Day 60, Thursday, June 19
Steve, our Warm Showers host, got up to see us off at 6:15. We had coffee at Maverick, then headed north. At that time of day there was little traffic on the streets, and within a few miles we were on the Boise River Greenbelt, a beautiful paved bike trail along the Boise River. In the middle of town it is lined with condos and cafes. Sadly, the cafes were not open yet.
We were on the Greenbelt for almost 10 miles. As we got further out there were stretches that seemed remote from civilization. Then we would ride through a community of condos and houses. It was all peaceful and quiet, and I can understand why Boise is one of the fastest growing cities in the country.
Once we left the Greenbelt I was astounded by the development west of Boise. Farmland is interspersed with new developments of big homes with big yards and the occasional apartment complex.
One frustrating aspect this for cyclists is beautiful new sidewalks around some developments, interspersed with segments of bad pavement with little shoulder.
This continued almost the entire 50 miles to Parma, our destination for the night. Fifty miles had become an easy day for us when the weather, and terrain are good, so we arrived in the early afternoon.
The campsite was in a city park that could be quite nice for cyclists with a little work. However, the tent sites are gravelled so they can be uncomfortable for people without good sleeping pads. Worse, the ground is difficult to get stakes into. We would have pitched our tents on the grass but there were signs warning that the sprinklers would be on in the night. They were not.
Still, we had a relaxing afternoon just hanging out. It was good to have plenty of time to relax for a change.
We did walk down to the local market at some point in the afternoon. John pointed out another sign that I am closer to home every day: our first sighting of Rainier Beer.
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