Blather on Bicycling

Another weekend riding in Boise, another flat. My three-year flat-free streak is still alive for road biking in Union County, but once again I got a goat head in my tire riding in Boise. Thankfully, the change was completed right before a volatile thunderstorm hit me and another rider just short of our destination. Winds were clocked at 50+ mph and then hail started pelting us so bad it stung. Amusingly, the wind was wreaking havoc and causing all kinds of pandemonium in the Treasure Valley; yet it felt like a typical ride in the Grande Ronde Valley. I regularly experience winds like that while out on the road. In fact, on a nice sunny Friday I confronted similar winds in Baker City. On my way to Boise I stopped there for a quick ride past the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. This is a really nice ride from the freeway exit and the little climb up the to the interpretive center is very impressionable.