Day 14 Journal Burley, ID to Idaho Falls, ID

I rode 35 miles today. I very short ride today. I took it REAL easy the whole way in. I ended up riding with Recumbent Jim, Stu, Abe, Ilka and Lois. We all missed a turn at about mile 15 so we added another mile – but glad we got turned around and realized the mistake before we got too off route. We saw two huge while Pelican birds on some rocks in the river. The route today had quite a few turns but it was all on quiet country roads until the last 8 miles into town, which got us on US 20 for a while. Still on a Sunday morning 20 wasn’t even very busy. The weather was just absolutely perfect – warm but a very gentle cooling breeze. We tended to ride two abreast and chat as we rode along, and if the rare car came down the road we would move single file. It was still early when we spotted the Frontier Pies restaurant. Couldn’t pass that up; even though we had just snacked at the SAG stop a few miles back. It was a good time to visit and talk to some of the locals. It is funny when we tell some of these folks where we are going. They want to give us directions - and will start naming all these streets and turns and ‘short cuts’ for us. They just don’t get it that we have a fixed route that we must stay on. “But, you have to go over this BIG hill if you go that way,” they will sometimes say. We tell them we’ve already climbed over the Cascade Mountains, and the Rockies and we aren’t afraid to go over any “hill” along the way. Told someone today I was cycling tomorrow up and over Teton Pass tomorrow on the way to Jackson Hole, WY – and his eyes nearly popped out! A good many of us are “senior citizen” age and they look at us how in the world can you possibly be doing this! There was this discussion at the table the other night about how some people are a little crazy for what they are doing. Don Allison is one of the riders. He happens to be the publisher of the magazine, “Ultra Running”. An ultra runner is one who isn’t just into running a marathon (26.2 miles) but beyond that, like 24 hours marathon runs, 100 miler races, and 50-mile races – ultras! I was telling those I was sitting with that Don told me when I asked him how many races he has done, he said, “50 marathons, and 33 ultra marathons. So we were saying he is NUTS, he is crazy. But then we all stopped and realized that most of our family think WE are nuts, and a little crazy to be riding a bicycle clear across the US from coast to coast some 3,700 miles. Doesn’t seem one bit nuts or crazy to us! So these wild and crazy things we can make our bodies achieve are all very possible when one decides that is what interests the individual. I really enjoy the diversity of this group of people. So many interesting personal and professional backgrounds, so many experiences to share. As the days go by we are learning more about each other as we ride along sharing and at our meals and times we lounge around at the pools, the lobby or on walks about the towns we stay in. Lois commented today that she has been talking often via phone with a girlfriend back home. The friend just keeps saying, “Lois, you are having entirely too much fun, I’m jealous!”

So it was an early arrival into Idaho Falls today. A few of us went out for something to eat. We also heard that one of our riders; Liz (who is riding with her husband on this trip) fell as she was going over some very rough tracks coming into town. She fell and her helmet cracked and I guess she was unconscious for a few minutes. She was taken to the hospital and is being checked out. Word is she is OK, but they are going to do an MRI to check thoroughly. Should hear more this evening or tomorrow.

Tomorrow is going to be probably the toughest riding day that some will experience on this trip. We will be climbing up to over 9,000 feet from this 4,000+ we are at now. There will be two mountain passes. The toughest climb will be Teton Pass and the grade can get up to 13% incline. Then it is a 6 miles of 10% down on the other side of the mountain leading into Jackson Hole, WY. I remember it as a very hot, hard and long day. I was so tired I thought I would fall asleep at dinner that night. It is an 88-mile day tomorrow. So must eat well tonight to fuel up for the miles ahead. I am having a massage at 6:00 this evening, right after dinner. One of the riders called a masseuse and she has come to the hotel to give our muscles the kneading they need! I’m going to take a walk and look at Idaho Falls, which is just across the street from this Red Lion Hotel we are staying at. There is a path and park to check out.

Road Kill: 1 shoe, 1 Idaho potato (!), 3 bolts, 1 bird

Bananas: 2