Day 12

Day 12 was a very easy day, 38 miles from Twin Falls to Burley.  Most of the riders opted to add extra miles by biking to one or both of the falls.  I understand they are very beautiful, but I opted to just do the ride straight to Burley.  The main reason was my knee was very sore yesterday and I wanted to give it another day to rest and avoid the climb out of the falls.  The first picture is of Russell.  He is retired, 68 years old and from Virginia.  He also has an artificial knee and the other will need to be replaced at some point in the future.  Makes my knee problems seem pretty weeny.

Because of the short day, the staff organized a scavenger hunt on the way today.  The second picture is of one of the teams getting ready to leave.  

It's amazing to me how fast the day goes by.  It begins with breakfast, one of my three favorite meals on the tour.  Depending on the mileage of the day, breakfast may start as early as 5:00am or as late as 6:30 or 7:00.  We load our luggage on the sag wagon.  This is always at a specific time and no rider can leave until luggage is loaded.  This morning it was at 8:00, tomorrow morning it will be at 7:15.  It has been as early as 6:00.  We sign in at that time for the day and riders can leave any time after that.  

There are one to three sag stops on the ride.  Today there  was one, tomorrow two.  They are usually 25-35 miles apart.   We have to sign in at each sag.  This is how they keep track of riders and how spread out they are.  Some days there are also towns, convenience stores or restaurants at which riders can stop.

Depending on the distance, riders may arrive at the destination hotel one to three hours apart.  Speed is one factor, but other factors include pictures a rider may stop and take on the way, and length of time at rest stops.  I tend to take very few pictures, but make up for it in unscheduled “rest” stops.   

Once in, a rider's routine may vary.  When I get in, I try and find some low fat chocolate milk as a quick recovery drink.  Then, part of the new routine is to take an ice bath.  The screams were less today.  Then, I eat.  I go clean my bike, another new routine.  Jeff, one of the staff, has shown me how to clean my drive train every day and the importance of doing so.  Then, I eat again, we go over tomorrow ‘s schedule, I stretch for about 30-40 minutes, write my blog, call Kim, and go to bed.  

Tomorrow is 86 miles and the beginning of six very challenging days.