First 8 Days Retrospective

The first 8 days of cycling have been a lot fun, work, sweat, aches, eating, drinking, drinking, drinking, and drinking. 

What has been learned?

• Jerry and Rick know their sh*t about bike touring and have saved me much time, fumbling, money on the wrong things, and aggravation.
• There are some really nice people,  great roads, and beatiful scenery in Idaho and Utah.
• My pump sucks.
• You have many more mechanical issues when there is 50 lbs of stuff on your bike.
• Drinking fluids is like a religious devotion.  Drink until you pee clear, otherwise get ready for a headache at night.
• Beer tastes better than wine when cycling.
• There are magical places everywhere.
• GPS navigation is really nice when on back roads that are not on maps and following disconnected bike paths.
• Google maps bike routes will put you on roads that don't exist and dirt roads you did not want to be on.
• My body needs a break!

Highlights so far

• Grand View Canyon on the road from Arco to Challis was one of the best downhills I have ever done on a bike.  I recommend it to all touring cyclists.
• Glenn and Marcia Ross in Elk Bend are gems in the middle of a 55 mile stretch of road from Challis to Salmon.  Glenn told us of some hotsprings with 12 cascading pools about a 1.5 mile walk from their campground.  A fisheries bioligist confirmed that it was a magical place a couple days later.  Glenn also knows Grant Peterson (Rivendell), has a Bridgestone XO-1, just bought an Atlantis for his wife and basically was of like mind as me regarding bike design.  Marcia made us the best meal of the trip for lunch.  It was totally unexpected to find people like them out there seemingly in the middle of nowhere.
• Watching the fisherman catch big salmon that were returning to the Pahsimeroi Hatchery and listening to a fisherman probably in his 70's desribing big salmon getting excited when they sense their home waters of the Pahsimeroi Creek real strong and start doing big body slaps in the middle of the night out in the river.