Today we made it to Boise from Ontario. It was supposed to be 64.5 miles but several of us took an unplanned detour (translation: took a wrong turn) so my total for the day was 67.4.
In spite of the “detour,” it was a good day. I started out by myself so was keeping an eye out for the bison viewing we were promised. I first saw a couple young ones in a small pen. They seemed skittish and were uncomfortable with me looking at them so I moved on. THEN I saw the field full of bison. Looked like all females with some little ones. There were none of the HUGE bison I’ve seen elsewhere. Or maybe they breed them smaller here. (sun was behind bison, hard to get a good shot)
Then I looked across the street and saw this guy. There was a llama in the same field and I thought I took a photo but it isn’t in the camera.???
The llama (or is it an alpaca?) Photo magically appeared today (June 26) so here it is.
I wasn’t moving along too quickly because that saddle soreness problem was rearing its ugly head. So it was pedal, stand, pedal, stand. The terrain was pretty flat today…no long downhills to get me off the seat.
Then I was passed by Alastair and Chris on the tandem. Now I know when to jump on so I did. They were fine with me doing so. Just having something else to think about (keeping a safe distance while still catching a draft AND keeping up the faster pace) took my mind off my personal issues making the ride into the rest stop go quick.
Leaving the rest stop, I was alone again but not for long. Another group passed me so I jumped on again. Johnny was in the lead with Janine right behind. Eventually it was a group of about 10 who all decided not to listen to the GPS devices but follow the road that made the most sense. Well, it did LOOK like it would be correct but it wasn’t so we had to backtrack to get back on course.
I was getting hungry so decided to stop for a snack. The rest of the riders continued on. Once more, no one to ride with but at least I wasn’t hungry. Biking mantra: eat before you’re hungry, drink before you’re thirsty.
As I continued down the road, I saw two of our riders pulled over in shade with nice green grass. So I pulled over too. Soon we three were traveling on. Then, flat! I called it out but they didn’t hear me and kept going. I laid out all my tools, inspected the tube and found the goathead I’d run over. Just as I was getting ready to change tubes, Jim, the bike mechanic, came by. He decided to use my co2 cartridge and then blew the adapter off it scaring the riders who just happened to be going by at that point. (and me too) He had another co2 cartridge so used it and left. I put everything away and headed out again.
I made it into Boise with no further problems. Parts of the ride through town were very pleasant. Quiet streets with nice places for bikes. The drivers seemed comfortable with bikes on the road.
When I walked into the lobby of the motel, I heard a woman call my name. I looked to see who called and saw Barb and then Dan! Although I knew he was coming, I didn’t expect to see him there. I figured I’d have to call him when I got in. What a great surprise!
Tomorrow is a day off the bike for all of us. Looking forward to it.
thecyclingdiva 