TODAY'S TALES:  I think the riders had a good day off yesterday.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the change in routine although we still saw lots of people walking in 'pace lines' on their way to dinner or to do some shopping.  Ken wasn't in such a hurry to get there as some of the other riders and by the time he got where ever he was going he thought his new name was "On your left." 

Days off are filled with a lot of different activities: washing clothes, bike shop shopping, reading, tubing, sightseeing, or just relaxing by the motel pool.  The staff even got a couple hours to relax after prepping the vans and shopping for SAG food.  Barb did the books and I tidied up the website and did some bike shop shopping myself.  I even took time to get a professional bike fit before the new rider orientation.  By mid afternoon, we held registration, bike assembly, and orientation for our 2 new riders we picked up for this leg.  From the looks of it, they are ready to ride.  They sure picked a tough section to do, but I'm sure they will do fine.

Today's ride was one of the easiest we've had so far...at least it was the shortest in distance, but it was also mostly downhill and we had great tailwinds too.  Since the route was a mere 52 miles, we decided to load the luggage later than normal (8:00) and ate breakfast before loading.  We pretty much swamped the kitchen staff when all 50 some of our hungry bikers showed up in the food line all at once.  But they seemed to be on top of the tidal wave and they hustled to keep the feed bins filled with eggs, pancakes, various meats, and beverages.  In spite of all the challenges, we were off in good form and on our way for our second leg of our journey...destination: Casper WY.

As we left Boise, we picked up a bike path and rode adjacent to a game reserve and the Boise River, which made the departure very enjoyable in spite of a few bumpy portions before getting on the interstate.  I think everyone enjoyed our stay in Boise...it's a "bike friendly" town with cyclists everywhere...They also have one of the best bike shops I've seen since we've left the east coast...Georges.  Georges also really likes it when we show up in Boise.  It's a block from the motel and they have lots of stuff...well, they have less now.

As I said before, we rode on the interstate a bit today.  This usually means that we'll have more flat tires than normal...today was no exception. We had a smooth, clean shoulder on the interstate until shortly after a rest area, at which time it turned to rough chip and seal and was littered with the ubiquitous pieces of wire and tire bits.  Jim was in the mechanic's van today and spent most of the late morning driving back and forth on the interstate fixing flats.  His hands are pretty sore right now, but he'll live.  We don't have too many days on interstates on this ride, but anytime we ride on them, we have more flats than we need.  Our record in one day is 135 with 7 more motel flats in the evening...that was an interesting day on the Challenge Ride several years ago.  We ran out of tubes and bought every tube in Gunnison before we left the next morning.  We weren't near that number today, but I'm sure our mechanic's hands were pretty sore too from all the ones he changed.

This will probably be the last year we do the bad part of the interstate as Karen and I went off route to scout out a back road that I've been eyeing for a couple years and just never had the time to look at it.  After the SAG we simply crossed the interstate instead of getting on it and followed what was Old Hwy 30 all the way to town.  It went out into the foot hills a time or two and I was getting a little anxious as we could see we were getting farther and farther from the interstate.  But all fears were for naught as it curled around and ended up intersecting our route just where they got off the interstate.  It only added about 3 miles and I think it will be a good option...especially to keep the flats down...we'll use it next year.

After everyone got in and just before dinner, I offered a flat tire clinic.  It was well attended and I discussed the process of changing a flat and how to do the forensics to keep from having another one.  There's lots of little tips I've learned after changing thousands of flats out here on the road.  

Since it was such a short day, the pool at the motel was a hit.  Most of the riders were lounging around getting some much needed rest for the upcoming days.  This leg we have some of the shortest days on the trip...two days in the 30s for mileage.  But we also have a couple of the toughest we've had so far into Twin Falls, Blackfoot, and Jackson...Dubois isn't an easy day either.  The riders are getting much stronger and they are pretty much rested after yesterday and today...bring it on tomorrow.  Tomorrow we pedal to Twin Falls.  It's about 97 miles and it's going to be a pretty toasty day...well into the 90s.  We'll be scrambling I'm sure to keep everyone full of water and out of trouble...but that's why we get paid the big bucks.  Tune in and see how we do.  See you then.

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