Day 54: In Which Dean Says, "I'd Really Like a Prosthetic Butt"

Lowell, ID to Kamiah, ID

Stats!
Miles biked: 33.4
Total miles biked on trip so far: 1959.7
Max speed: 27 mph
# of butts in pain: 2

After yesterday's long ride, neither of us wanted to get out of bed this morning. But we did, anyway. We immediately decided just to go to Kamiah, both because strong headwinds were predicted in the weather, and because we both figured we couldn't make it another 80 miles today. Sometimes we are just slaves to town placement. But I think we were both glad for the short day.

Aside from the wind, we had perfect weather. Low 70s and sunny! We love that! After about 15 miles into the ride, the scenery finally started to change. We are seeing more buttes and fewer mountains. Tomorrow we climb Big Butte on Fort Misery Road. We've had a lot of laughs about that one already!

It's still amazingly pretty. I think Idaho is the prettiest state we've seen so far. Yep, I'm surprised by that, too! I mean, Glacier NP was really stunning, but it was manicured. Idaho is straight wilderness.

We saw a ton more butterflies today -- Idaho must be some kind of butterfly Mecca. And more waterfalls, too. We are just in awe of the views every minute. I am truly enjoying every bit of this section of the ride, even with headwinds.

And, of course, our butts hurt. Today they hurt right away, from the first mile. It's just something you deal with as best you can, but on days like today it can be distracting and frustrating. We took a lot of breaks.

We encountered one real jerk on the road today, who honked at us from the moment he could see us until long after he'd passed us, and he flipped us the bird to boot. I don't know what his deal was. We were riding on the shoulder, minding our own business. People like that can ruin your whole day. On the other hand, motorcycle tourists have been almost universally great to us. They are friendly, interested, and warm when we meet them, and even when passing on the roads they wave to us. I think it is a shared understanding of the tyranny of cars (trucks especially). And that we are both generally loathed by drivers.

I know that I feel terrible about being jerky to bikes in the past. :( I will be much better from now on!