Baker to Bonneville Day 3 and 4

Day 3 – Baker City, OR to Burley, ID via Nampa, ID – 451 miles
View GPS track of Day 3 in Google Maps Notice the chart has elevation and speed data. After clicking link, drag your mouse over the chart.

Next day we met for breakfast. It was even better than the day before, as it was free! Keith J. was generous and bought it for us. I owe you one Keith. I rode south to another checkpoint at Horseshoebend, ID. Along the way I saw a crew hydro seeding and wondered if grass would grow on my helmet. ;-) I had considered going to the Bignasty Hillclimb, but when I got to Horseshoebend I found I didn’t have enough time left, losing an hour to the Mountain time zone. So instead I decided to ride the best twisty roads in the area. I rode up through Garden Valley to Lowman, ID and then down to Boise through Idaho City. Brian and I had ridden this last year. I then proceeded to a wedding in Nampa, ID. I had sent dress clothes with my daughter so I changed so I didn’t look like filthy biker scum. ;-) I tried. My daughter and the trio she sang in did great. I also got to meet my daughter’s fiancé’s family. After the wedding reception, I quickly changed back into my Blackbird persona said my goodbyes and got back on the slab for a few hours. It was getting late at 7pm but I wanted to get as far south as possible. I made down to Burley, ID.


Day 4 - Burley, ID to Salt Lake City, UT via Dutch John, UT. – 556 miles
View GPS track of Day 4 in Google Maps Wow, look at the elevation changes.

My goal today was to pick up the Grand Tour checkpoint in Dutch John, then get as close to Salt Lake City as possible. I had seen a post on the email list that Pete Springer had just been at Bonneville and there was a chance that some record attempts might still be going on during the week. Brian had helped me form a nice route through Logan, UT. There is a cool twisty road that heads east out of Logan, really cool. Took it easy in construction areas and it was a good thing as I came across a black Chevy Cobalt that had radar blasting. Whew that was close. The pass drops down on Bear Lake which is an incredible aqua color. Then I stopped by Kemmerer, WY, which has the mother JC Penney store. Then on to the Flaming Gorge near Dutch John, UT where the checkpoint was. Wow the gorge is beautiful with red rocks and a huge lake. The twisty roads were awesome. I stopped for a photo op and a break at the end of the gorge. I kept hearing voices, sounded like a couple guys talking to each other. I thought maybe someone was camped near by. OK, I was tired after riding all day, but I was starting to think my brain was playing tricks on me. So I pulled my helmet off and my earplugs to get a better fix on the location of these voices. I walked around and the sound didn’t change. Doh! My cell phone in my jacket pocket plays mp3s and had been playing a radio station podcast. I guess maybe I am sane. ;-) I got to the checkpoint, the Red Canyon Lodge, and had dinner, Smoked trout bruchetta. Yum, yum. At that stop I had put my camelback on the back rack of my bike. Well of course I forgot to put it back on. I rode up the road a ways and realized it was missing. I went back to the lodge and the store manager came out with it, knowing I might want it. That was nice of her. It was getting late and I needed to head west fast. I backtracked over the awesome twisty roads back to I80. Then I slabbed to Salt Lake. A cold front was hanging over the area and in the dark it got down to 38 degrees. My bundling and electrics are only good for about 48 degrees, so after a few hours of this I was ccoooollld… But in the end I made it to the west side of Salt Lake City. That way I didn’t have to deal with any traffic in the morning.

Go to Day 5 of 6