The Ride Through Idaho

When last we left our road warriors, Kevin's bike had taken a turn for the worse. When the rain started pouring down, they found their way into a barn in Fairfield, ID (belonging to a generous woman who wasn't afraid of them because -- quote -- "I've got guns") and worked on some repairs.

Brian pulled through once again and brought Kevin a replacement post for his bike, which allowed them to get back on the dusty trail.

By the end of day 8, the total mileage for the trip came to 387.13 miles. Not half bad, I'd say. And I'm not a bit surprised at Kevin's description of one of the less comfortable parts of the ride: "...a bike seat I swear is slowly turning into granite AND growing spiky thorns."





As I type this -- around noon, Mountain Time, on May 13th -- I trust that Dell and Kevin are on the road somewhere in Central/Eastern Idaho, dealing with tired bodies, tired minds, and ever more headwinds. Kevin has come down with the flu, unfortunately (it's almost like his body is being put through a lot of stress and isn't able to fight off sickness effectively, WEIRD!), so we'll all have to stay tuned to see what happens next. Happily, Colleen has showed up with reinforcements of every possible variety (including homemade presents from the kids), so things are looking up in some ways. I think these two have a lot of grit and determination, and with love and support from those around them, they may just accomplish the impossible. (Or not -- that would be fine, too ... ie don't bike yourselves to death, guys, it's not worth it!!!)

Some other images from recent days:

This was near Picabo, ID, where Kevin paused to befriend some baby cows. They mistook him for a farmer with some delicious food and bawled in disappointment when he left them hungry. Rude, Kevin. So rude.

Dell says: "This picture was taken [Monday]. This the old store in Corral (closed for many years now) where my dad and I stopped for flashlights in 1980. We were moving from Rexburg to Boise for a summer hire job at Hewlett Packard. All of our belongings were loaded in the bed of one of dad's dump trucks. Upon approaching Corral we noticed our headlights were dim. Alternator had gone bad. So we stopped at the old store and bought two flashlights. My job was to hang out the window, shine a flashlight at the white line and try to keep dad in the road. We drove all the way to Mtn Home that way. True story!" I believe you, Dell, because I know Grandpa Hanks.