Day 13 Burley to Pocatello 87 Miles, 2172 Ft. of Climbing

Last night after dinner we had the results of the Scavenger Hunt and some of the things everyone found was amazing.  One thing on the list was to bring in a unique thing picked up on the road.  All in All it was fun and the winning team ( which was not ours) gets to cut in line at the next buffet.  Some of the things on the list were, Idaho Penny, Golf Ball and extra credit for one that is #4. Flower with extra credit for a Blue one. This was just a sample of the items and we had 16 on the list.  It was a great break for everyone and the competitiveness of the teams was something else.  Some of the people I had been riding with in prior days would not talk too you if you weren't on their team.  It was really fun.

Now on to today's ride.  We had breakfast at 0600 and luggage load was at 0700.  The temperature was 49 and the wind was blowing at 15-18 MPH out of the West.  I wore my wind jacket and it was still cool for most of the morning.  I rode with Margot and Kay for the 1st 15 miles and with the wind we flew down the road . 

I did not mention before, but we have 27 states represented and 5 foreign countries in our 47 riders. 

We also have 5 women that are really strong riders and they can stay with all of the strong male riders.  They are Kay, Margot, Margo, Ann and Beth.

After the 1st 15 miles I decided to back off a little bit and told the 2 ladies to go on ahead.  We were now on a stretch of road that was open range and the road was straight for the next 20 miles with cattle guards every 2 miles. While riding by myself  it gave me time to reflect how fortunate I am to be able to do this ride and the view in all directions was great.  Some people would say that it is barren land, but the wide open spaces to me has its own beauty and I was enjoying every mile of it. Sagebrush, Cattle, Rabbits and the wind in your ears as you move down the road is really relaxing and peaceful.  I rode to the 1st rest stop for the day, signed in and filled the bottles, got some snacks and then rode off as the wind was still cold if you were standing around.   I  continued to ride by myself and stopped  to take a few pictures and take my jacket off as we had some small climbs after the rest stop and I was beginning to finally warm up.  I tied my jacket around my waist and continued on.  We then came to a spot where the frontage road ended and we had to once again ride on the freeway, HWY 86 for 8 miles.  The shoulder was cement and there wasn't much trash on the road and we flew once again.  After getting off at the exit I waited as 2 riders were behind me. After they caught up I asked Jay and Alison if it was OK for me to join them.  They said sure and off we went.  Jay is the 2009 Arkansas State Road Race Champion in the Masters class and Alison is his Niece.  They shared with me that Alison had a goal today to get in before the Fast guys today.  We continued on down the road letting Jay lead the way and we were right behind him.  It was then time to stop at the 2nd rest for the day to sign in, and refuel.  We did not stay there very long and hit the road again with 27 miles to go.  The miles clicked by and then we could see a rider catching us and it was Jim, the mechanic on staff and by the way, he rides the very same bike as mine and then 4 of us moved on down the road.  After about 5 miles we thought the fast guys were catching us as I spotted riders in my mirror, but it turned out to be Rick, Michael and Matt and Kay, Jays' wife.  They had taken a wrong turn and saw us in the distance and turned the speed up until they caught us.  We then rode in as a group into Pocatello and to the Motel.  Alison accomplished her goal with thanks to all of the group and all gave her high fives on her accomplishment for the day.  We then checked in to the hotel and none of our rooms were ready and the luggage truck was not here yet as it was 12:15PM so we all went to eat.  The sign in the lobby said that luggage unload was scheduled for 1:30.  We got back from lunch at 1:39 and the luggage was all unloaded so we all went to our rooms for showers.
Today was another awesome day on the bike with favorable winds and great friends to ride with.

Tomorrow we will be going to Idaho Falls with about 60 miles scheduled, a short day and the weather is supposed to be cool once again.