The commuter traffic that snarls every minor paved road to nowhere that I so dislike was missing Saturday morning as I rode out of Boise before the sun arose, reminding me of quiet country roads cyclists enjoyed just ten years ago. I had decided on a century to Melba, down to the Snake River to Marsing, and back to Boise.

My fender lost a screw attaching it to the frame creating a irksome squeek that I keep forgetting except when riding rough pavement. By Melba I was remembering it well. As I rode by Melba Seed and Feed, I thought they might have the required metric screw. Well, after 15 minutes of digging through various screws but with a patient owner who let me take my bike in and try various screws I had one that fit. That and a locking washer cost 10 cents! Amazing what a dime can do in the right circumstances.

My favorite part of the ride is the descent from Melba to the Snake River. I try to enjoy the unusual rock formations and irrigation water cascading down the hillsides and still enjoy the rapid descent. Two summers ago I discovered a paved county road on the north side of the river with much better views of the river, more interesting crops, and even less traffic. Saturday I rode up to the county road to discover they'd found a discounted seal coat service that used large rock instead of pea gravel. Despite the new screw's eliminating my fender squeel that surface forced my return to the state highway on the S. side of the river. The pavement was smooth, and although the rest of the day seemed windless, there was a nice breeze blowing me down the river!

I guess I haven't taught Corrie well on the subject of naps in mid century . You don't have to have company to enjoy them! After a nothing to brag about hamburger in Marsing, I headed to the city park. I awoke in exactly 10 minutes, but found the nap so enjoyable I took another! 20 minutes after arriving I climbed back on the bike.

My training log is a sorry looking thing this year, and after this ride I found myself tired. I slept sound and arose too late for church. LRC's Sunday rides leave at 11:00; early church services are much easier to find down here where sleeping in isn't quite so popular! Anyway, Pat- a TRC member- was the leader today. The 35 or so riders broke into 3 sections. Fast, medium, and slow. Pat hung back with two new riders who comprised the slow group. I rode with them for a while before deciding to catch the medium speed group. Catching them was difficult, but even following at a full bike length was not too bad as the draft helped pull me along. This was not a disciplined pack- no rotation and lots of side by side chatter! Terrain is so flat down here, and the windless conditions continued today, so everytime I looked at my speedometer, we were at 20 or 21 MPH. That's a pretty rapid speed for what turned out to be a 60 mile club ride. About 20 miles out of town Jim warned me about a speed bump on this rural county road- seems it has caused a few wrecks including him and Pat. Today, the fast group apparently forgot about the bump which caused 3 riders to go down, one running over another before crashing. They all made it in and thought damage to the bikes was minor though one rider's road rash seemed pretty severe. With the ride to and from the base I finished the day with 84 miles with my body remember the century the day before!

So, Corrie, now do you realize you can enjoy a nap mid-century even without companions?

Happy cycling for fun, fitness, and transportation!