Day 9, June 23, 2015, Boise, ID.  Today was a rest day!  Slept in till 6:30, ate breakfast, read some newspapers and went out for a ride to explore Boise.  Boise is the State capital and has a population of 214,000 people.  It is VERY bike friendly with most roads having bike lanes.  The Boise River runs through town and is enveloped in a 15 – 20 mile long green parkway.  There are parks, a zoo, rose gardens, tennis courts, ponds and paved bike paths that cover each side of the river with multiple bridges connecting them.  At 9:00 a.m. it was actively being used by cyclists, runners, walker, etc..  People fish (rainbow trout) raft, kayak and tube in the river.  It is really quite impressive.  After riding I returned to the room for a light lunch of olives, parmesan cheese, rustic salami, pita chips and wine.  After a 2 hour nap I returned to the parkway and did some more exploring.  I got in 20 miles of spinning and I am feeling ready to continue this adventure.

I just learned that Judy, our ride leader is also doing a blog.  You can access it at: http://americabybicycle.com/    You will find a link to “ride logs”.  Select it, find “Across America North” and then select 2015.  She writes much better than me and has some very good pictures.  If she writes something that conflicts with what I have written, you can assume that she is being honest!!

I had the opportunity to catch up on some of the news and was saddened to learn of the senseless murders in Charleston, S.C..    It was really disheartening to learn of the details.  I find the response of Governor Nikke Haley, Lindsay Graham and other Southern leaders regarding the Confederate flag to be quite interesting.  On the one hand I applaud their courage to take such a bold move.   They will take considerable heat for even suggesting that it denotes hatred and intolerance.  At the same time I find it perplexing that they are willing to endure the wrath of the “Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy” et al but not willing to take on the NRA and the “gun lobby”.  Lindsay Graham was quoted as saying that meeting with the parishioners of the church in Charleston made him conclude that his lifelong stance on the flag was wrong and that he could no longer support it.  I can only assume that he never met with the Sandy Hook parents and heard their well reasoned pleas for sensible gun control measures!  Yes, the perpetrators of these heinous crimes suffer from mental illness.  All countries have their mental health challenges.  What sets us apart is that our country is awash in guns.  Shame on all of us for not demanding and achieving sensible restraints on guns!

On a lighter note, I was glad to see that Donald Trump has declared his candidacy for President and has joined the freak show of the “R Circus”.  I promise that if he is elected that I will grow a comb over and will actively campaign for his election to a 2^nd term.  It will take me 8 years to perfect my “Donald Doo”!!!

This week I will be anxiously waiting for the Supreme Court to hand down its decision on Same Sex Marriage.  I have every expectation that they will rule on the side of justice and equality.  Our LGBT children and friends deserve equal protection under the law!!

Tomorrow we are back on the road seeing this beautiful country from the seat of a bicycle.  I hope that you will continue to share this adventure with me.  It appears that lots of people are following the blog but unfortunately I am not hearing from many of you.  I believe that I have the comments section set up so that you can sign in with “anonymous” and not have to use a Google or other I.D..  If you are not comfortable commenting, you can always send me an email at: crane.j58@gmail.com  I hope to hear from you!

 

The University boarders the green pathway.  Tried to get in and see their blue turf on the football field but couldn't.

 

Sunrise over te Boise River.

 

Surfing in the spillway of a dam in the Greenway.  They asked me to try it but I told them I had to conserve my energy for a ride across America.

 

Jayonthebike3

Giraffes in the zoo even recogized me and gave me a shoutout!

 

 

Abe and I had a discussion about the Confederate Flag.  He said that if not for John Wilkes Booth, he would have take care of that damn flag.  He also agreed with me about gun control and Gay marriage.  Had a great time talking with him.  He's not bad for a Republican.

 

Map of the Greenbelt.  What a great cit!