Feeling a bit like Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day". Wake up. Make coffee. Brush teeth. Pack gear. Review route. Start riding.
Spent the day between 6000' and 7500' once again going up and down 4 passes. Started a climb right from town to top out at Pinto Summit where I watched the sunrise.
Forecast was for gusty winds later in the day and wanted to start as early as possible to avoid the wind. I rolled out of Eureka at 4:45am in order reach the summit at sunrise (I didn't want to descend in the dark). Worked out perfectly. 2 hours of riding before the first car passed me.
The terrain is slowly changing from dry and rocky with shrubs to still rocky but with much grass and thick groves of pine trees.
I saw another biker today! Reece from Colorado. Reece is headed to San Francisco. We had a nice roadside chat and shared opposite-direction notes about where to eat, and where not to eat, down the road. Stay safe Reece.
The last 17 miles today was a long and gentle downhill to Ely. That wind I was expecting finally started to kick in so glad I left early. Rolled into Ely and WOAH! A red traffic light! I had forgotten about those....haven't seen one in 3 days.
Ely is a nice town, again with a great mining history, and the folks here are super friendly. Ely has a great railroad museum too. Did you know you can rent a steam locomotive and drive it yourself in Ely?
Staying the night at the Hotel Nevada and Gambling Hall. Yes, that's really what they call it. Apparently smoking is allowed everywhere in Ely. Bummer.
Can you see the bike in this picture?
Very excited about tomorrow's ride to Baker, NV. Baker is the entry point to the Great Basin National Park. This might be my only chance to visit Great Basin National Park...it's way out there. The ride to Baker is only 60ish miles so planning to dump my overnight gear in Baker and make the climb into the park to 10,000' to check it out. Could be very cool.
I am loving this adventure but missing my family.
It looked like one stretch of the road yesterday was about 35 miles long before the first turn other than up.
ReplyDeleteglad you are missing us, we miss you more.
ReplyDeleteWe are so amazed and impressed with your adventure. The pilot in you makes for a smart,safe cyclist. We love reading about your journey which takes courage and a truly special grit.
ReplyDeleteYou and that family you miss are so loved by all us Conneau's
Congratulations Champ!