Week 2: Stats and observations

The second week has already been completed — where has the time gone? I made it into my second state (Idaho), my second time-zone (Mountain) and had my first day off.

Day 8: Unity to Vale
Day 9: Vale to Boise
Rest Day: Boise
Day 10: Boise to Glenns Ferry
Day 11: Glenns Ferry to Jerome
Day 12: Jerome to Paul
Day 13: Paul to Pocatello

Some compiled statistics:

• Days biked: 6
• Total Distance: 428 (442 if you count the 14 miles from my off day)
• Time in the saddle: 29 hours, 27 minutes (30 hours, 36 minutes)
• Max speed: 37 mph
• Calories: 13836 (14446)
• Summits acheived: 2
• Elevation climbed: 9,272 feet (9,485)
• States: 2 (Oregon, Idaho)

Lodging:

• Hotels: 3
• Warmshowers.org: 2
• Friends: 1
• Camping: 1

Observations:

• I weighed my gear

  One of the questions I get most often is ‘How much weight is on your bike?’ When I was in Boise, Shannon had a bicycle scale, and we figured the weight of the bike, fully-loaded, is about 50 pounds. Of course the exact weight changes all the time, as I drink water or eat food, or buy new things or use others. But 50 pounds seems like a reasonable baseline.

  

  My favorite 50 pounds

  It’s nice to have an answer when I am asked the question!
• Idaho is just as beautiful as Oregon

  I just won’t get to see it. Or at least, that was the opinion of Shannon and Stacey, my WarmShowers.org hosts in Boise. They said the mountains and trees all are in the northern part of the state, and by sticking to the southern route, I am missing all of that.I’ll get a little taste when I travel through Victor later this week and then as I traverse the Teton Pass into Wyoming. I suppose there is some beauty I missed by keeping to the south, but I found the agricultural parts of Idaho interesting, and I suppose from my Iowa upbringing, comforting.

  I was amazed at the amount of agriculture that is going on in Idaho. Everyone knows about the potatoes, but I saw miles and miles of other crops as well. Many of them are root vegetables or things that grow in the soil, like onions, and beets, and, obviously, potatoes. My high school friend Jeff pointed out that the area is called the “high desert” and that water needs to be constantly pulled from lakes or aquafers or snow pack or the entire area would dry back up into desert.

  

  An example of the irrigation canals throoughout the agricultural region

  While that may be true, water alone isn’t enough to be able to grow things. We get plenty of moisture in New Engand, but whenever Marsha and I try to grow root vegetables they come out stunted and taste bad, due to the low quality of the soil.
• Boise seems like a great city

  I am glad that I had an off day in Boise on a sunny day, so I got to poke around and see things a bit. My hosts took me site seeing, and I got to see the state house, as well as getting to ride my bike along the Green Belt, which runs for miles along the Boise River.

  I also got my first professional massage, and it was very relaxing. My body has responded pretty well to the rigors of daily biking, but I’m sure having the muscles massaged helped. In addition, the massage therapist gave me some stretches to do on the road when I take a break and get off the bike. I’m sure it all keeps my fresh and restores my energy.

  There seems to be a lot of infrastructure around leading an active lifestyle in Boise. I saw several bike lanes on the roads, I mentioned the Green Belt which had some heavy use when I left the city Saturday morning, and there are miles and miles of mountain biking trails just to the north of the city in the hills. In addition there is skiing and hiking close by as well.

• Alternative energy seems to be quite popular in Idaho

  I learned things that I did not know, like the Idaho state house is the only one in the country that is powered 100% by geothermal energy. I biked through three different installations of wind farms while biking through remote areas, and that seems like a great way to use land that is covered with sagebrush or otherwise go unused.

  

  I was surpised, however, at the paucity of solar power. I would think the climate and environmental conditions would be perfect for solar. Much of Southern Idaho is a desert (except for the parts that import water) and for the entire time I was there I saw day after day of clear, sunny weather. Finally, there are miles and miles of land that seems to be undeveloped, which would lend itself well to miles of solar panels. There is the problem of storage and transmission of the energy generated, but that is also try of the wind turbines, so that is nothing new or different.

  I was really quite surprised about this, and I hope to hear of some new solar initiatives in Idaho in the future.

• The weather has been spectacular

  Since I started the trip 14 days ago, I have had nothing but sunny, warm weather. I have not experienced a drop of rain in two weeks. Two or perhaps three days had partly cloudy conditions, but the rest have featured blue skies and lots of sun. One day I saw some rain in the distance, but I never reached it on my bike, and it never fell in any area I have biked through.

  I know that the US is a big country and features lots of different weather at any one time, but it is odd to hear about flooding in Minnesota, or tornadoes in Michigan, or rain outs in New England when all I am experiencing is sun, sun, sun.

  At some point I’ll start to expereince rain or even thunderstorms (there is a chance for some one day next week in Wyoming) but I am thankful that weather has not been an issue thus far for me.

  Weather has played a role in defining the next few days of my trip, however. The temperature here in Idaho is skyrocketing, and is expected to be in the 90s the rest of the week and reach the 100s over the weekend. By that time I should be about to pass into Wyoming and it will be a little cooler at elevation, but that is still plenty warm. So I have adjusted my daily mileage down so I can hopefully be done biking early in the day while the temperatures are still more reasonable.

• I am right on scheduleFrom my initial schedule, I was supposed to be in Victor, Idaho on Friday. I’m getting there on Friday.I’m taking fewer rest days than originally planned, but I am shortening the days for heat or just to keep my legs fresh or even to have a little extra time to explore places.
• My surgically-repaired knee is holding up just fine

  I almost didn’t mention this because it has been such a non-issue, but I wasn’t totally sure how my knee would react to the constant pressure and wear-and-tear of the bike tour. I’m happy to say the knee is holding up well, and I don’t even notice anything unless I happen to see the bump on my leg where the metal plate is installed. There is no discomfort or soreness, beyond what all my leg muscles are experiencing.

  In fact, I think that my health has been better this week than it was in my first week. My legs are becoming accustomed to the daily grind, and there is less general soreness than I experienced in the first week. I have noticed that my heart rate stays much more steady even when I am climbing or otherwise under stress, and my recovery after a bad day is rather impressive, if I do say so myself. A good night’s sleep and a meal or two seems to get everything working again as it should be.