straight line, but when I get on high bridges, the five foot sidewalk looks like a 2 X 4  to me. My hands get tense and I sweat profusely! About half way across, I realized that I was only looking about 5 feet in front of the bike. It got a lot easier to steer when I lifted my head and could look 50 feet ahead. Fortunately, the right hand (gorge) side had a thick steel fence a little over waist high.  Finally, to my great relief, I made it over the gorge, eyes open, but NEVER ONCE looking out over the gorge. After crossing, we stopped in the parking lot to take pictures.

FYI, the Perrine Bridge is about 1500 feet long. From the bridge deck to the water below, it's about 480 feet, straight down! It's actually the only structure in the US where you can (not me) BASE jump year round without a permit. I guess they do it regularly.

Tomorrow should be a relatively easy day, just 40 miles.

Until then, be well!

Don