To Crouch, ID

July 14, 2024

We found an eight mile detour at the beginning of the day, but close investigation shows it to be largely dirt. We stayed on the main road all day.

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I was out the door at 7 AM again. Jacinto's protests have grown weaker each morning. Today should have been a lazing in bed sort of day, with our 3,000 feet of elevation loss and little climbing. However, we were forewarned about it being Sunday and all of the traffic would be heading back to Boise. I wanted to beat as much traffic as possible. It was nippy and overcast (or perhaps cloudy from forest fires).

The shoulder was roomy, and traffic light for the first 15 miles. Then I entered a three mile long canyon with little shoulder, but still no traffic, so I was fine. For the majority of the ride there was an adequate shoulder. Once I got closer to Banks and entered that canyon, the shoulder was minimal. Traffic also increased right there. I don't think it was a location thing, as there weren't any side roads to funnel traffic in. I think traffic was starting to build up as people hit the road. I saw 1-2 semis all day. Much of the traffic was big vehicles pulling boats or trailers with toys. I had one happy toot, toot from a car going the opposite direction. People were polite and gave me space.

I was still happy to get to the corner. Traffic was also going my way, up into the mountains, far more was coming down. I had ten miles to Crouch. We rode this direction 20 years ago. We were much younger then, but still remember it as being a big climb. That will be tomorrow's work.

Making the turn, the road was still basically flat. I hadn't pedaled for miles and miles, pedaling on the flat was a change of pace. Imagine if the road had some elevation gain? I would really have to work then!

I pulled off the road when I got to Crouch proper. It was a busy couple of blocks, with few parking places available. I didn't see anything open, other than a coffee/bistro shop. I looked at the map and saw there was a grocery store a couple of blocks up. I decided to head that way. Perhaps they have a deli. There were multiple signs at the grocery saying no parking on sidewalk. Was that for bicycles? Surely cars didn't park on the sidewalk? I found an out of the way spot next to an outdoor seating area. This is a full grocery store, with a meat department and everything. I wandered around, taking in the choices. So many choices! I ended up with a sandwich and chips that I ate outside. I dawdled. I had told the motel 12-1 PM, and it was only 11 AM. Eventually I made my way next door - I did the same thing again - got everything on the bike turned on like I was really going somewhere, only to discover the motel is directly behind the grocery.

I was able to get right in the room. The cleaning lady who let me in seemed surprised we were going to Stanley, as there is a forest fire up there. Oh. My. I thought this smoke was from fires in Oregon. I hadn't heard about the Bench Lake fire. It is currently 180 acres. The Bench Lake recreation area, eight miles south of Stanley has been closed. I called the motel, they are still open. Eight miles is not so far. It's not too close either. We will be monitoring.

In the meanwhile, I was already in town, when I got a Strava from Jacinto he was leaving. What??? I called him to see if that was correct. Yes, he was just going down Main Street. Why leave early on an easy day? Yes, he knew there might be traffic. OK . . .

He's in now. The 46 miles took him less than three hours. He pedaled down the steep section - I coasted. You can see the difference in our cycling styles! Jacinto said there was plenty of traffic, but everyone gave him space. When he got closer to the turn at Banks, traffic was backed up for 2-3 miles. Jacinto rode on the shoulder all the way to the front. The flagger on his side asked where he was going. When he said he was turning, they stopped all of the traffic and let him go. When I went through, there were no flaggers at all, and I also was able to make the turn right away. No traffic was coming. I still think leaving early and beating the traffic was the way to go. He seemed happy with his ride. Different strokes for different folks, obviously.

We have a suite at the Three Bears Inn. Jacinto is in the bedroom watching one of the two TV's - I think he won't be leaving here until check out time tomorrow! We are going to get food from the deli for tonight.

On a big screen you can see ALL of these cars lined up. Jacinto said he passed 2-3 miles of cars just before the turn at Banks. They had a flagged traffic stop for anyone who wanted to make the turn onto the Banks-Lowman Road. He said there were three flaggers. One for each lane of traffic. I wonder how often they work. They weren’t there when I went by. They were acting as a traffic light, basically.

The Payette River after the turn was on our side of the road and easy to photograph.

A mural nodding to the area logging truck industry.

Neon! There’s not enough old fashioned neon.

A giant ram sculpture at the Dodge dealer.

I think I missed taking a bike photo yesterday. For shame.

These flowers were on both sides of the road for perhaps a half mile. That was it.

Typical scenery for the day. I followed two rivers today and didn’t get a single river photo. You will note I have a reasonably sized shoulder, but it abuts jersey barriers for long distances. That makes for uncomfortable riding, because the base of the barriers is wider than the top, taking more mental effort to stay a safe distance.

I should have tried them. I went with the tried and true BBQ.

We have a nice suite at the Three Bears Inn.

Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 1,489 miles (2,396 km)

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