Before I get into the trials and tribulations of the desert life, feast your eyes on these goodies, courtesy of Erica and Neil:
(I'm not sure what I'm doing here but it's cool scenery):
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Day 69:
There’s no such thing as a good night’s sleep in Nevada. No matter what, you’ll always wake up at 2:00 in the morning freezing your butt off. Of course my alarm rudely wakes me up two short hours later anyway, so it’s really just an unfortunate precursor to the day.
I settled in Ely at a KOA just outside of town. Nice place, and was able to get my hands on some very satisfying ice cream at a near-by grocery store. I cooked up broccoli, cheddar, potato, and rice soup for dinner with a side of kale, finally taking advantage of the supplies the Hastings family gave me. It was as delicious as it sounds.
Fast forward a few hours to 4:00 in the morning and I was scrambling in the dark to pack up my bag. Three genius girls decided to pitch their tent about 2 feet away from my bike, so I’m sure they got a full taste of what packing your life into a bike trailer sounds like.
Three big mountain passes and one sissy mountain pass later I arrived in Eureka. Being early in the afternoon, I took a nap in the park. When I awoke, I unexpectedly ran into four people.
The first was Dave. Dave is crazy. He’s an ex-IT guy who cracked and decided to start biking across the world. He’s been working his way through every square inch of North America for the past two years, and is moving on to South America soon. We talked for awhile and he invited me to a bar with him later that night.
The second was a homeless man who was also planning on spending the night in the park. He was a nice guy, and we spoke for a little while.
Feeling pretty energized, I started conjuring up another crazy idea - a 60 mile night ride to Austin. I went back and forth for a while, talked it over with Dave, and eventually decided (against his advise) to go for it. Nature had a different plan though. As I was rolling out of the park, a huge thunderstorm cracked out in the distance, in the direction I was heading.
This was when I ran into the final two people. They were crossing the park on their way to the same bar Dave was at, and we spoke for a little while. I told them my plan and they naturally advised against it. I told them about the homeless man and they invited me to stay in their house for the night. I was sold.
And so I changed in to some more social attire and headed to The Owl, one of the two bars in town. As I soon found out from the locals, the two women ended up saving my life. Had I started riding at night, I would have either been:
1. Struck by lighting
2. Devoured by a mountain lion
3. Chased by a coyote
4. Attacked by jack rabbits
5. Demolished by a free-range cow
6. Or hit by a renegade semi truck
Sounds fun, huh? Good thing I didn’t go...
The two women even ended up generously paying for my meal and drinks. With a roof over my head I even got a good night’s sleep, and got another early start headed to Austin. Thanks again for the hospitality! (and for saving my life...)
Miles Covered: 80
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Not a bad ride, just one big mountain pass heading up to Austin. I ended up dumping 66 ounces of water in the desert when I recalculated the excessive amount of water I was carrying. I’ll call that “doing my part to fight the Nevada drought.”
I set up camp in an RV park on the edge of town, and even found some trees to hang the hammock from. Pasta, potatoes and chili for dinner - nothing fancy.
Miles Covered: 70
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THIS was the coldest I’ve ever been. Freezing night, and even colder ride in the morning. I literally had on all of my layers and was still freezing cold. It took 20 long miles for it to finally get warm enough to start taking layers off. It wasn’t long before I was baking under the afternoon sun though, and wishing Fallon would move just a few miles closer.
I did make great time though, and polished off a 110 mile day just before 2:00.
Miles Covered: 110
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Oh, and did I mention I’ll cross the California boarder tomorrow. NO MORE DESERT WHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
I’ve never been more excited to see a tree in my life.
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