Across America North - day 11 - Mountain Home, ID --> Twin Falls, ID

Today was a long one: 97 miles on a day whose high temperature was 97 degrees. The first half was through farm land with a great variety of crops being irrigated by a vast system of immense sprinklers. And cows. So many cows. We were passed by many huge, silver tank trucks carrying milk from those cows.

In the first half of the ride, the weather was nice and cool. I got on the wheel of two fast riders for a couple of miles and rode a good pace at about 21 mph. Then the pulling rider changed and the new leader pushed the pace to 23.5 mph while we were going up a 2.5% grade. I was dropped. As the hours passed in the second half, the temperature went up to the promised high of 97. I was not in trouble in the heat but was beyond glad to get to the hotel. A few others needed relief at the SAG vehicle. There but for grace...

The roughest part of today's ride was the endless chip-seal roads. I know that it's a financially appealing way to build a road and it resists the formation of sheets of ice. Still, it shortens the life of all tires, be they car, truck, or bike. Today's ride took a lot of miles off of our tires.

The song du jour, determined by forces beyond my conscious control, is Slip Slidin' Away by Paul Simon.

Slip slidin' away
Slip slidin' away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip slidin' away


After a dip in the cool pool and a longer soak in the warm jacuzzi, we went to dinner at the Golden Corral, a 10-minute walk from the hotel. It's a good place to go after a long day in the saddle. Then came the unexpected chance to use a washer and dryer in the hotel. With laundry done and after some time with this blog, it's beddie-bye time now.

Tomorrow's ride is to Burley, a mere 39 miles away (not counting side trips to a couple of waterfalls here at Twin Falls. The hot weather is expected to continue until we get some altitude at Jackson Hole, wyoming.

(The following data show only 83 miles because a spontaneous reset of my computer lost the first 14 miles.)