The Ride: Bogus Basin

Boise claims to be a cycling town.  in the interest of getting in shape for the big ride at the end of the month, I decided to put it to the test. 

Last week I hunted around for a bike shop that would rent me a good road bike.  Idaho Mountain Touring was the only shop that responded to my inquiries, so I decided to go with them.  (This despite their illogical pricing:  Their original price quote was $50 for a day, $65 for overnight, with multi-day rates available on request.  I asked for a multi-day rate and was told that it would be $85 for each of the first two days, with $35 for each additional day.  I told them I'd stick with the overnight rate.)
 

I rented a car for this very purpose. Fortunately Heather had a compatible bike rack.

I asked the guys in the shop for some route recommendations.  One guy chuckled wickedly, "You like hills?"  I told him that I lived in the flatlands at sea-level, so of course I like hills.

 

Which is how I wound up riding to the Bogus Basin ski resort this morning.  Sixteen miles of nearly uninterrupted climbing, with almost 4,000 vertical feet between the starting point and the summit.  Seemed like an exciting little challenge when I kitted up this morning; an hour later, when I'd been riding uphill for ten straight miles in the cold, pouring rain and wind, it seemed like the worst idea in the history of creation. 

 

The valley floor is a little over 2,000 feet;
the summit is a little over 6,000 feet. This sign meant I was almost there!

By the time I got to the ski resort at the top of the mountain, I was wet and shivering and my butt wanted to die.  The resort was as cold and uninviting as what I always imagined Wuthering Heights would be like.  Only without Laurence Olivier to heat things up.

 

 

Since it seemed a shame to start the descent without taking in the allegedly beautiful views, I risked flat tires by cruising around the gravel parking lots and tracks of the ski resort.  I found one promising view and took a picture of myself.  When I looked at the photo, I was startled to see a rainbow.  At the very moment I took the photo, the sun had burst through the clouds, creating that hopeful band of color.

 

 

 

The sun came out and dried up all the rain, and the itsy bitsy spider sped back down the mountainside, riding the brakes to avoid sliding into the ditch and stopping frequently to soak up the newly gorgeous views.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the stats for the ride.  One stat that doesn't show up here is the average speed for each five-mile segment.  On the ascent I averaged between 8 and 10 miles per hour; on the descent I averaged 28 miles per hour.  The overall average speed of 10.5 miles per hour reflects all the photo-stops I made without pausing the clock.

 

The full stats for the ride are available through the Garmin link in the lower right-hand column.