Northwest, Rockies, & Badlands: Over the Snake River to Twin Falls

Super hot with headwinds of 14 mph. Toughest 97 miles I've done. It was grueling. Some in the group tapped out as they had nothing left in the tank. Better save it for another day. Other gal had three flats. Matt and I were psyched that we did the first 30 miles averaging over 18 mph. That was darned good time for the climbing and distance. Our high fives turned to dust as we hit headwinds of 14 mph and temps started climbing on a treeless, sun-splashed stretch that just went on and on and on.

Not much snappy banter between us today, just grind grind grind until we hit a Subway shop at mile 87 (leaving just 10 cruel miles to cover). Needing a good dose of AC and some fuel, we popped in, had a couple of subs and tall soft drinks to cool down our core. That did the trick. We headed out, hit the gorge and took a few shots of amazing scenery below. Saw a couple of Base Jumpers that were packing or repacking their chutes. Didn't have the energy to go over and ask whether they were just finishing or getting ready for a jump. I was just completely drained and barely conscious of my own somatic state.

Matt and I pulled in to the Best Western around 3:00 PM Mountain Time, having started at 6:30. We met in the lobby to head out to dinner at 5:30 and ran into 5 others that were just pulling in to the hotel. These guys started out before 6:00. It was a tough slog indeed. The nightly Route Rap has been postponed until tomorrow morning at 8:00. We leave at 8:30 on another short ride of some 38 miles. There will be an opportunity to add 15 miles to view the Twin Falls for which the city gets its name. It involves a sharp descent and accordingly so, a sharp ascent on the way back. I'm on the fence on that one. Check in tomorrow's blog to see where I end up on that decision.

Couple of logistic items I haven't mentioned before. I really like the way they run the dinners on this tour. Most dinners have been buffets with a two hour window to show up to put the feed bag on. This means you get fed when you arrive at the restaurant and don't have to wait for the waitress to take drink orders and then dinner orders for 40 people. This saves at least 45 minutes a night leaving time for other necessities like cleaning bike, doing laundry, stretching, calling home, blogging, taking in the pool, jacuzzi, or just plain old napping. The down side is that the whole group splinters into smaller cliques with like style riders hanging with the same folks. Most people do make efforts to reach across the riding spectrum to get to know others and listen to their stories so its not a completely isolating experience.

This year, Matt and I are in the late release group meaning the others have an hour or so head start before we leave. Personally, I'd prefer to get out early in the cool hours of the day to finish up earlier. But that might mean we get to the SAG stops before they're set up or to the Hotel before the rooms are ready and our luggage arrives. Finally, unloading the truck and bringing our bags to our room after a long day of cycling is a bit of a bother, but not as big a deal as I thought it would be.

Post Script: The area we left yesterday (Boise foothills) was hit by a wild fire and several buildings were lost. Just missed that calamity by a day. And late today, we did ride past some split rail fencing that was smoking. out one end. As I took a second look, I noticed the brush area all around it was blackened like toast. I guess we missed another minor fire.