And you think we're crazy?

Idaho's attempt to grow watermelons; Allison and Joel at the gorge.


A beautiful view of the Snake River and gorge; we wish this picture were a scratch-n-sniff, so we could share with you all the wonderful aromas we inhaled throughout today's 97 miles, as we passed hundreds and hundreds of smelly cows.


We're beat! Who goes on vacation and gets up every day before the crack of dawn, slathers cocoa butter on their butts, snarfs down about a twelve hundred calories of non-epicurean cuisine, and then sits on an extremely uncomfortable perch for six hours or so climbing eight percent grades for fun? Uh, I guess that would be us. But, oddly, out of the 75 participants in this madness, we're not really the looniest.

Two days ago, we had a rest day in Boise. We didn't exactly rest. We walked around the city most of the day, and ate an enormous number of calories to catch up for our expenditures on the road, including an eight inch tall soft serve ice cream cone that the seller had to tilt sideways to pass through to us out of the server's window. But, at least two of our group found it necessary to work out that day, one on a stairmaster for about two hours, and the other by going to the YMCA to lift weights and take a Pilates class.

Wednesday, we rode 50 miles from Boise to Mountain Home, Idaho, which was fairly uneventful except for a five mile detour into a strong headwind due to a missed turn, but overall it was easy. Today, however, was a challenge because we had to arise at 4:45, and after yet another buffet breakfast stuffing our faces, we departed on a 97 miler that took us through a baking agricultural landscape that only grew any crops because of extensive irrigation. Where the hay (hah!) they get all the water to irrigate this parched land, we have no idea, but growing hay, potatoes, beans, etc are everywhere. They also attempted to raise watermelons, but we think the crop failed (see picture). Allison got her first flat, which we expect will not be her last, because the record for the most flats on past versions of this trip is 25. We ran out of water @ 80 miles in, but luckily the support van came by and topped us up. When we got to our destination, Twin Falls, we had to pass over a suspension bridge hundreds of feet above the Snake River and, as we arrived, we witnessed three intrepid (or idiotic) souls jump off of the bridge, parachuting to the banks of the river below. Dinner was to be another yummy buffet, but we opted to treat ourselves at a Mexican restaurant instead. Tomorrow is a shorty of thirty-eight miles, but during the ride we'll be on a scavenger hunt and hope to rake in the prizes which we understand are remarkably valuable, like getting to go first in line at the feed lot, or possibly even a free tube should we go flat. How great is that!

Ready to Pedal

Our arrival at the Idaho state line, and the infamous Tootin' Tater trolley in Boise

Mike Miller, of the Miller train, and Fanci Freez, home of the best soft serve fro yo in Boise!

After the ease of last couple of days, we are ready to get back to pedaling tomorrow! Monday was cake. The ride was only 62 miles, from Ontario, OR, to Boise, ID. There was very minimal climbing, and we spent a good part of the time riding with the "Miller train." The Millers are a family from Florida - Mike, Bernice, and their two boys Derek and Michael, with whom we've been hanging out quite a bit. Riding in a group of 10-15, with the Millers and others, made the miles fly by (not only because of the company, but also because, due to drafting and a tail wind, we hardly had to pedal!) We got into Boise, had great sandwiches for lunch in the "artsy" part of town, and sat outside people-watching for a while. Then, we rode to a bike shop in order to get some new wheels for Joel (the previous evening he found some very dangerous fractures in his old set!), and then we finally settled into our new hotel in Boise, the nicest we've stayed in yet. Dinner was set up by our trip leaders at the nearby Perkins Family Restaurant (we've never been, but hear that its equivalent to Denny's...). Sick to death of buffets, we decided to go out on our own with some friends to a restaurant recommended by the hotel staff. Lucky we did, because we later heard that the food at Perkins was inedible!

Today was our rest day - woohoo! It was much needed and appreciated. We slept in, had a leisurely breakfast, walked around, got massages, did laundry, and hung out. Somewhere in the middle there we took an INSANELY boring trolley tour of Boise, but we're trying our best to forget about that part of the day. Now that we're all rested, we're ready for the next 9 days of continuous riding, through the rest of Idaho and Wyoming!

Is this still Oregon?

Joel eatin' a banana and Allison's new best friend Jennifer (an 8 year old riding a triple with her parents!)

Joel's ditching his bike and riding a covered wagon to New Hampshire; Allison with Sarah, from Berkeley


The group leader of the ride told us at orientation that we'd be brain dead after 48 hours on the road; I thought that that was a bunch of BS. Now that we're seven days into the trip and after 552 miles "in the bank," as a 68 year old Coloradoan says, its apparent that he spoke the gospel truth. After missing three days writing our blog, damn if we know the details of our adventure from even last Friday. Three days ago, we know we climbed about 5000 feet over 61 miles. Two days ago, the ride was a grueling 117 miles with roughly 6000 feet of climbing over a multitude of terrains including pine lined roads, frank desert with scrub pine and lots of minutes out the saddle slogging away climbing to the top of two passes, but a lot of payback descents. Yesterday, we had a 81 mile ride to Baker City, Oregon which had two passes, the first about twenty miles from the start. Joel was having a BAD day and Allison nearly dropped him multiple times until he recovered mid-day. We were rewarded when we got into town just in time for the Elkhorn classic bike race; we had a great dinner at a local brew pub then watched the pro/1/2 criterium on the city street just down from the restaurant. Stanford riders Evan, Ryan, and Max were in it, which was fun and gave us someone to cheer for! Today, we rode 83 miles to Ontario, Oregon, a gift of a ride featuring mostly all downhills including 6 or seven miles on the interstate, I84. We found Oregon's bug paradise when we had to ride a few miles through swarms of flying insects near what we think was the snake river. Bet the fish in that river are humongous and well fed; we couldn't talk during that stretch lest we swallowed our protein requirement for the day. Generally speaking, our bodies are holding up, except for our butts, shoulders, necks, and knees. We're looking forward to a day off (our first after eight days straight in the saddle) after tomorrow's ride to Boise, Idaho (hurray; we're finally out of Oregon). Plans for Tuesday include sleeping in (we've been up every day between 4:45 and 5:45 AM), a good breakfast of our choice, a visit to the local bike shop to fix some nagging bike concerns, and TWO HOUR massages for a ridiculously cheap price. Yessssssssss.

Two more days in the bank

We were too tired to post last night, so here's a summary of the last two days! The trip has continued to be great fun! Yesterday, we rode 75 miles from St. Helens to Welches on a route that took us through Portland, along the Columbia river, and with fabulous views of Mt. Hood. The roads were great, with nice wide shoulders, and although there was more climbing than on the previous day, the grade was nice and mellow and it wasn't too hard. We took our time on this ride, since there were lots of great views and photo-ops along the way, and after four hours of riding we stopped with a bunch of fellow riders for lunch at a great little place in Sandy, OR. From there, we had a bit of climbing left to do, but only about 15 miles to our next hotel, a resort at the foot of Mount Hood. We all went out for a Chinese buffet dinner about 3/4 of a mile down the road from the resort (we were skeptical, but the food was actually pretty healthy and quite tasty!), and then a horde of us, not satisfied with fortune cookies for dessert, went to a supermarket across the way for various ice-cream treats.

This morning, we woke up EVEN earlier than the last two days (if you can believe it!), and embarked on a 63 mile ride to Warm Springs, OR. This ride had a little bit of everything. There was lots of climbing, including a long, 11 mile climb right from the start. There were more fabulous views of Mt. Hood, and later in the day we saw several other snow-capped peaks, including Mt. Jefferson. It was beautiful. Around mile 45 the vegetation changed really quickly as we entered the desert. The temperatures went up, and the scenery began to look more like New Mexico or Colorado than the green, foresty Oregon we've experienced over the last few days. Our route was pretty desolate - not much around except a small convenience store at mile 50 where Joel ate a pretty sketchy-looking meat burrito (here's hoping it doesn't come back to haunt him...) About 13 miles later, after an AMAZINGLY fun descent down into this canyon, we arrived at the Indian Reservation/Resort/Casino where we're spending the night. After a nice shower and nap, we enjoyed a yummy pasta dinner, took a group picture with the other 73 riders, and now it's bedtime, as we have another early morning tomorrow!

Night!

Narrow Escape

Our trip across America has officially begun! We made it safely to St. Helens, OR today, 69 miles from our starting point in Astoria, OR. The day began early at 6am - we loaded our bags onto a truck, grabbed a quick breakfast, and headed out.

Last night, during a 4 hour orientation session, our trip leader Mike tried to impress upon us that crossing America by bicycle is a dangerous undertaking. He discussed safety tips at length, and having done touring trips before, we understood their importance. Little did we know, however, that in the first minute of the first day, we would have such a harrowing experience. Just outside of the motel parking lot, we stopped at a red light, waiting to make a left turn. We were chatting with some fellow riders when we realized that our light had turned green, and we started to ride towards the intersection with Joel in the lead. Suddenly, a car came blazing through his red light at about 40 miles/hr (the driver was talking on a cell phone, of course), nearly missing Joel. Needless to say, it was scary!

Luckily, the day improved from then on. The ride was great, although the weather was gloomy and a bit drizzly. There wasn't much to see along the way, but we did ride through some pretty, forested areas, and the climbing was gradual and easy. And, although we were among the last people to leave the motel this morning, we were among the first five or so to finish! Woohoo! Good to know that we're not the slowest of the bunch. We got to our hotel only a little after noon, relaxed in a coffee shop next door until our room was ready, and now we are clean and ready to nap!

We'll keep on posting to let everyone know that we're still alive and well, and to share any exciting developments/pictures along the way.