Day 9 Rest Day in Boise, ID

Today was the first “rest day” of the tour.  No riding.  A chance to regroup physically from eight hard days of riding.  A day to not push against the pedals even when your legs say “enough already!”  No need to set an early alarm so breakfast can be eaten and bags out to the van by “load time.” A chance to catch up on sleep.  A day to go visit one of the museums in Boise, or go to the Post Office and send some stuff home that has proven to be nothing more than excess weight in a suitcase or duffel bag that has to be lifted every morning during loading time.  A chance to go eat when you want, where you want, because except for breakfast, meals are not included today.  And for many it is a chance to walk several blocks in the 100 degree temperature to go to a nearby bicycle shop to buy supplies that the first week of cycling revealed are needed. For me that was a new cassette with lower gears so that I’ll have an easier time when we hit the Teton Mountains next week.

But equally important as the physical rest is the chance for a mental rest.  The task of moving nearly 40 cyclists along, with different levels of cycling experience and riding speed, and keeping those riders from spreading out over to many miles of roadways, is a logistical challenge that America By Bicycle handles well.  Critical to that success is a high degree of organization which requires a significant number of procedures and rules that the riders must follow.  Be at breakfast at a certain time.  Bags at the van for loading at a certain time. Sign the sign up sheet when your bags are loaded onto the bus.  Before touching the snacks at the en route sag stops take off your bike gloves, wipe your hands with an antiseptic wipe and an antibacterial (an attempt to limit the spread of colds and other maladies from rider to rider).  Sign the signup sheet at each sag stop and when you reach the hotel at the end of the day.  This helps ABB keep track of where everyone is.  Check the ABB board in the lobby to confirm what time the mechanics will be available to help with any bike problems, what time you need to be at “route rap” to hear about the next day’s route and schedule, and where and when you must be at dinner.  Some nights you might need to try to grab some time with one of the washers and dryers at the hotel.  And then before you know it, it’s time to get ready for bed so you can do it all the next day.

A few of the riders have been heard likening it to the regimentation of “boot camp”.  So while we all enjoy the time spent on the bike, the underlying procedures we must follow mean that the day is not one that’s totally carefree.  And it’s also not a day with a lot of free time since on most days the long mileage we do ends up with most riders coming into the destination mid to late afternoon leaving little unstructured time.  So today’s mental rest is important too.  No need to set an alarm.  No need to remember to sign in.  No scheduled time that you must be somewhere.  You can hang around with others in the group and don’t have to worry about pedaling as fast as them.  Or you can hang out in your hotel room and leisurely write your blog.  Your day belongs to you.  And tonight I for one am feeling more mentally relaxed and ready to go tomorrow.

Our first of nine consecutive days will be a short one to Mountain Home, Idaho, only 53 miles away.  We’ll leave Boise on a bicycle path, but soon we’ll find ourselves once again on the shoulder of I-84—this time for about 15 straight miles.  We’ll pass two incongruously named streets—Ocean View Avenue and Sea Breeze Road.  With the short day many riders will be at our destination by noon.  A semi-relaxing day is a good transition before Thursday’s 97 mile ride to Twin Falls.  In fact there will be three days in the next nine day segment that are at least 90 miles.  And the final of the nine days, from Riverton to our next rest day in Casper, Wyoming will be the longest day of the tour—119 miles!

Shortly after leaving Boise we will hit the 650 mile mark, meaning that we will have less than 3,000 miles to go! And by the time we get to the next rest stop we’ll have knocked off another 700+ miles.  But still plenty of riding to go before we arrive in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in just under six weeks.

My Coast to Coast Cumulative Totals By Day For the First Segment
Date	Segment	Total Miles	Total Time	Avg Speed	Total Climbing	Feet Per Mile
19-Jun	Astoria Wheel Dip	26.10	00:01:45:29	14.8	584	22.4
20-Jun	Astoria-St Helens	94.80	00:06:22:01	14.9	3,671	38.7
21-Jun	St Helens-Welches	169.28	00:11:31:51	14.7	6,754	39.9
22-Jun	Welches-KaNeeTa	234.56	00:16:54:34	13.9	11,589	49.4
23-Jun	KaNeeTa-Prineville	294.40	00:22:17:17	13.2	14,754	50.1
24-Jun	Prineville-John Day	410.76	01:06:01:42	13.7	19,994	48.7
25-Jun	John Day-Baker City	491.82	01:12:35:53	13.4	24,696	50.2
26-Jun	Baker City-Ontario	576.44	01:18:00:53	13.7	26,656	46.2
27-Jun	Ontario-Boise	640.88	01:22:36:22	13.8	28,182	44.0