2nd May
I feel completely refreshed after a couple of days ‘off’ at Jackson Hole. I load the bike and set of into the crisp, clear morning at 0900. I ride down and join Highway 89, which runs south west towards Idaho. The road runs to the east of the Snake River…
After about 45 minutes, I pull in to the Red Baron Café in Alpine and have a huge breakfast (large Sunday breakfasts are something of an American institution – who am I to fly in the face of tradition?
).
The café is named after two Red Barons – von Richtofen, the WWI ace, and Ed Browning, who owns the café and also sponsored a racing P51 Mustang, called the Red Baron.
It crashed during an air race in 1979, so Ed decided to carry on with an F104 Starfighter instead
- that was also destroyed – so I guess he makes breakfast now…
On the subject of Sunday breakfasts, I noticed that the young couple in the booth opposite were drinking Budweiser with theirs…
I carry on and, just after entering Idaho, find more evidence of the continuing drought in the area…
…the brown coloured ground in the middle distance is grassland – on my map, it should be a lake over 2 miles wide at this point.
It’s Sunday, so I see plenty of other bikes…
…on what is obviously a favourite local biking road…
Unexpectedly, my route takes me up a gravel road...
…which 28 miles later, brings me out to a spectacular view.
A couple of miles further on, I see a rash of chrome on the left side of the road – it’s a bunch of Harleys…
…they’re just taking a breather, collecting all their numbers together after coming through the canyon I’m heading for. They’re good folks and we have a banter session and, after the obligatory photo and my handing out some business cards, I get moving again.
It’s now getting quite warm, with very little breeze – even the tumbleweed can’t seem to muster much energy…
I’m soon back on the dirt roads. It’s becoming quite pleasant and I’m managing to ride at 40-50mph without developing too much of a sweat.
Following Betty’s directions, I turn down what Mapsource describes as an ‘Unmade Road’. Soon, it looks like this…
…plus, as the more eagle-eyed amongst you will have spotted, it doesn’t follow the path it’s meant to. After a mile or so, I decide to press virtually cross-country, to join the ‘main road’ (a gravel track). After negotiating a barbed wire fence (with a primitive gate – anyone who has done a Falklands tour would recognise it) – I’m back on the gravel track and heading towards City of Rocks…
…a spectacular collection of huge rocks, the area was named by early settlers. The view from the top is breathtaking…
…as usual, pictures cannot do it justice…
…time to move on – I set course for Twin Falls…
…arriving at about 1815, after 360 miles or so – the best part of 100 on unmade roads – excellent!
No – don’t get that image in your head…
I feel completely refreshed after a couple of days ‘off’ at Jackson Hole. I load the bike and set of into the crisp, clear morning at 0900. I ride down and join Highway 89, which runs south west towards Idaho. The road runs to the east of the Snake River…
After about 45 minutes, I pull in to the Red Baron Café in Alpine and have a huge breakfast (large Sunday breakfasts are something of an American institution – who am I to fly in the face of tradition?
).
The café is named after two Red Barons – von Richtofen, the WWI ace, and Ed Browning, who owns the café and also sponsored a racing P51 Mustang, called the Red Baron.
It crashed during an air race in 1979, so Ed decided to carry on with an F104 Starfighter instead
- that was also destroyed – so I guess he makes breakfast now…On the subject of Sunday breakfasts, I noticed that the young couple in the booth opposite were drinking Budweiser with theirs…
I carry on and, just after entering Idaho, find more evidence of the continuing drought in the area…
…the brown coloured ground in the middle distance is grassland – on my map, it should be a lake over 2 miles wide at this point.
It’s Sunday, so I see plenty of other bikes…
…on what is obviously a favourite local biking road…
Unexpectedly, my route takes me up a gravel road...
…which 28 miles later, brings me out to a spectacular view.
A couple of miles further on, I see a rash of chrome on the left side of the road – it’s a bunch of Harleys…
…they’re just taking a breather, collecting all their numbers together after coming through the canyon I’m heading for. They’re good folks and we have a banter session and, after the obligatory photo and my handing out some business cards, I get moving again.
It’s now getting quite warm, with very little breeze – even the tumbleweed can’t seem to muster much energy…
I’m soon back on the dirt roads. It’s becoming quite pleasant and I’m managing to ride at 40-50mph without developing too much of a sweat
. Following Betty’s directions, I turn down what Mapsource describes as an ‘Unmade Road’. Soon, it looks like this…
…plus, as the more eagle-eyed amongst you will have spotted, it doesn’t follow the path it’s meant to. After a mile or so, I decide to press virtually cross-country, to join the ‘main road’ (a gravel track
). After negotiating a barbed wire fence (with a primitive gate – anyone who has done a Falklands tour would recognise it) – I’m back on the gravel track and heading towards City of Rocks…
…a spectacular collection of huge rocks, the area was named by early settlers. The view from the top is breathtaking…
…as usual, pictures cannot do it justice…
…time to move on – I set course for Twin Falls…
…arriving at about 1815, after 360 miles or so – the best part of 100 on unmade roads – excellent!
No – don’t get that image in your head…
