Bogus Bike Ride

Today I rode my bike with this guy I'll call Ted. We climbed a hill that starts in Boise and ends 16 miles later at a ski resort called Bogus Basin. At the bottom of the hill we met a man from Oregon who had just climbed the hill and was about to do it again. And he did. He passed us like we were going 7 mph. Even though sometimes we were going 8. At some point, around some random hairpin turn, I turned on the gas and left this Ted in the dust. With every foot gained in elevation the temperature dropped 2 or 20 degrees and the wind speed increased with every degree of temperature drop. By the time I arrived at the ski resort I had numb fingers and even number (more numb) toes. I headed straight to the J. R. Simplot Ski Lodge to warm myself by the roaring fire. But the Ski Lodge was closed. The resort was closed. I sought shelter from the wind behind what looked like a glass bus stop like they have in the city. After 20 minutes I gave up waiting for Ted and, shivering, mounted my Merckx for the descent. Moments later I found Ted. He had been administering first aid to the Oregonian after witnessing the man and machine slide, skin side down, across the pavement. Quoting Ted, "It was a bloody mess." Turns out Ted was not left in the dust. He was not too far behind when the incident occurred.  And Ted being Ted, he had carried with him alcohol wipes, bandages and ibuprofen. The fallen man graciously accepted all of it. 

The descent was awful for the first 1000 feet of elevation as I was shivering convulsively. It was all I could do to keep my bike straight. Even all I could do was not enough to keep my bike straight. The front wheel was wobbling uncontrollably. Eventually the air started to warm and my teeth stopped chattering. I did not feel full relief until I was back home with my shoes off and the numbness slowly subsided. 

P.S. Ted let me wear his gloves near the top of the descent until I could feel my fingers. After that I used my arm warmers for gloves.