Hank's granddaughter Kathleen and her cat Ruby - she loves her cat
Cheap labour Laura, Hans, Sarah and Matt.
Joan, Marti and I are fast and efficient when we need to be
Scenery along the road from Boise to Mountain Home. Lots of sage brush and flat land. Mountains are a little hazy in the distance.
This morning Hank and I woke up at Matt and Sherie's house. It was 57 degrees at 6 AM. We said good bye to Sherie. Thank you so much Sherie and Matt for the refreshing and relaxing time. It was good for both Hank and I.
As we did not need to pack our tent, we were able to get on the road very quickly. We left camp at 7Am. There was some uphill for the first 20 miles with a steady grade of 1-2 %. The terrain was very barren and flat. Sage bush covered the landscape. In the distance to could see the mountains both north and south, but there was a heavy haze in the air that prevented us from getting good clear pictures.
I started out with Hank and Joan, but Hank quickly dropped back as we had a little hill going out of Boise. Joan and I biked steadily. We arrived at the school in Mountain Home at about 1215. Again Joan and I beat the gear truck. Lots of other cyclists were already there ahead of us.
Our average speed was 14.4 miles per hour and we were in the saddle 3 hours 57 minutes. It is good to be in camp as the temperature in Mountain Home is supposed to go up to 96 today.
We did have the wind on our back when we were heading south east which made biking much easier today. When we rode on Interstate 84 the shoulders were very smooth and the wind was on our backs so we sailed along at 18-20 miles per hour. It was a delight.
As we exited off the interstate 84, there was a coffee shop where lots of cyclists stopped to get coffee and pie. Both Joan and I resisted the sweets and just had ice water and coffee. We had stuff on our bikes so we just ate that instead of buying sweets. I am trying to watch what I eat. At Matt and Sherie's I weighed myself and noted I had not lost nor gained which is good. However if I want to lose some weight I need to be more careful about how much sweets I eat.
I hear a number of people already talking about our Saturday ride this week and how hard it will be. I remind them not to go there yet and to enjoy the ride each day. Saturday will come soon enough. They are starting to getting worked up about it already. Not a good idea.
As I am typing this, I am in the public library in Mountain Home. I can not up load any pictures at this time. I hope to do this later if the satellite is up at camp.
As we did not need to pack our tent, we were able to get on the road very quickly. We left camp at 7Am. There was some uphill for the first 20 miles with a steady grade of 1-2 %. The terrain was very barren and flat. Sage bush covered the landscape. In the distance to could see the mountains both north and south, but there was a heavy haze in the air that prevented us from getting good clear pictures.
I started out with Hank and Joan, but Hank quickly dropped back as we had a little hill going out of Boise. Joan and I biked steadily. We arrived at the school in Mountain Home at about 1215. Again Joan and I beat the gear truck. Lots of other cyclists were already there ahead of us.
Our average speed was 14.4 miles per hour and we were in the saddle 3 hours 57 minutes. It is good to be in camp as the temperature in Mountain Home is supposed to go up to 96 today.
We did have the wind on our back when we were heading south east which made biking much easier today. When we rode on Interstate 84 the shoulders were very smooth and the wind was on our backs so we sailed along at 18-20 miles per hour. It was a delight.
As we exited off the interstate 84, there was a coffee shop where lots of cyclists stopped to get coffee and pie. Both Joan and I resisted the sweets and just had ice water and coffee. We had stuff on our bikes so we just ate that instead of buying sweets. I am trying to watch what I eat. At Matt and Sherie's I weighed myself and noted I had not lost nor gained which is good. However if I want to lose some weight I need to be more careful about how much sweets I eat.
I hear a number of people already talking about our Saturday ride this week and how hard it will be. I remind them not to go there yet and to enjoy the ride each day. Saturday will come soon enough. They are starting to getting worked up about it already. Not a good idea.
As I am typing this, I am in the public library in Mountain Home. I can not up load any pictures at this time. I hope to do this later if the satellite is up at camp.
We had Internet in camp so I could upload my pictures.
I do not have the latest flat stats, but one person Doug Lutke has had 10 flats so far.
Today, Hank has his first flat 2 miles out of Boise. He said he had a thorn in his tire. So much f0r our armadillo tires that have a tougher skin. He is fixing his tube so he will have a spare again on his bike.
Because I spend lots of time at the library and then went to a restaurant to have ice cold lemonade, Hank got to camp before I did and started to setup the tent. It was blowing so hard he had to have two girls hold the corners as he hammered in the stacks. It is very windy sitting here as I am editing today's blog.
Thanks for all the comments on the blog. Good to hear people are reading and keeping up to date on the tour.
Thanks for all the comments on the blog. Good to hear people are reading and keeping up to date on the tour.
3 comments:
Hi Claire,
I really enjoy reading your blog. Your descriptions of all that happens each day gives me some idea what it is like for you all. My brother George is somewhere there, cycling along too. You did have a picture of him in one of your blogs.It is hard for me to imagine how you get through some of the days. Each day when I can, I am checking to see what new experiences and adventures you have had. The connection with all the new folks along the road must be so special. I pray for strength and safety for both you and Frank.
Corrie van der Kuur
It's good to read your stuff mom. We love you and everyone is praying for you. I hope to drive west on August 11 and see you the day before you get into Chicago. It will be fun to see the group and see all that goes on with the tour.
We all love you and think of you everytime we see a bike shop. By the way, there is one near Trinity. I might warn them that you are all coming in a few weeks.
We love you.
The Chicago Elgersmas
Hi, Claire.
We're glad you and Dad were able to spend a couple nights with us, and happy that you foundn it to be relaxing and refreshing for you both. Too bad Dad had a flat tire today...revenge of the goat-heads!
Kathleen was so excited to see her picture on your blog, and the one with all of us in the park, too!
Thanks for the brief computer training the other afternoon, too. I was able to get on the blog, and have made seatosea.org one of my favorites in Explorer. Thanks for the lesson in technology!
We hope you enjoy your days cycling in Idaho. We're praying for safe cycling and endurance.
Sheri Zwaanstra
PS - Matt says, "May your cadence be steady, and the tailwinds be strong!"
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