Days 40-41

Day 40

Today was a long day, about 113.5 miles. It was also the first hot day. I think it reached about 100 degrees. We rode from American Falls ID to Filer ID. It was a pretty boring day as far as riding goes. We were originally going to split this chunk up into two parts and to half one day and half the other, but we reached our half way point by 11:30 in the morning so we decided to keep pushing on. My chain started to slip a little, so that slowed me up a bit because I can’t use the gear that I most like to use so its ether harder than I like or I don’t go very fast. Ether way it still works, its just not as comfortable as I would like the ride to be. I am glad it didn’t start slipping until this late in the trip or I would be in trouble. But now its only a few hundred miles to home so I should be able to limp on to the Oregon coast even if things get bad, which I don’t think they will. We arrived at the Hooley farm, the place we were going to stay and were warmly welcomed. The farm is one of the most relaxing places I have ever been. It was simply wonderful. The food is great and the company is even better. Me and Neal ended up staying up until about 10:00 that night talking to our friends.

Two days off.

We were planning on spending one day at the Hooley farm, but because we got there a day early we got to spend two days off. Now this is the first time I am righting about time off because this is the first time I have spent time off and enjoyed it this much. The first thing that needs to be mentioned is Sarah, who graduated from Hesston College this year and is the house cook. She cooked three meals a day for everyone and it was by far the best food I have had on the trip, and I have had some very good cooking staying with Mennonites along the way. She informed me and Neal that she could cook dinner for her whole family before she could read. This is not to suggest she was behind scheduled when it came to reading, but that she could cook at a very young age. The first morning we were there we woke up and went to pick strawberries with Lois (the mother) and Sarah. It was simply splendid the strawberry patch was huge and just full of berries. I walked out with two gallons and a hand full. The woman counting the berries so we could pay for them did not quite know what to do about my handful so she let me have them for free. All total we picked eight gallons and a handful of berries. Then Lois and Sarah took us around the showed us some fish hatcheries and before we picked strawberries they showed us the only bridge one can base-jump off of in the United States. We saw four people jump. Neal, Sarah and Lois added it to the list of things they will never do and I added it to the list of things I will do before I die, but I decided to put it at the bottom because the odds of dying while doing it are rather high. We also got to see the place Evil Knievel tried to jump the Snake River. Now that is something I will never try. We went back home and ate lunch before taking a short nap. After I woke up I helped Lois and Sarah weed the rose garden that they have and they Isaac, Sarah, Neal and I played Dominoes for an hour and a half before Isaac took Neal and I to some hot springs where we got to stretch our aching muscles and relax a bit. It was simply wonderful to get to relax in some hot water for an hour or so. Then we went home where we ate dinner and spent some time together before going to bead. The next day, Sunday, Neal and I slept in before going to church, which was the first time I had been to church on this bike trip. After that we came home and ate a huge lunch before playing bonanza for a while. It was a good time. Later I got to go and call a bunch of friends and family before going outside and watched the Hooley family take care of a cow that was having trouble. After all that excitement Isaac, Sarah, Neal and I packed into a truck and went to check some irrigation. Isaac and Sarah explained where the water comes from and how it all works and showed me how to start a siphon tube the way you need to if you have hundreds of them to start (i.e. not sucking on them). Later we went back to the house and spent a little more time with the family before going to bead. The next morning we got up and packed up before Sarah made us breakfast. While she was cooking she looked at us and said, “oh, we are out of syrup.” Me and Neal looked up like, what ever are we going to do. Then she said, “but its not a big deal, we make it ourselves so I’ll make some more.”

Day 41

After breakfast we rode out and stopped by the garden and field to say good by to everyone on our way out. The whole family was out working before we got on our way. Such is life on a farm. I mist be honest and say I really didn’t want to go. It was so nice being part of a community again. These are the experiences that make me lonely when I am riding. About 30 miles down the road we got to a construction zone. We ended up getting a ride from the pilot car because the construction they were doing was not good for riding through. As far as riding goes, it was another slow day. It got almost unbearably hot, about 103 I herd. We had to stop and refill our water bottles several times, not because we ran out of water, but because they got hot before we could drink them. We rode 80 miles to the Hooley’s grandparents house where we ate some ice cream and cake and then were shown a mint still where they make peppermint. It was quite fascinating. The still smelled like mint even though it has not been used in about a year. While we were eating ice cream and looking at the mint still a storm blew in. We rode the last 8 miles of the trip at a much slower pace. The wind was very strong. But it was quite a bit cooler so it was not to bad. After we arrived Dillon took us around the farm and showed us the operation. It is quite the farm down in the desert of southern Idaho. I have never seen anything quite like it. The nice green farm fields run right up to the edge of the desert where nothing grows. It looks like a seen out of the X Files movie. After all that we took it easy the rest of the night before going to bead.