Rose Pedals . . .: A Three-State Day on Two Wheels

Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Day 9 - Montpelier, Idaho to Evanston, Wyoming
94 miles
2,732 ft. of climbing

A fairly chilly morning, only 44 degrees - not freezing, but cold enough that I had to start the ride wearing my cold-weather gear, yet again, at least until the sun came out and the temperature warmed up. Far be it for me to complain, but the morning temperatures have been really cold so far on this tour - just sayin'. Today would be a triple-state day: we start the day in Idaho, cross over the state line into Utah at mile 26, and then cross over the state line back into Wyoming (for the second time) at mile 82. Thus, it was entirely appropriate that I ate three fun-size bags of M&Ms during the ride . . . at each rest stop. : ) Our route was essentially flat for the first 40 miles, with very little wind. Art & I rode in pace lines for most of the flat terrain, which made those miles click by very fast. We rode along Bear River, which provided a pretty view while we cruised along. The only climb of the day was a 4-mile steepish climb that started at mile 41, followed by an fast 8-mile descent. The remainder of the ride was basically a gradual climb all the way to Evanston. Beautiful scenery the entire way. We finished the ride relatively early - around 2 p.m., for which I am grateful because I like to give my legs as much recovery time as possible before the next day's ride. So we had a nice relaxing afternoon at the Motel 6, catching up on e-mails, doing laundry, blogging, and drinking beer (Art). For dinner, a bunch of us walked across the street to the local diner. We sort of took over the place and practically cleaned them out of all their food. I believe they ran out of the day's special. I felt sorry for the other customers - the "normal" people - as they tried to eat their meals in peace in the midst of a long table of loud, hungry cyclists monopolizing the attention of the only waitress. The waitress, however, couldn't have been nicer while also keeping us in line, as she busted our chops as necessary. We laughed our sore, achy butts off! A fun end to an absolutely fantastic day on the bike.

Tomorrow, its back to Utah as we pedal over some mighty big hills to Vernal.

Elevation profile of today's ride