Day 12--July 3rd--Burley ID to Pocatello ID
Miles Ridden 85.2
Avg Speed 18.2 MPH
Climbing 1200 feet
Total Miles Ridden 881
Miles To Go 2748
It's July 3rd but it was also 45 degrees this morning when we started out at 7:00 AM. That's the kind of temperature I like to ride in but just about everyone else was freezing. It never got much above 55 until near the end of the ride which is about 35 degrees below the normal high. We had a strong tailwind again today which made the 85 miles go by in a flash.
Today's scenery and terrain were not spectacular for individual sights but rather through the cumulative effect of the vast and desolate country we rode through.
Soon after we left Burley we turned north from the Snake River and the irrigated farms and into the high desert. We took one particular road (East Baseline Road) 25 miles, most of it in a straight line. It was open grazing land with no signs of humans and nothing but a few cattle wandering in the scrub and on the road. The people who run this tour have dubbed it the loneliest road in America and I wouldn't argue. One car passed us in the hour or so it took us to cover it.
We stopped at Register Rock which is a large boulder that sat next to the Oregon Trail. Settlers carved their initials and date of passage starting in 1842. After that we had to enter Interstate 84 again. This section was smooth, clean concrete which, with the tailwind, enabled us to ride it at over 25 MPH with no problems or flats from road debris.
The rest of the ride into Pocatello was fairly routine except for one missed turn that led us down a dirt trail, nearly into a freight train going about 80 MPH (see picture below).
Tomorrow we have one more relatively easy day in the flat part of Idaho to Idaho Falls before the dreaded climbing of the Tetons into Jackson Hole on Monday.
One small stretch of the loneliest road
With miles of open space, the cattle wanted to be on the road as we passed
Looking back at a beautiful sky while on I-84
Register Rock
Looks like Snut passed through in 1862
The train noted above. You can see one of the riders on the right
This is Howard, at 79 the oldest rider on the tour.
He's crossed the country 6 times by bike and is an excellent rider
who looks like he is made of ropes and old leather
Avg Speed 18.2 MPH
Climbing 1200 feet
Total Miles Ridden 881
Miles To Go 2748
It's July 3rd but it was also 45 degrees this morning when we started out at 7:00 AM. That's the kind of temperature I like to ride in but just about everyone else was freezing. It never got much above 55 until near the end of the ride which is about 35 degrees below the normal high. We had a strong tailwind again today which made the 85 miles go by in a flash.
Today's scenery and terrain were not spectacular for individual sights but rather through the cumulative effect of the vast and desolate country we rode through.
Soon after we left Burley we turned north from the Snake River and the irrigated farms and into the high desert. We took one particular road (East Baseline Road) 25 miles, most of it in a straight line. It was open grazing land with no signs of humans and nothing but a few cattle wandering in the scrub and on the road. The people who run this tour have dubbed it the loneliest road in America and I wouldn't argue. One car passed us in the hour or so it took us to cover it.
We stopped at Register Rock which is a large boulder that sat next to the Oregon Trail. Settlers carved their initials and date of passage starting in 1842. After that we had to enter Interstate 84 again. This section was smooth, clean concrete which, with the tailwind, enabled us to ride it at over 25 MPH with no problems or flats from road debris.
The rest of the ride into Pocatello was fairly routine except for one missed turn that led us down a dirt trail, nearly into a freight train going about 80 MPH (see picture below).
Tomorrow we have one more relatively easy day in the flat part of Idaho to Idaho Falls before the dreaded climbing of the Tetons into Jackson Hole on Monday.
One small stretch of the loneliest road
With miles of open space, the cattle wanted to be on the road as we passed
Looking back at a beautiful sky while on I-84
Register Rock
Looks like Snut passed through in 1862
The train noted above. You can see one of the riders on the right
This is Howard, at 79 the oldest rider on the tour.He's crossed the country 6 times by bike and is an excellent rider
who looks like he is made of ropes and old leather
Man, Dave... my wife and I rode 31 mi today at about 14 mph along the central coast of CA and I was happy w myself! I do believe I'm in the pee wee division when I read your blog... Way to go...
ReplyDelete--Kevin Clark