Day 14 – So Good to be Back in the Saddle

By Mark Heggestad
Woke up to 32 degrees and snow on our bikes.  By mid morning the temp was up to 35 and we hit the road – and life was good.  Two days off did wonders for the body and mind – but it was really good to get back on the bike.  All was perfect except the crazy, busy, fast moving, inconsiderate traffic on State Highway 95.  The good news - we are done with State Highway 95 – good riddance.  Tomorrow we travel Old Highway 95, which parallels State Highway 95.  That should relieve of us of the majority of the traffic and associated stress.

We had a relatively easy day today.  We biked 62 miles; the first 30 miles were pretty much downhill and the last 32 miles were relatively flat with a couple 500 foot ascents at the end.  We biked along the Little Salmon River and the Salmon River most of the time.  It was interesting to watch the river widen dramatically as the day went on.  We are spending the night in White Bird, ID - our camper not more than 20 feet from the roaring Salmon River.

In our first two weeks of biking we have biked along side rivers and creeks often.  There is a double benefit – not only are the ever-changing rivers beautiful, but the constant sound of flowing water is very peaceful.  And tonight, I will fall asleep listening to the flowing rumble of the Salmon River.

Little Salmon River at the start of the day.
The road we are biking is visible on the right.

Salmon River at midday

A view of the Salmon River from the door of our camper

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 15, 2017 at 4:37 AM

    It's good you will be getting off the state highway.....I can't imagine the stress of a semi blowing by while biking. Also good to see that you took a few days off. Good for the mind and body. Although I laughed when I read you took off on a run on one of the days off!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMay 15, 2017 at 7:55 AM

    Hey, thanks for the extra pics today! :) Love the sound of the river while resting in bed. Hey, are those purple irises along the bank -- gorgeous! Enjoy a day without much traffic.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMay 15, 2017 at 8:48 PM

    Once again, I'm going to try and write a comment as I haven't had much luck. I feel like I'm living your trip thru your words. Very descriptive! I was tense just thinking about riding on the highway. Happy trails ahead. Shan

    ReplyDelete

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