Today was bliss.  Literally, as we passed through Bliss, Idaho – population 318.  I’m perplexed that only a few people choose to live in Bliss.  It’s one of many small towns along a beautiful 97 mile ride today that featured views of the Snake River’s picturesque valleys and deep canyons.  Bliss was fleeting, as a brisk 20 mph tailwind whipped us through town and on up the river.

Wind is the one weather variable that can either crush the spirit of a weary cyclist with a brutal headwind, or provide a vigorous boost of momentum with a blissful tailwind.  Today, the cycling Gods were overly generous with a heavenly tailwind, elevating normal cruising speeds of 15-18 mph up into the 20s.  It’s like traveling in an open-air bubble as the wind flows at your same speed and the landscape seems to magically move with you.  Pure Bliss.

Ninety-seven miles went by so quickly and efficiently, that some of us tacked on a few extra miles to see Shoshone Falls and pass by the earthen remains of the launch ramp that famous stuntman Evel Knievel used in a failed attempt to jump over the Snake River Gorge near Twin Falls.  Had he waited for a tailwind like today’s, his odds may have drastically improved.

Tomorrow is a light day of about 40 miles into the town of Burley.  Which means a bit of a sleep in and a later start.  Yay!  More bliss.

~Dan

I tried.  I tried really hard.  I carefully scanned the horizon in all directions.  Despite the heroic effort, I was unable to see the ocean from the famed ‘Ocean View’ lane in Idaho.  If one were to google all the Ocean View Lanes in America, this one would probably be last on the list.  Later on, I would pass by Sea Breeze Avenue, where I did feel a breeze – but sorely lacking in humidity or salinity.  Even the ambitious town name of Mountain Home is a bit of a stretch.  The warm dry weather might be making folks a bit loopy around here… all in good fun.

It might sound a bit odd to many folks, but today was an ‘easy 56 mile ride’.  With rested legs from a day off, the miles rolled right on by as we left the shaded bikes paths along the Boise River for the wide open prairie of central Idaho.

As you might imagine, dinners for 40 hungry cyclists can be challenging for some of the small towns we stay in.  Advance notice helps, especially for the places that accommodate the tour from year to year.  AJ’s pulled it off very nicely today with a full salad bar, choice of several entrees, and of course, a superb Idaho baked potato.

 Great name for a restaurant, as my son AJ would probably concur.

Tomorrow will present a more difficult challenge – 97 miles to Twin Falls.  Word is that there are actual water falls in the area… we shall see about that.

~Dan

Today is a day off in the pleasantly surprising town of Boise.  We wandered into the hotel breakfast with a blank-check sort of mentality… a free day!

For me, the day started with a trip to a local laundromat.  I don’t recall being in a laundromat since my days in college at Colorado State.  $3.25 for a wash and $0.25 per 6 minutes of dryer time.  Time seems to move in slow motion while clothes tumble behind round glass doors and the machines meld into a constant cacophony of industrial background noise.  A two mile round trip would be the only miles I put on the bike today.

With freshly clean clothes, I spent time meandering about town –  through Boise State University, along the Boise River (where floating downriver is a popular summer pastime), to the Boise Art Museum (BAM!), and to the Idaho state capitol building.  A very clean and welcoming city, with newly constructed blocks alongside historic brick buildings, in a picturesque mountain river valley.  A lot to like, which might explain why Boise is one of the fastest growing cities in the country.

The day was capped off with a nice dinner at a downtown Italian restaurant with several of my riding companions, each of us talking about our various travel stories and experiences.  We’ve come to discover we all have quite a bit in common, yet so much that we can learn from each other.  The pleasure of cycling combined with an epic goal has united us in ways that are difficult to describe – a psychology experiment of sorts.  I look forward to continuing the journey.

Day 10 will feature a relatively easy 54 miles to Mountain Home, ID.

~Dan