Day 59, Wednesday, June 18
This was one of our tougher days. The terrain was good, with most of the climbing in the morning, and the wind was not bad. But the length, the heat, the traffic, and the complete lack of shade for miles on end made me think several times it was pure folly.
Our day started easily enough with a pleasant ride on our old friend, Old Highway 30. (We had ridden it across the southern Idaho wilderness a few days earlier.) We rode west along the Snake River to Hammet where we hoped the local cafe would be open. It was not.
From there we diverged from the Snake and climbed out of the Snake River Canyon to Mountain Home, a town I have driven past on the interstate many times but never visited. We had breakfast at the Manhattan Cafe, which I expected to be too fancy for my taste, but it was just a diner with a fancy name.
From Mountain Home we did not have a lot of options. If we went all the way to Boise it would be an 80 mile day, a big task in the 90-degree afternoon heat. Part of that 80 miles would be 10 miles on gravel or 7 miles on the interstate.
The alternative was a 60-mile day, including the stretch of interstate, ending with dispersed camping in the sagebrush of Blacks Creek Bird Reserve. If we did that we would spend the afternoon under the sun, rationing our water. We decided to attempt the 80 miles to Boise.
We were just two or three miles from Mountain Home when John had a flat. I'm not sure which was worse, sitting there under the sun watching him change the tube, or changing the tube.
With the flat fixed we set off across the desert. We stopped every few miles to have some water and a bit to eat. Once we even found some shade on the porch of a building belonging to an internet service provider.
Twenty-five miles or so from Mountain Home we came to the section I dreaded most, the interstate. I was desperate for something cold, and magically a truck stop appeared. I had no idea it was there, so it was a very nice surprise. I wolfed down one of those grab-and-go sandwiches, a Gatorade, and a bottle of water, I also bought more liquid for the rest of the ride. I had some, but it had been steaming in my bottles and inside my panniers all day.
We got underway, getting onto I-84 toward Boise. It really was not bad. Just like the one-mile stretch we did a few days before, the shoulder was very wide and I never felt in any real danger. The noise is the worst part, especially with all the large trucks zooming by.
The seven miles went quickly. I was pushing a little more than I usually do because I wanted it to be over with. Little did I know that once we were off the highway we would wish we were back on it.
We got of the highway at Kuna Mora Road. It was quite busy, with very little shoulder. We would have been safer on the highway. After going due west for several miles we turned due north on the misnamed Pleasant Valley Road. It was ten of the worst miles of the tour. It seems to be the only road to get into or out of Boise from the south. Late on a weekday afternoon it was filled with commuters and big trucks, and there was basically no shoulder.
When we finally got to Boise I discovered that Ride With GPS had routed us to our Warm Showers host through the large National Guard base on the south side of the city, so we had to find an alternate way. But we did finally get there after a grueling, unpleasant 80 miles.
Our just, Steve Largent welcomed us into his home even though I made the request that same morning. Steve has ridden across the country three times and hopes to do so a fourth time. He had also done a number of shorter tours. We had a great time talking about our experiences. I just wish we had not arrived so late so we could have had more time to talk.
Steve has a great backyard for camping, but John and I have learned not to pitch our tents when we can help it. We just set up our sleeping pads and bags on his back porch. I slept well after a long, grueling day.
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