So on my second day of rest, I find myself in Eureka, NV. A quaint little Western town with a population of about 300. So obviously I'm having a wild time and things have gotten a little crazy...Mostly though, I have spent some quality hours lazing around in my tent under the trees, catching up on some trashy magazine reading, and icing my knee, as the locals drive around my "camp site" in their pickup trucks and cowboy hats.
Somehow I have lucked out the last few days with very friendly people, great hot weather, good mileage, and no flat tires. I met my first group of other cyclists, and then a very friendly Jersey business man who bought me lunch and a hotel room for tomorrow night! yeehaw...After that chance encounter I was feeling so inspired (probably mostly from the 1/4 cheeseburger I ate for lunch, my first one so far!) that I actually biked 115 miles in a day, from Fallon to Austin, NV. Trust me, by the end of the day as I was racing the setting sun and climbing a thousand feet to hit Austin, I was hauling my bike up the hill on wobbly legs, and cursing the speeding cars for being able to move so fast. But I made it nonetheless.
I made it into Austin just as the sun was dipping, but by the time I could catch my breath and try to find a spot to sleep it was pitch black, and I was left with a dark and deserted town. A friendly gas station clerk told me I could sleep at the local Baptist church for the night and use the shower for free. (I keep getting this, and I'm gonna try to take it as a nice gesture and not a hint at my personal hygiene...although we all know the truth here.) So naturally I start to haul my bike back up the hill, and this point I can't even imagine trying to ride him (and yes FOX has been the decided name for my bike) so at this point its a struggle not to let him topple over. After searching for an eternity of ten minutes, I gave up after finding about ten churches in a three block radius. I decided to pack it in at the most accessible, and pitched my tent in the parking lot of one of the churches. Of course it was the wrong church, and I didn't find out until the morning that the 'right' one was literally five feet across the street. The one with the shower, yea that would have been nice. A sleepless night of concrete and highway 50, only a gallon of coffee was just enough to get me back in the saddle the next morning
So after 70 mile day yesterday, now I'm camped out in Eureka; where I have shacked up in my tent in the local park behind the grocery store, showered at the local pool for free, and consumed a GIANT 32 oz milkshake in about five minutes. All thanks to the sweet lady who works at the one local grocery store. I'm pretty sure everyone in town knows me by now, if not for the beautiful image of a girl covered in grease on a bike, then for the girl who keeps asking about ice cream and showers.
Aside from a few grueling long days of biking down highway 50 where the only progress I seem to be making is eating my weight in calories, I am feeling great and very thankful for all the wonderful people who consistently go out of their way for me. I have a hunch it might be because I'm starting to resemble a skinny 12 year old boy who has not had a shower in days, and that when they realize I'm actually a single female traveling on a bike packed with at least 90 pounds of gear....they must feel sorry for such a sight, and feel compelled to do their part.
Enjoying my day of rest and hoping to get to Ely NV tomorrow. Lots of miles left in Nevada, no services along the way, and only three trees of shade will hopefully send me spinning quickly to Utah.
more updates to come...
ciao
s
13.8.09
10.8.09
FALLON, NV
holy cow.
so where to even begin with this one. Thought I should send a little update your way. Im writing from Fallon Nevada, yes I made it across my first border, AND climbed my first real mountain -Carson's Pass at 8500 ft!!
It might be a little difficult to write much these days, first of all because my hands are turning into the claw, literally, from gripping my handle bars too tightly, and secondly because the last thing on my mind after a day of cycling; is spinning in circles around the small towns of america looking for libraries to hijack the internet....which im doing as we speak.
The first night on the road we slept in a baseball dugout. keepin it classy as always. i've already biked more miles in a row than i ever have in my life, so my advice to any of you kids out there who are considering a big bike tour (i know you all secretly are) : TRAIN. At least a little bit. Even like ten miles a day. My training did not exist and now i might be paying a bit.
The last few days have breezed past, my traveling companion for the first week departed ways in Hope Valley, so now i'm flying solo again, but feeling great. I was able to take a nice rest day yesterday to mend a wounded knee- nothing serious, just probably overuse from NOT training enough.
I have already been blown away by the amount of interest and encouragement thrown my way from complete strangers along the road. Its wonderful to see such hospitality and kindness on my home turf, especially after always raving about the wonderful people that live in every other part of the world. These people do exist right here too, on our own soil.
Two people gave me rides when I was maybe about to fall over on the side of the highway, one woman told me I was her hero, a lady smoking a marlboro next to her RV on the side of the road yelled, "You Rock!" and a friendly ranger in Dayton NV let me take a shower at the ranger station, AND brought me cycling maps....just to name a few.
It's a little hard to put into words how I feel right now, and I may be a little delirious/dehydrated from riding in the desert, so bear with me folks.
I am now riding on, and I quote "THE loneliest road in America," also known as Highway 50. No joke, take a look on google if you're interested. For the next week or so it will be just me and the open road, trying to make it over the next border.
My plans for NYC are still underway, and I'm slowly slowly making progress. One mile at a time. So far I'm at around 350 miles, and just finished my first cycling map! Only about 7 more states to go...
Its hard to check the internet, so if you want to reach me I have my cell phone! Service has been good to me so far, so if you need anything holler....a hello is always nice!
Send me some good thoughts, I'll be thinking of you as I spin my way across Nevada!
PEACE.
S.
so where to even begin with this one. Thought I should send a little update your way. Im writing from Fallon Nevada, yes I made it across my first border, AND climbed my first real mountain -Carson's Pass at 8500 ft!!
It might be a little difficult to write much these days, first of all because my hands are turning into the claw, literally, from gripping my handle bars too tightly, and secondly because the last thing on my mind after a day of cycling; is spinning in circles around the small towns of america looking for libraries to hijack the internet....which im doing as we speak.
The first night on the road we slept in a baseball dugout. keepin it classy as always. i've already biked more miles in a row than i ever have in my life, so my advice to any of you kids out there who are considering a big bike tour (i know you all secretly are) : TRAIN. At least a little bit. Even like ten miles a day. My training did not exist and now i might be paying a bit.
The last few days have breezed past, my traveling companion for the first week departed ways in Hope Valley, so now i'm flying solo again, but feeling great. I was able to take a nice rest day yesterday to mend a wounded knee- nothing serious, just probably overuse from NOT training enough.
I have already been blown away by the amount of interest and encouragement thrown my way from complete strangers along the road. Its wonderful to see such hospitality and kindness on my home turf, especially after always raving about the wonderful people that live in every other part of the world. These people do exist right here too, on our own soil.
Two people gave me rides when I was maybe about to fall over on the side of the highway, one woman told me I was her hero, a lady smoking a marlboro next to her RV on the side of the road yelled, "You Rock!" and a friendly ranger in Dayton NV let me take a shower at the ranger station, AND brought me cycling maps....just to name a few.
It's a little hard to put into words how I feel right now, and I may be a little delirious/dehydrated from riding in the desert, so bear with me folks.
I am now riding on, and I quote "THE loneliest road in America," also known as Highway 50. No joke, take a look on google if you're interested. For the next week or so it will be just me and the open road, trying to make it over the next border.
My plans for NYC are still underway, and I'm slowly slowly making progress. One mile at a time. So far I'm at around 350 miles, and just finished my first cycling map! Only about 7 more states to go...
Its hard to check the internet, so if you want to reach me I have my cell phone! Service has been good to me so far, so if you need anything holler....a hello is always nice!
Send me some good thoughts, I'll be thinking of you as I spin my way across Nevada!
PEACE.
S.
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