Day 08
Great finish to the first leg

DAILY REPORT:  WOW...another perfect day to ride a bike.  The sun was shining, the winds were behind us, and guess what...tomorrow we take a little time off the bike and do some sightseeing...or rest...which is a good thing.  It was pretty hectic this morning as it seems to be every morning with this many people, but everyone finally got on the road before the traffic got too heavy in front of the motel.

Today, our friend from the Netherlands...Dako, decided to wait for Karen and I to leave so we could ride together.  There's about 5 or 6 people I haven't seen on the road as of this date because I'm usually riding at the back.  I was looking forward to riding with Daco as he is one of the strongest riders on the trip.  We cruised out of town at a brisk pace while stopping several times for some photos, but after we got to the last turn before the SAG, we started to pick up the pace a bit...a little past the brisk pace we'd been cruising at for the last hour or so.  It was fun to 'play' with him for a bit.  It almost brought out the competitive juices again if that is possible anymore.  Best of all, I finally got some photos of Doco for the website.  Just before the SAG we started passing a few more people I haven't had the chance to photo yet, but we were just cruisin' too good to slow down for the perfect shot.  Guess the other folks will just have to wait for another day to get their picture taken.

The first part of today's route treked east on little trafficked farm-to-market roads bordered by small farms and occasional houses. The road rolled considerably and looked at times like a piece of ribbon candy. The first 15 miles contained 7 turns, so riders were kept alert checking their computers. Nonetheless a few riders missed a turn or two...normal on a day like this.  If there's more than one turn on the cue sheet, someone will miss it.  Course no one's 'fessing up to having misread their route sheet...not even Max who followed Daco, Karen, and myself when we turned right to take a photo when the route was supposed to go to the left.  He recovered nicely though when he decided to take the same photo.

As riders neared Boise, the road became more urban, but continued to be quiet as the route veered off into a residential area and then eventually entered Hyde Park. Hyde Park, an esoteric narrow spot on the road, is a favorite place for riders to stop for lunch before continuing to our motels...Motel 43 and The Marriot on Broadway.  Even with the later start, almost everyone was early since it was a short, relatively easy day. Riders have learned by now that their rooms may not be ready if they arrive too early and the baggage may not have been unloaded either. So, riders kicked back and relaxed in Hyde Park for quite a while before stumbling to the motel.

Since it was a short day, we set up only one SAG stop midway between Ontario and Boise. It was in a large, clean Shell station and country store. With the favorable conditions, almost everyone was there at the same time so we pretty much took over the place.  We also had another welcomed event...Deanna Livsey, a rider on the inaugural North ride, rode out with a group of friends and left tons of cookies.  She was a little late to the SAG as we had the tailwinds but she had the headwinds coming to meet us.  But never fear...cookies will not go to waste.  I just hate that most of the riders had already departed the SAG and didn't get to meet her.  Thank you Deanna!

After getting to the motel, riders helped unload the baggage truck, then took clean rags from a giant box of rags donated by the motel and used the outside hose to clean their bikes of accumulated road grime. We had rap at 5:00 to discuss the day off activities and our continuation on Wednesday. 

Tomorrow should be a fun day for both staff and riders. We staff get to welcome six new riders.  Look for a report again on Wednesday's ride out of Boise. Also check out the riders' bios again. I've added quotations and occupations to those who supplied that info.

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