We are in Idaho!

We crossed into Idaho this Saturday and rode from Ontario OR to Mountain Home Idaho on a 130 mile bike ride through desert and farmland.  We had planned to head out of Mountain Home on Rt. 20 but Andrew's bike was in need of a surgeon so we decided against the 250 mile ride through high desert where the population of rattlesnakes outnumbered those of the human habitants. We ended up taking a ride down the interstate =) and when a contruction zone made it inadvisable to continue we jumped a fence got on some back roads, asked directions, were confidently told how to get to where we needed to go, ran into a river without a bridge and promptly hopped the fence again onto the interstate for a twilight sprint to the next town praying that a truck didn't feel the need to ride the shoulder. So we made it safely, we are now in a small town off of Rt. 30 called Kimberly. We have it on good authority that the parts Andrew needs are in the town 30 miles down the road so we're waiting for a storm to blow over than we'll ride over and if all goes well we'll be riding out of Burley Idaho ready for whatever the mountains of Wyoming have for us =)

I need to give a shout out to the youthful group of riders we met on Saturday, their energy and exuberance for life was truly an inspiration! If you're reading this keep it up! Also a big thank you to the Father of the Parish in Ontario for letting us pitch our tent on an emaculate lawn! Last but certainly not least Andrew and I would like to thank Ed and Rose from Mountain Home for their warm hospitality and generosity in serving 2 hungry bike riders!

As we've gone on in this trip I've begun to learn some things about myself. One is that I do not like sleeping in random spots along the road. Andrew's much more flexible than I am. I don't need a lot, but I really like city parks with green grass, trees and picnic benches. This difference in temperments hasn't caused any major derission other than Andrew making some remarks about my overly sensitive sensibilities, but I can deal with that as long as I have my grass. Another thing I've learned is that I truly enjoy people. We've been biking through some large empty spaces and will continue to do so. This lack of constant human interaction has allowed me to stop and consider why in almost every town we come across I have to talk to someone. I just compulsively have a conversation with whoever happens to be around. I've gotten to talk with some very interesting people, everyone from the Hungarian who is now retired to California, but still can't really speak English, to the middle aged landscaper regretting past events but still looking to the future with a smile. It's interesting to me because in New Jersey or at school I have been constantly with people and I think I've forgotten how valuable people are. How each person has dreams, aspirations, and thoughts, and how those things must be taken seriously. If they are not valued all our talk about human value is just window dressing and we are no better than the worst of hypocrites. So all that to say my time on the saddle riding through small town America has reminded me that no matter the life circumstances that someone is living in they have value because they are after all human.

Now here are some pictures =) everyone loves pictures,

This first one is our bikes all geared out, this was in front of a small library in Vale OR, beautiful little town with a fantastic bakery!! (Andrew really likes the bakeries)

This next picture represents some of the new words that Andrew and I have been learning. In this instance "Congestion" means that there is a 50/50 chance you'll see two cars passing eachother in front of the RV park around the corner.

This is a scene that Andrew and I have been riding throug the last couple days. Lot's of irrigation, contrasted with lots of desert.

Yeah, we slept in a teepee. We rock.

As always it has been a pleasure writing to you all, your comments are a great encouragement to Andrew and myself.

Riding on,

Nate

"The wise consider the possibility of failure, but only a fool dwells on it." (A well known philosopher)

* 80% of all donations go to Living Water International. To date we have raised over $1200!!!