Dispatches from the land of irrigation

Greetings from Idaho,
we have been enjoying some rest and relaxation in Boise. We're staying with our good friend Jocelyn's family who have been extremely gracious hosts. Home cooked meals, board games and great conversation has made me forget about riding my bike everyday. This is what the trip is about. Catching up...

Day 14 - Burns, OR to John Day, OR (75 miles)
We decided that we would much rather climb more and be in national forest than to continue riding in the high desert, so we rode north to John Day. It also just happens that Lisa has been working in John Day, bonus! This was one of the best days on the bike thus far, riding through small mountain towns like Prairie City and Seneca, checking out some old growth Jefferey and Ponderossa Pines and mashing down an epic decent into John Day was reinvigorating.

Canyon City, Or

Brendon going wild in Seneca, OR

Seneca, OR

Day 15 - Rest Day in John Day, OR
Lisa took the day off work and we cooked an F Street breakfast and mosied out to the John Day Fossil Beds which were incredible.




Day 16 - John Day, OR to Unity, OR (40 miles)
We got an early start, leaving John Day around 2 pm and rode almost to Unity. The mountain passes aren't so bad once you're already above 4,000 ft. Ted and I rode into Unity looking for a swim spot, after failing we decided to look for beer. We ended up at the "R Watering Hole" in Unity where we drank Coors light on tap in frosty mugs and ate french fries while Brendon and Chris set up camp and cooked dinner. Lisa met us here and drove us back to camp where we enjoyed a roaring fire.

Ted in search of the reservoir

Day 17 - Unity, OR to Vale, OR
Third and last (for now) goodbye to Lisa and we rode in to Unity for breakfast at the watering hole. The ride into Vale was challenging, a nasty headwind persisted all day and the last 10 miles were on chip seal, so every time a truck drove by you'd pelted with rocks. By the time we reached town we were haggard. Fortunately we fell into the flow. Chris chatted up a lady at the local pool who let us in for $1 each. We showered, swam, and showered before grabbing some Mexican food downtown which was the best we've had so far on the trip. The owner of the joint was super nice, as was everyone we chatted up in town. We camped out in the park, and checked out some cattle roping qualifications for the huge July 4 rodeo. We're starting to become knowledgeable in the world or ranch sports, although this doesn't make us stand out any less amongst the cowboy hats and hefty belt buckles. The roping went on well into the middle of the night, but you can't complain much when you're sleeping in the public park. Another cool thing about Vale is that there are murals (30 or so) scattered throughout the town, mostly depicting the Oregon Trail.

Unity, OR

scrappy chickens in Brogan

Taqueria in Vale, OR

cattle ropin' in Vale

Brendon contemplating manifest destiny

Day 18 - Vale, OR to Boise, ID (76 miles)
Woke up early in the park, grabbed some breakfast from the greasy spoon and hit the rode. Mostly down hill with a tail wind leading us to a bike path into Boise. Interesting transition in culture from rural farmland to wealthy private condos and houses along the river with private lakes where the friendlier folks are those who come for the fishing, and not those living there. Swimming in the Boise river was a nice way to cool down. We rolled into town and found ourselves in some sweet digs a la casa de Tessie and Scott. We cruised downtown Boise, which on a Saturday night resembles an episode of MTV spring break, where the girls look like scandally clad oompa loompas and the guys make me feel embarrassed about being a male. Definitely some culture shock, but entertaining nonetheless. After finding a taco truck we headed to bed.

ye old Oregon Trail

Day 19-21 Rest Days......
We headed into town to check out the local bike shop (Boise Mountain Touring) who happened to be having an IBIS demo day. After chatting with the IBIS dudes (who turned out to Scott Nicol, the OG of IBIS) we decided to ride some single track. Quickly Boise became the first place we've been to so far where I could see myself living. there is great single track in town and a strong cycling community. I met Jeff from the Southwest Idaho Mountain Bike Association who was tabling for their License Plate fundraiser. Jeff was super nice and told us all we need to know about the riding in Sun Valley, ID which is where we are headed next. Everyone was super friendly and helpful. After a great diner with out newly adopted family, we went out to a cool bar for some beer with Jocelyn and her friend Meighn, where I ran into Doug Martsch from Built to Spill. This further cemented my approval of Boise.

Mr. Ibis

Our generous hots Scott and Tessie

Pool at the Nerolux

Doug Martsch!

Meighn and Jocelyn

Brendon's first Winco experience

Winco at ~3 am

Solstice sunset hike