Over to Oregon

Waking up this morning, we surprisingly felt quite well, especially after a 100 mile day. Our host Rachel made us an amazing breakfast, one fit for cycling in both taste and amount. We lazily packed our bags, making sure to check for flats and being sure to patch tubes.  Before we would leave Boise, I needed to stop at a bike shop to buy a new tire. The previous 2500 miles had worn down my tire to the tread, a risky gamble to keep biking on. The city of Boise is surprisingly very biker friendly, complete with wide bike lanes and long trails. With a new tire in hand we headed toward our goal for the day, a town named Vale in Oregon. Unlike eastern Idaho, western Idaho is much more populated, with towns no more than 5 miles apart and gas stations a plenty. Our riding was much more leasuily than the day previous, today we were only aiming for 70 miles, not 100. Although we took a break from pushing ourselves, the Sun did not take a break from its job. The temperatures began to rise and we found ourselves drinking copious amounts of water and Gatorade. We must have stayed hydrated enough because although the heat was high, we kept a good pace.

One more annoying aspect of the day was the our continuing flat tire problems. Causes range from failed patches, tire thread punctures, pinch puntures and so on. Ever since Nebraska people had been warning us of Goat head thorns, which can not only puncture car tires but bike tires. We have been starting to think they were a myth because we have not seen or encountered a single one. I mentioned to Sauder that we will probably never see one. After crossing the state line into Oregon, which sadly did not have a sign indicated the event, we stopped at a ice cream shop to celebrate with some extra calories. As we were about to leave, I noticed Sauders front tire was low, the tire we had just patched. Upon further inspection, what did we find? yup, you guessed it, those pesky goat head thorns. We found not just one but TWO. One came out without a problem, but as soon as removed the second, a strong hiss emerged from the tire.

Those pesky Goat Head Thorns

We decided to end the day in Ontario, OR, right on the border instead of in Vale. Sauders rear will is having some spoke issues and we do not want to risk being 100 miles from the nearest bike shop. So tomorrow we are going to a shop here in town to have it checked. We don't know exactly where we are going to be staying but a local church here has a large lawn space. Hopefully, it will be better to ask for forgiveness than permission...

100 miles to Boise

Our amazing host in the small town of Fairfield sent us off with an enormous breakfast of pancakes,sausages,scrambled eggs and fruit smoothies. Our goal was the state capital Boise, located 100 miles away. We knew the goal was ambitious, but we just had a rest day and felt quite able. The first twenty miles went quite well. The wind was calm, sometimes indiscernible, the land mostly flat. The high sun valley plane which we had been cycling through the past few days turned into rolling high desert. Because the wind was calm, the temperatures began to rise. By the time we reached the top of any hill, sweat was pouring from our foreheads. Soon though, we encountered descent after descent. This was exciting because it helped us immensely in our goal for a century ride. I had not realized that we had been at such elevation before we started to descend. For around 10 miles we hardly even pedaled, reaching high speeds and watching my odometer tick upwards toward a hundred. We reached the city of Mountain Home around 1 o'clock, an impressive 57 miles from where we started at 9 o'clock. Filing up with food and water from Mcdonalds, we hopped on I 94 North to Boise. The last 45 miles were long but much more comfortable than I thought it would be.

So here we are in Boise, accomplishing 100 miles for the fourth time on this whole ride. Our hosts are Patrick and Rachel. Patrick is from Holland, back in the 90's, he cycled around the world. both he and his wife enjoy hosting many touring cyclists and touring themselves. We had an amazing supper here with them and their parents, and were able to clean up after a hot and grity ride. I noticed today that my rear tire is worn down from rolling over thousands of miles of pavement. We hope visit a bike shop in the morning to find a replacement before we head into Oregon. We should be in Oregon by tomorrow. The last state. The finally stretch. 

Rest Day

We have decided to take a rest day today. Seeing that we have not had a rest day since Casper and that those "rest" days were spend fighting food poisoning we took advantage of our hosting situation and spend the day eating and being lazy. We slept in late, and lounged around until lunch time. Walking through the grocery store, we let our bellies decide what they wanted. Two packs of mashed potatoes? Sure! A can of corned beef hash to mix in? Sure! Two oven pizzas? Absolutely! Although we did not bike today, we ate enough for at least 4-5 people. After lunch our host's son came over and said that we can hang out at their main house. For the next 4 hours we sat around watching documentaries on Netflix: Inside North Korea, Freakanoimcs, and one about Origami Art. Between meals and documentaries, we ran down to the local ice cream shop for milk shakes. Our muscles are enjoying the break from working and our bellies quite content as well. Tomorrow we are planning a long day, 100 miles to Boise. We shall see if we make it!

Not very nutritious, but filling...

Away from Arco, Finally in Fairfield

Although we were not sleeping in a tent last night we woke up cold and shivering if any part of our body was out of the sleeping bag. The temperatures in Arco dropped below the 40’s. When lying in a warm sleeping bag, aware of the brutal consequences of emerging from your warmth providing cocoon, you easily make the decision to sleep in. That is what we did. We slept until 8:30, when the Sun’s rays finally brought some warmth to the area. We left our gun toting, beer loving, and socially eccentric host with thanks and gratitude. Before we left the town, we stopped at the local gas station with doubled as a diner and truck stop and filled up on biscuits and gravy and cinnamon rolls.

We soon found ourselves on the road headed southwest. Our goal for the day was Fairfield, ID which was around 88 miles away. Although the sun was out, the air blowing from the south was chilly. It was cold enough to be uncomfortable but our pedaling made it too hot to put a sweater on, a catch 22. We ended up just bearing the cold and pedaling harder. After 20 miles we found ourselves in Craters of the Moon national monument. For miles around us the terrain changed into an unearthly landscape of jagged black and brown rock, remnants of an ancient volcanic eruption. While we would have loved to explore the region time did not allow us, we had 50 more miles to cover. Although we did take time utilize the visitor center to both fill and empty ourselves of water.

Around this time the winds began to increase and thus bringing down our speed. By  3 o’clock we had reached the town of Carey. We had bought a loaf of bread and can of Jelly at the grocery store in Arco and sat for lunch. For some reason, I could not eat as much as what I was working off, I managed only one sandwich while Sauder managed to eat 2 and a half.  This mistake of under eating would bite me later. The most surprising thing at this gas station was the outrageous pries of their candy bars, 1.79!! Who would pay that? I sure did not.

Due to some tire and tube issues we were back on the road at 4 o’clock, far behind schedule. We had 44 miles left to bike. In Fairfield, a couple from Warm showers offered their spare house to use so we were eager to make it there tonight. Although we were tired from the headwind and annoyed by mechanical issues we pressed on. The wind had died down allowing us to make good time. As we came off a hill and around a turn, I noticed 4 touring bikes on the side of the road, fully loaded with gear but with no riders in site. We parked beside them and scouted the scrub desert and hills around us. For a few minutes we were puzzled. Did they go hiking and leave their bikes by the road?? We got the idea that if we just started yelling we might get a response, so we did.  Soon we heard a response along with a arm sticking up waving from below a rock ledge down a hill.  Soon a person came out and said they were down there. Sauder and I walked down the small dirt path beside volcanic rocks and dry brush to see the riders enjoying a crystal clear hot spring.  This was quite a surprise; the spring was not visible from the road at all. These four riders were from all around the country, mostly friends from college and biking across America for charity, 3 guys and one girl. For the past 5 days we have met at least one rider per day, all heading east though.

So here we are, we finally made it to Fairfield. In town Sauder and I scarfed down a whole pizza and met our hosts. Tomorrow will be a rest day. We had not had a full day of rest since Casper, WY and those days were filled with the consequences of food poisoning. Each day we are nearing Oregon. Its hard to believe we have propelled ourselves this far with our own power. Well, here are some pictures! 

Lots and lots of hay

Dry and barren mountains

I see bikes, but where are the riders?

Oh there they are!

Ahead to Arco

There is always something surreal about waking up to rain pattering against your tent, like natural alarm clock, although without a snooze button. Sticking my head out the fly expecting dark clouds I was surprised to see the storm just leaving Idaho Falls, with “rain” falling from the tree branches instead of the sky. We got started late because we needed to stock up on bike tubes, simple yet vital pieces for any type of cycling. After saying good bye and thank you to our host that night, we made our way west, or so we thought. Two miles in, I realized we had made a wrong turn. Before we would correct this, we stopped at a gas station to enquire of the road ahead. They claimed that while there was not many services from Idaho Falls to the town of Arco, there should be a few gas stations. Not wanting to weigh ourselves down, we stocked up on water and only bought a loaf of bread “Just in case”.

                The first 20 miles we had a steady cross wind from the south, making riding not ideal but doable. At one water break along the road we saw a dot up ahead, why yes! Another cyclist! The turned turned out to be a women who was riding a large loop from Missuola to raise money for charity. After a nice chat, we pressed ahead only to meet up with another cyclist. This man, who looked in his late 60’s was biking from Seattle to South Dakota, just for fun. We found out from him that the only water until Arco was at a rest stop 40 miles ahead. He gave us a spare bottle just in case.  Soon after this, our route shifted, now we were directly into the wind. The wind also began to pick up, surpassing 30 miles per hour. As mentioned before, wind is either a cylsist best friend or enemy. This began hours upon hours of moving what felt like only inches. Watching my speed, we were lucky to get above 8 mph . Even down hill we managed only 9mph.  Our stomachs were the first to complain. We purposefully had a light breakfast, a pastry and shared quart of chocolate milk, expecting to get something later. However, there was no “somethings” later. Our food until we would reach Arco would be bread and water. I must say, after hours of fighting a headwind that bread and water tasted more like steak and wine than anything else.

Even if we ran out of bread the body fat would eventually kick in providing energy. Unfortuetly however, I am not a camal and cannot store water. The gallon or so of water we had each was beginning to dwindle. What used to last all day was lasting only a couple hours. My body was telling me to drink the whole bottle to quench my thirst, but my mind understood I did not know how much further more water was. Every five miles I allowed myself a half bottle, savoring every drop, allowing it to linger in my mouth seemingly extending its quenching effects. We pulled into the rest area with barely a few drops left. Both Sauder and I stood at the fountain for what seemed like an eternity, drinking the lukewarm water to our fill. We had 18 miles left until Alco. The wind was still blowing hard and the sun was setting. I had seen a warm-showers host offering camping the day prior and had been in contact. I contacted him to say that we would arrive after dark. He said not to bother because he was on his way to pick us up. This was blessing, the wind was not slowing down, the sun was setting and storm clouds had been forming in the sky.

                So here we are, staying at a disabled veterans house, chatting about guns, the army, food, and more guns. I tried offer the man dinner for helping us out, but he declined, he did however accept my thanks through beer. Tomorrow we are hoping to get to another host home, around 88 miles away, we hope to get an early start. Here are some pictures of today and the past few days, sorry about them being lopsided, can't fix it right now.. Just turn your head! :)

Five star quaters

Mandatory accessory out west

Sauder had a blow out. Hurt our ears

Into Idaho

Leaving Jackson Hole

Sauder and the Tetons

Crawling Out of Jackson

Drew bid us farewell early this morning. With his bike shipped off and bags packed, he caught the bus down the road on his way home. Now it was only me and Andrew S. The morning in Jackson was chilly and wet, but what we were most worried about was the climb ahead. There is a reason they call Jackson Hole, WY a "hole." Jackson lies in a deep valley, surround by tall and steep mountains climbing past 10,000 feet. Looking at our route, we decided to take the shortest way out which was also the steepest, the infamous Teton Pass on WY 22. Through the rain and fog, which was making us dirty with grit and water, we were able to see just how steep this road would be. The smell of hot breaks was constant, the clammer of semi trucks slowing  down with their Jake breaks echoed down the mountain. A sign greeted us, Caution: Steep Road 10% grades! Within the first half mile, gravity began to take its toll on our bodies. The gears on our bikes could only take so much. Even in granny gear I found myself pumping the pedals with great force for even slight forward movement. 

 As we crawled up at 3 miles per hour, the fact that semi trucks were but mere dots descending the mountain dampened our resolve. This, along with our hearts pounding out of our chests, gasping for oxygen in the thin air, we decide to take our breaks  by walking. After 3 1/2 hours, we made it to the top. 8700 feet, from a start point at 6000 ft. Usually, conquering a mountain would bring the satisfaction of being able to fly to the bottom at great speed. However, the descent was rife with hair pin turns and on coming traffic, a death wish for a biker traveling over 30 mph.

 Thankfully our brakes held up and we made it down the mountains and across the border into Wyoming. After one more mountain pass, our goal of Idaho falls was in sight. Or so we thought. Just as we were coming out from a long valley nestled between mountain ranges, Sauder yelled to me ahead that rnhad a flat. Thus started 3 hours of frustration.  

Whatever puntuted the tube was my entolyntemoved tesiing in another puncture. The new tube then put on burst because of the tire bead coming loose.. And so on.. As frustration mounted a I got a call from our warm showers contact Carolyn. She had just got my message I sent a day prior and said we were welcome to stay in her yard, also she is a bike mechanic at alocal bike shop. After spending a hour working on Sauders tire, we were finally moving, only 30 miles left to Idaho falls. 

However, I too got a flat. This, due to various factors, took a hour itself. The sun not waiting for us to fall over the horizon. We knew we had to rise quick to make it before dark. This was hard because we had no time during the day to eat anything substantial. Running off body fat is possible, but not fun. Luckily, Idaho falls lay at a lower elevation than us  and we had a tail wind, Allowing speeds up to 24mph. 

We pulled into out hosts yard near dark, tired, dirty, hungry, yet happy we made it through the day. Pictures will come soon 

Down to Jackson

The morning was unbearably cold. The fire which was left blazing the night before was only embers. Luckily the bears which people had warned about did not show up. I scrambled out of the tent to see Drew piling on wood to stoke the embers into a warmth giving flame. Within 10 minutes our shivers began to recede and we began to make a breakfast of scrambled eggs and pack our gear and tents, taking breaks in between to warm our hands. We had only descended a quarter of the way the day before after conquering the pass, this meant starting off this morning would be a long and fast fall to the valleys below. The sun had finally passed the mountain peaks above us, warming the crisp mountain air to a comfortable level.

Our descent down the mountain started immediately. Within 30 seconds we were flying down the road at 30 miles per hour sometimes 40, the pine trees turning into a green blur as we hurtled by. traveling at such speeds, you become hyper aware of the road far in front of you. A thin layer of gravel could mean incredibly painful road rash, a deep pot hole, broken bones. Regardless of the danger, the assistance that gravity provided allowed us to take in the amazing scenery in which we were traveling. The long and green valley below from which the immense Grand Tetons peaks arose from came closer and closer and we soon found ourselves pedaling. Even after a couple hours, the Grand Tetons seemed far off. The road led us south, toward the base of these mountains, it was here where I spotted dark brown dots ahead in a field, as we got closer we saw that they were Bison! On the right side of the road were the Tetons on the left, Bison. We lingered there much longer than needed. The town of Jackson was only 20 more miles, but it took us a while because of first a flat tire, second a faulty tube and third, faulty installment. lets just say it was frustrating.

The town of Jackson is entirely geared to tourism. Everything is overpriced, Hotels and food, and the people are much less friendly that the rest of rural Wyoming. Since today was Drew's last day with us, we got a Hotel to relax and filling (gluttonous) meal at Chinese restaurant. Drew has to catch a bus in the morning to Salt Lake City where he will catch a flight home. It will be strange to be back to only two people, but we are almost done. Well, time for bed!

Excited to make it down

Taken at 40 mph

Camping with the bears

A little close for comfort...