On the road for about 6.45am. Its a bright blue sky this morning, but chilly. Yesterday some of the darkest black clouds I've ever seen passed over the town. I expected a massive storm to break but nothing happened. Not so much as a rattle of thunder disturbed the air and the storm clouds moved on.
As I leave the motel I see two cyclists fro the Bike and build crowd about 100m back up the street. I nod to them and give a quick wave but keep moving. I carry bags, they don't. Its 70 miles today, not too bad. I'm hoping the road doesn't descend much as there's a mountain pass at 7,500ft just before Austin so it could be a tough end to the day.
Very soon outside Eureka the bike and build cyclists start passing me. It appears we've all hit the road together. Some say hello, others couldn't be bothered. Then, one of the girls I'd spoken to yesterday comes alongside with two other lads and says hello. Her name was Kelly. We chatted for a bit and ended up cycling together for most of the day
The road remained flat for the first 40 miles or so which was great. It also remained lovely and cool through most of the morning. At around the 40 mile mark the group had a food stop where they devoured sandwiches of peanut butter mixed with a selection of other jams. The group had strung out along the road so as some cyclists arrived others were leaving. After about 25 mins Kelly was ready to go. She seemed to have taken under her protective wing and indicated we we might hit the road before flashing menacing looks back towards some of the other girls as if to say 'Don't even think about it'.
A number of miles down the road I had to stop to go to the toilet but, rather than moving on slowly until I caught up, Kelly thanked me for cycling with her and then took off. Later I saw her briefly, in the distance, but after stopping to take a photo I didn't see her again.. Its definiitely a case of survival of the fittest in this group. Apparently she was now happy to leave me to the ravages of some of her hungry colleagues who were, by now, back on the road and gaining on me steadily.
The road rose briefly to cross a ridge and then descended rapidly to cross a wide basin called smoky valley. Barring the west side of the valley stood the Toiyabe range, the highest peak of which was Bunker hill rising to 11,456. We would hve to climb to a pass at 7,500ft, some 2,500ft above the valley floor. It wasn't the most appealing of sights. First of all Smoky valley had to be crossed. It was, perhaps, 15 miles across and a strong wind had whipped up. The flat valley bottom was suprisingly tough as the wind was so strong. Memories of the mid-west came rushing back. By now some more of the group had begun to pass me. Roger, one of the lads I'd cycled with this morning came past and asked if the wind was familiar. He was from the mid-west. I laughed and replied that there was a certain de ja vu to the situation alright.
Crossing the valley I began to realise why it was called 'smoky'. Lots of dust devils were being whipped up by the winds. At one point I counted seven plumes of dust scattered around the valley. As the road began to rise into the hills I stopped to take in some food and drinks. Some more cyclists passed me. As I stood, finishing a bottle of juice one yahoo fired off a smart-arse comment in my direction. I would encounter this guy three more times on the climb to the summit and twice more I got smart put-downs fired at me. On the other occasion we met while he was alone, he turned his back to me and ignored me completely. I thought to myself "Swap bikes, mate, and we'll see how f*****g smart yo are then. Ya arrogant pr...." A couple of other lads from the group also passed me on these climbs and completely blanked me aswell. It was almost as if I wasn't worthy of being on the same road as them. I was going slower than them but I was also carrying a hell of a lot more weight. I couldn't understand it.
The road climbed 6 miles to a summit that was signed as being at 7,300ft. This puzzled me as I had been sure the summit was supposed to be 7,500ft. To be honest I didn't really care, the climb had been quite tough and I couldn't wait for the downhill stretch into Austin. The view back the way we had come was quite spectacular and the road down below, snaking across the valley floor looked so small.
For a bout 3 mins I enjoyed the downhill stretch but around one bend I got a big shock as the road, once again, rose sharply up to a hidden summit at 7,500ft. I hadn't been mistaken after all. The climb that followed was tough. I don't know what that mountain was called but in my own mind I named it Scorpion hill because it packed one hell of a sting in its tail. The 3 miles and 1,000ft drop into Austin was very enjoyable after that.
I got to my room ok and after a short rest, a shower and stocking up on drinks in the local petrol station I went across the road to a diner as there were no grocery stores in town. Three girls from the group were eating here so I joined them. The girls were sound and it was nice not to eat alone for once. It was also interesting to hear about they're experiences on the road. I asked them if it was tough being in such a large group where you are all together 24hrs of the day? The group tended to sleep in community centres or churches in towns. This had been arranged in advance for them. The girls said it wasn't too bad but that, at this stage, there were some members of the group they avoided completely. I wonder who that is?? They have daily meetings first thing, are told where they're going, rotas for different jobs. Most don't really know the name of the town they're going to or the country they're passing through, whether there are towns in between or any petrol stations along the way. Their luggage is looked after. They don't know if there are climbs on the road ahead. They basically follow the leader. Today the last climb was a bigger shock for them than it was for me. None of them knew about the climb at the end until I told them about it at the food stop. It was a contrast to travelling solo where you tend to be much more aware of the route in advance, of what the climbs are like, and what the weather will be like. I don't think I could go in such a large, regimented group like that. I'm too independent for that. Morning circle me arse. I'm too bloody stubborn!!
After the meal I said goodnight. Everyone was having an early night tonight as its 110 miles tomorrow to the town of Fallon.
As I leave the motel I see two cyclists fro the Bike and build crowd about 100m back up the street. I nod to them and give a quick wave but keep moving. I carry bags, they don't. Its 70 miles today, not too bad. I'm hoping the road doesn't descend much as there's a mountain pass at 7,500ft just before Austin so it could be a tough end to the day.
Very soon outside Eureka the bike and build cyclists start passing me. It appears we've all hit the road together. Some say hello, others couldn't be bothered. Then, one of the girls I'd spoken to yesterday comes alongside with two other lads and says hello. Her name was Kelly. We chatted for a bit and ended up cycling together for most of the day
The road remained flat for the first 40 miles or so which was great. It also remained lovely and cool through most of the morning. At around the 40 mile mark the group had a food stop where they devoured sandwiches of peanut butter mixed with a selection of other jams. The group had strung out along the road so as some cyclists arrived others were leaving. After about 25 mins Kelly was ready to go. She seemed to have taken under her protective wing and indicated we we might hit the road before flashing menacing looks back towards some of the other girls as if to say 'Don't even think about it'.
A number of miles down the road I had to stop to go to the toilet but, rather than moving on slowly until I caught up, Kelly thanked me for cycling with her and then took off. Later I saw her briefly, in the distance, but after stopping to take a photo I didn't see her again.. Its definiitely a case of survival of the fittest in this group. Apparently she was now happy to leave me to the ravages of some of her hungry colleagues who were, by now, back on the road and gaining on me steadily.
The road rose briefly to cross a ridge and then descended rapidly to cross a wide basin called smoky valley. Barring the west side of the valley stood the Toiyabe range, the highest peak of which was Bunker hill rising to 11,456. We would hve to climb to a pass at 7,500ft, some 2,500ft above the valley floor. It wasn't the most appealing of sights. First of all Smoky valley had to be crossed. It was, perhaps, 15 miles across and a strong wind had whipped up. The flat valley bottom was suprisingly tough as the wind was so strong. Memories of the mid-west came rushing back. By now some more of the group had begun to pass me. Roger, one of the lads I'd cycled with this morning came past and asked if the wind was familiar. He was from the mid-west. I laughed and replied that there was a certain de ja vu to the situation alright.
Crossing the valley I began to realise why it was called 'smoky'. Lots of dust devils were being whipped up by the winds. At one point I counted seven plumes of dust scattered around the valley. As the road began to rise into the hills I stopped to take in some food and drinks. Some more cyclists passed me. As I stood, finishing a bottle of juice one yahoo fired off a smart-arse comment in my direction. I would encounter this guy three more times on the climb to the summit and twice more I got smart put-downs fired at me. On the other occasion we met while he was alone, he turned his back to me and ignored me completely. I thought to myself "Swap bikes, mate, and we'll see how f*****g smart yo are then. Ya arrogant pr...." A couple of other lads from the group also passed me on these climbs and completely blanked me aswell. It was almost as if I wasn't worthy of being on the same road as them. I was going slower than them but I was also carrying a hell of a lot more weight. I couldn't understand it.
The road climbed 6 miles to a summit that was signed as being at 7,300ft. This puzzled me as I had been sure the summit was supposed to be 7,500ft. To be honest I didn't really care, the climb had been quite tough and I couldn't wait for the downhill stretch into Austin. The view back the way we had come was quite spectacular and the road down below, snaking across the valley floor looked so small.
For a bout 3 mins I enjoyed the downhill stretch but around one bend I got a big shock as the road, once again, rose sharply up to a hidden summit at 7,500ft. I hadn't been mistaken after all. The climb that followed was tough. I don't know what that mountain was called but in my own mind I named it Scorpion hill because it packed one hell of a sting in its tail. The 3 miles and 1,000ft drop into Austin was very enjoyable after that.
I got to my room ok and after a short rest, a shower and stocking up on drinks in the local petrol station I went across the road to a diner as there were no grocery stores in town. Three girls from the group were eating here so I joined them. The girls were sound and it was nice not to eat alone for once. It was also interesting to hear about they're experiences on the road. I asked them if it was tough being in such a large group where you are all together 24hrs of the day? The group tended to sleep in community centres or churches in towns. This had been arranged in advance for them. The girls said it wasn't too bad but that, at this stage, there were some members of the group they avoided completely. I wonder who that is?? They have daily meetings first thing, are told where they're going, rotas for different jobs. Most don't really know the name of the town they're going to or the country they're passing through, whether there are towns in between or any petrol stations along the way. Their luggage is looked after. They don't know if there are climbs on the road ahead. They basically follow the leader. Today the last climb was a bigger shock for them than it was for me. None of them knew about the climb at the end until I told them about it at the food stop. It was a contrast to travelling solo where you tend to be much more aware of the route in advance, of what the climbs are like, and what the weather will be like. I don't think I could go in such a large, regimented group like that. I'm too independent for that. Morning circle me arse. I'm too bloody stubborn!!
After the meal I said goodnight. Everyone was having an early night tonight as its 110 miles tomorrow to the town of Fallon.
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