Blackfoot, Idaho

On the first day of le Tour de France a tail wind carried the America by Bike cyclists that made them all feel like they were world class athletes.
There is not much that I really have to say, today was easy. The wind at our backs must have been about 30 miles per hour, and they rarely deviated in direction. Dad and I woke up at 5:15 and barely got out of bed for breakfast. I guess that I made it out a little bit before he did, because I didn't see him at all through out the day. The first thirty miles were rode through the middle of nowhere, there wasn't even so much as a farm for miles -- but I did see some cows. About 45 miles into the ride me and the two other riders that were at the front stopped at Registry Rock, where some of the old settlers etched their names into a rock as they crossed the Oregon Trail. It was mildly amusing. There were a couple names from the early 1800s.
The rest of the ride I was just grinding. I did my first 100 miles in 4 hours and 55 minutes, and I thought that was a pretty good average. For the 11o miles I averaged just about 20 miles an hour, but I don't think that was too much of an accomplishment on a day like today.

Footnotes for July 2nd:

• The wind was so strong that at one point I averaged about 27 mph for a 10 mile stretch.
• The nanny of Teresa's kids has started to look better and better the longer I am on the road.
• I beat dad to the hotel by 2 hours today.
• I learned that cow guards (basically just big grates in the middle of the road) are less annoying when you go over them really fast.
• One of the many amenities the Super 8 Hotel in Blackfoot, Idaho provides is a cookbook called Mormon Cooking, conveniently placed in with the postcards.

Paul