Day 46 Stanley, ID -> Crouch, ID

Monday 5 Sept 2011 The 4'th day of the 7'th week. Day 43 on the road

We are close to the time zone change and because of that it stays dark until 7AM.
Today it was only 34 degrees as we got underway and we were cold.  Remember we are cyclists and do not have much on for winter clothes when we leave.
How would you like to hop on a bike with not much more than a pair of ladies nylons on and a colorful shirt when it just above freezing?

Before we left we had breakfast at the motel with a couple of young elderlys.
Young Elderlys is a new term for old people that live like they are young…. I want to do that.

Our trip through the Idaho wilderness today was what the ride is all about.
We followed the Payette River all day and the views were spectacular.
The road has been cut into the side of a mountain with the river below. To add to our enjoyment we had a 50 mile downhill run at the end of the day.
You read that correctly 50 miles of downhill.
I do not think we have ever had a downhill that long before.
Of course in the back of our minds as we enjoyed the effortless riding was “what goes down must come up….”

Still we did not let that take away from the fun.

Around midday we stopped for a photo and Joe spotted a bear coming down a hill nearby.
The bear was going down a very steep grade.  “Bear people” will tell you if yu ever need to escape a bear go downhill because they are the slowest in that direction.
Well as far as I could see that bear could easily out run anyone of us downhill.
The temperature rose steadily as the sun climbed higher in the sky.
By 2pm it was a hot windless 85 degrees in the mountains.
The crystal clear river looked even more inviting than ever.
Tim decided a refreshing dip would really feel good so we stopped. He donned a swimsuit and headed down the bank of the river.
Ken was looking for his suit when Tim yelled back his estimate of the water temperature.
Now Tim, Ken and team member Herb had water-skied YEAR ROUND in the northeast for over 6 years in a row a few years back.
All of us are very good at estimating water temperature.
When Tim said the waster was in the 40’s Ken put his suit back in his saddlebag. In the end Tim was satisfied with just getting his knees wet.

We rolled into Crouch, ID a tiny town of less than 200 people but with a nice clean chalet style motel for us to stay.
Just down the road was the Longhorn Restaurant where we ate dinner with another group of Young Elderys.
These people were touring with motorcycles and enjoying life. More good people.

89 Miles
3125 Feet of Climbing 
Temperature 34-85 degrees