John Aylward Photography

Today’s Highlights:
In order to beat the afternoon heat for today’s 75-mile ride, we were up before 4:30 am, had breakfast at 5 am, and where on our bikes before 6:00. A thunder storm had blown through the region last night, leaving behind a nice cool morning with high thin clouds. I welcomed the 57 degree start and filtered sunlight since we have had a lot of sun over the last few days. A couple miles out of town, our route took us on a frontage road for 21 miles. It was very peaceful being off the highway and feeling far from any civilization. Only a few cars passed me on that entire stretch, and at times it was quite enough to hear the birds singing. Our valley ride followed the Humboldt River, which we saw occasionally throughout the day. The rail system also follows the same general route through Nevada and we saw several trains today. We had our first rest stop at mile 25, then the real work for the day started.

On I80 again, we started climbing a 15 mile hill, accompanied by a very strong crosswind. It took a lot of work to ascend, but the views along the way were splendid. I also saw three birds of prey nesting near the road. I think they were Kestrels. Once over the summit (Emigrant Pass), we had a great eight-mile downhill. I easily cruised at 35 mph, but it was a little dangerous with the strong crosswind pushing me to the left. Still, I enjoyed the reward after the long climb.

The descent brought us off the interstate and into the town of Carlin to our second rest stop at mile 50. A few miles later, we had a real treat riding through a canyon along the Humboldt River. It was only two miles, but had some of the best scenery of the day. This little jaunt bypassed the tunnels on I80, which cyclists are not allowed to ride through. Once around the tunnels, we hopped on I80 again and we picked up a significant tailwind for our last 15 miles to Elko.

I reached Elko just after noon. I saw a Subway shop one mile before the hotel, so I stopped to get a sandwich. I used the drive thru, because I’m not one to dillydally. They probably never had a biker come to the drive thru window before. I stuffed the sub in my pack and finished my ride to the hotel, then enjoyed it in the shade of a tree while I waited for the luggage truck to arrive.

Nevada has surpassed my expectations so far. The scenery was very interesting again today. We traveled through wide open spaces with a big sky and beautiful clouds. Mountains are always present in the distance and in every direction, and a river always flows somewhere nearby, creating a little oasis here and there. Besides occasional farm animals and cattle, we have seen snakes, lizards, rabbits and several types of birds. Most of all, this Nevada landscape is incredible peaceful and it can set one free when traveling on a bike in the middle of nowhere.

Day 09

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Time: 6/10/2013, 5:49:2

Duration: 06:37:39

Ascent/Descent: 2201 ft 1643 ft

Distance: 74.53 M

Today’s Highlights:
It was another beautiful sunny day in northern Nevada, and we enjoyed a 55-mile Sunday stroll along I80 from Winnemucca to Battle Mountain. It was a cool 60 degrees when we left the hotel and a breeze was blowing in our smiling faces. The wind was not a problem today though, as it was light and mostly at our backs when our route shifted to the southeast.

The landscape was mostly a flat sagebrush plain with dry desert mountains to the north and south. Ranches were very sparse, and I only saw a few cattle in a couple places. There was one large well irrigated farm where I also saw a lone lama in the field. We had one nice climb today, only 600 ft in three miles, and a rest stop at the summit of it. Going down the east side of Mt Golconda was a nice treat – a 5-mile easy descent. At mile 28, we entered Pumpernickel Valley, and from there it was a flat twenty-five mile ride into the town of Battle Mountain. The valley was a little greener than what we traveled through in the first half of the ride, but still mostly sagebrush. There were a couple more ranches along the way, and some mining areas on the far distant hills. Like yesterday, there was a section of I80 that had rumble strips every twenty feet or so, but they did not extend to the white line of the breakdown lane, so we were able to avoid them for the most part. All the trucks moved to the left lane before passing us, so I rarely had to move into the strips to avoid traffic.

I reached the town of Battle Mountain around 10:40 and stopped for ice cream with Ken, Bud and Mark since our hotel rooms were not yet ready. We have some time this afternoon to chill, and for the all-important laundry chore. It is about 100 degrees this afternoon and we are glad for a short day.

Day 08

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Time: 6/9/2013, 6:41:53

Duration: 03:59:13

Ascent/Descent: 1380 ft 1166 ft

Distance: 54.71 M

Today’s Highlights:
Good old headwinds! They don’t call this a “cross-country challenge” for nothing. Today we traveled 73 miles NNE to Winnemucca into a strong, steady wind from the north the entire way. The morning was particularly grueling, and I struggled with all my pedal power to reach 10 mph on flat, straight, open roads. On slight inclines, it was sometimes tough to go 8 mph. The morning temperature was a comfortable 66 degrees, but it quickly climbed to 80 an hour into the ride and to mid-nineties within three hours. The combination of the heat and wind was like a convection oven, and I needed a lot more water than usual. The roads were generally good today, either on Interstate 80 again, or some frontage road along side it. For several miles on the interstate, the shoulder had rumble strips every twenty feet to add to the discomfort.

On the bright side, the north wind cleared the air, and we had a bright blue sky and miles of clear visibility. There are low mountain ranges on both side of our route and it’s interesting to see their different colors and the vegetation changes across them. One particular mountain was noticeably green, and once further from it, I also noticed it still has a little snow on top. We passed an large lake where the Rye Patch State Rec Area is – another surprise in the desert. Occasionally, we passed ranches with some open range cattle, and some corrals with lama, sheep, goats or horses. Even more rarely we passed farms with irrigation, producing lush green fields that are such a rare sight here.

We started our day with breakfast at the Cowpoke Cafe, where we also had dinner the night before. The food was very good and the staff was especially friendly.

Even though today’s ride was twenty miles shorter than yesterday, it took me twenty minutes longer to finish. I reached the hotel around 1:30 with only a 13.3 mph average.

Day 07

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Time: 6/8/2013, 6:48:56

Duration: 06:38:06

Ascent/Descent: 1534 ft 1252 ft

Distance: 73.21 M

Today’s Highlights:
Today’s challenge was a 92-mile ride through the Nevada desert. I was told that there would be no photo ops today – just take one picture of the desert and the rest looks all the same. That was far from what I experienced. There was beauty and variety all around.

We all met for breakfast at 5am and were on the road around 6am so that we could make some progress before the hottest part of the day. It was a very comfortable start, around 65 degrees. A few miles out of town, we got on Interstate 80 east and traveled on it for 70 out of the 92 miles. There are no other roads through much of northern Nevada, and we will be on I80 a lot until we reach Salt Lake City in another five days. For the first 25 miles, the highway followed the Truckee River. The vegetation, farms and ranches along the river were a pleasant contrast to the surrounding arid hills and mountains. We got off the highway briefly around mile 27 and rode through the little town of Wadsworth and then Fernley.

At mile 33, we had our first rest stop. I arrived there around 7:30 am and the temperature was already 80. Then we hopped on I80 again. Now far from any rivers, the desert scenery changed dramatically. There were areas where some grasses thrived. Otherwise, sagebrush was the predominant vegetation. In one area there was some kind of red growth, but I don’t know what it was. I passed one wetland and saw an egret there. The hills varied from redish to yellow, and various shades of brown.

In the middle of nowhere, I saw a big smiley face that someone had made out of rocks. I had a big smile on my face too. I was having a great ride.

I rode mostly by myself today. with only short encounters with other riders. I was able to get a few pictures of Andy (the mechanic) and Andy (from Sacramento) and David and Mark. I caught up with Mark on the highway and we rode together for about five miles. Then I got my first flat. Yep. In the middle of the desert on the highway. We walked a short distance to a safe place and started the tube change. Luckily, the SAG van showed up about 10 minutes into the situation, and I got help from Gene and Michele. I lost about 25 minutes due to this. Up to then, I was averaging 18.8 mph.

After the flat fix, I was on my way, but slowed down by a head wind. The wind was an issue for part of the day, although in general I made good time on the relatively flat roads. Our second rest stop was at 68 miles, which I reached before 10:30. Now the temp had climbed to at least 90. We rode on the highway for another 10 miles, then finally on a frontage road for the last 12 into the town of Lovelock. On the last stretch my bike computer registered 107 degrees, and that is how hot my feet felt too. I was running out of water, so I rationed it for the last seven miles with one sip per mile. I was somehow able to average 18 mph during the last 12 miles of the 92-mile ride. I was determined to get to the hotel and out of the heat. I reached the hotel at 12:08, a little more than 6 hours from my start. Even with a flat and many photo stops, it was the fastest 90 miles I have ever ridden.

Day 06

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Time: 6/7/2013, 5:52:38

Duration: 06:16:00

Ascent/Descent: 1144 ft 1591 ft

Distance: 92.65 M