Time to Get Real

It was still 12 miles to Ketchum but on rail trail at least. Ketchum is a wealthy ski town-- celebrities have a fourth house in town so they can ski with the stars in the winter. We passed the airport and there were at least a dozen private jets waiting to take off. We found me some sun protection at the bike shop and then I passed out in a park for like two hours while Travis did homework. We found a campsite eight miles outside of town and set me up for a real rest day.

I dozed and rested the next day while Travis radically re-planned our route. We have to be honest-- this route is kicking our butts. We don't have the right bikes, and Idaho is rough country. It is very very steep and very very hot. We had big dreams of riding as much of the 550 mile route as we could in two weeks, but it just wouldn't be fun. So we decided to take our time in the Sawtooth Mountains, ditch our gear and ride single track during the day, and enjoy what we can out here without getting so tired I get sick.

Travis rode single track back into Ketchum to resupply, and enjoyed Idaho's official mountain biking system, which includes downloadable gps files (what?) and mileage and difficulty keys (gasp). He bought some ultralight camping essentials (new binoculars) and wanted to point out that customer service in a rich town is impeccable. We were resupplied with plenty of food and ready to spend the next few days riding in the Sawtooth Mountains.