Willies casual bike ride part II

COMPLETE. THE END.

 

The Golden Gate Bridge, shrouded in mist, and one of the numerous signs we ignored to cycle into the freezing cold pacific.

Day 64 - Sacramento to SAN FRANCISCO. 110 miles, 2 burgers FINISH! 6292.9KMS





Maybe its because we know we won't have to cycle at all once we are done, maybe its because the air at sea level is easier to breathe than the air at 4000ft (we have been above 4000ft for the last month) or maybe its because we are so damn fit, but we smashed out 95 miles to get to the ferry terminal at Vallejo by 13.30. 150kms in 8 hours including breaks.

We left Sacramento at the absurd hour of 5.30am. To do this we woke up at the even more absurd hour of 4.30am. Thank you so much to Sherri for waking up when we did, and making breakfast, we couldn't have got here without it. Also thank you for bicycling with us to the bike path, getting lost 200m from the house we were staying at is an unpleasant but surprisingly common happening for us.

We were smashing our personal bests all day today, from 20 miles (32K) by 7am, 43 miles (69k) by 9am, 67 by 11, to 95 miles (150k) by 1.30pm. When we left Sacramento, we were aiming to catch the 4pm ferry, but we started so fast that we realized by 10 that we could just scrape the 2pm ferry - the ferry was only every 2 hours.

We stopped only three times in 8 hours, cycling at an average of 22kph for 7 hours. The second time we stopped, we picked up a footlong sub from subway for us to eat on the ferry, there was no time to eat it before. The countryside we cruised through was fantastic - the Napa valley - world famous for its wine, contained not only vineyards but also many colourful ornamental flowers. We saw more flowers in the napa and neighbouring valleys than we have on the whole trip. Great scenery, and plenty of other cyclists out enjoying the sun this weekend - we saw (another new record) 3 tandems!

The weather was awesome, until we got to San Francisco. Apparently San Francisco is always around 10 Celsius colder than the other side of the bay, and so it was - the fog was down over the golden gate bridge, so our first view of this iconic landmark was towers getting lost in the clouds. It was freezing on the bridge, the wind roared through the pillars, and the fog soaked our tired bodies. But it was awesome. I was so excited to be done, that it didn't matter what the weather was like, just that we had finished. Last year, doing more than 6000 kms on a bicycle seemed inconceivable, and now it's done, I'm still in disbelief - what I do know though, is that we have come a long way, seen a myriad of things: from the normal to the nuts - that I will remember for the rest of my life.

But now back to reality, ish... It is Gay Pride Weekend here in San Francisco, and there is a parade to watch - apparently not much normal, way too many nuts on show. We will enjoy San Francisco until Tuesday when we fly back to New York, having found a spot to box up our bikes somewhere between the sightseeing.

We are FINISHED

Yes thats right-64 days, 3878 miles and two tired legs but we have finished our epic journey.

Yesterday i had trouble sleeping, finding it hard to suppress my excitement of what was to come the next day. After just two hours sleep we woke at 4:30, so we could complete the final 95 miles to Vallejo, before 4:30, where we would take the ferry over to San Fran. Leaving from just east of Sacramento. We were set on our way with a great set of directions prepared for us by cherri.

Setting out at 5:30, we cycled with the sun rising on our backs, whilst on a fantastic bike path-a perfect start to our last day. We covered 30 miles by 8am and 43 by 9am, so we were making cracking progress. We realised that we could. if we cycled hard, could make the 2pm ferry over to San Fran, which would be much better than the 4:30 one as it would quite simply give us more time in San Fran. We cycled really hard and managed to make the 2pm ferry, cycling 97 miles in 7 hours of riding and doing it over a period of 8 hours.....thats fast!

Arriving in Frisco, we cycled round the bay towards the pacific and the Golden Gate bridge. The geography in frisco, is fascinating not only its infamous topography, but also the weather. It is 10 degrees colder than just across the bay in Vallejo, and it is also vulnerable to fog, so as we arrived at the bridge, it was cold and very much covered by the wet fog. Nevertheless we did come great photos and wandered out ont the bridge. Afterwards we headed round towards Golden gate park, so we could complete our adventure and reached the sea. As we got there we renaged on cycling into the sea, until we had had food. So we ate a lavish meal (cost us $80, each burger was $25!!!)

Into the sea we went, the cold sea, filmed by two rather confused and amused tourists, got very cold and wet, but finally completed our adventure in style!! Our contact who we were meant to be staying with, texted saying we could come when we finished work at 11pm, not idea after a 100 mile day and having just cycled into the cold sea. As we were sitting there, trying to sort out a place to stay for the night, a young couple approached us, Claire and Jay who had done a little cycle touring themselves, kindly offered us a place to stay. So we pitched up at their flat, and indulged in a some beers and chatted away with them into the night. Eventually i crashed, and was asleep. Turned out to be a really nice end to our final day.

This morning we woke early to watch the England game, and as i write this it is 3-1 to the enemy and we have been robbed of a goal...oh dear. Lets hope the rest of the day will be better as we go out and explore the city.

5 miles to go.

Very excited - 95 miles done today, by 13.30, having left at 5.30, now on the ferry across to San Francisco. Golden gate bridge 5 miles away.

If there is neither a tidal wave nor a hurricane, we have done it!

Sacramento, Yosemite - The Penultimate day!

Day 61 – Kirkwood, CA to Sacramento, CA 101 miles, 5 burgers, 2 waves SIX THOUSAND KILOMETRES!

Day 62 – “Rest Day” – Yosemite National Park – walked 10 miles up 1000ft, 2 burgers

Day 63 – “Rest Day” – Yosemite National Park – 1 burger

The cold woke me up this morning, but kept me in bed slightly longer than planned. I got up at 5.50 to take the cover off the tent and start packing up, and it was only then that I realized that we had camped 3 metres from a massive pile of snow. Definitely a first for both of us! Neither of us can wait to get to proper beds, and a nice lie in. Although camping is great, we were both very happy last night in the knowledge that this was our last night in a tent for quite a while.

We were on our bikes by 6.28 – 38 mins between get up and go, we are getting better – but it has taken 61 days! We cycled 25 miles by 9am, and had a big breakfast at Ham Station – the first breakfast place we came to. The first bit was tough – with a lot of uphill, despite having already past the highest point we’ll reach for the rest of the trip. Although from the start of the day at 7100ft to the end of the day at 30ft, our average speed was slower than it would have been on the flat: the hills down were steep, but very twisty so we had to go slow downhill, and then there were extremely steep, short, sharp uphill’s to contend with. We also had to contend with 0 degrees at the start of the day and 30 degrees in the middle of the day, with a very sudden change between the two. After possibly our last McDonalds for lunch in Placerville – having covered 70 miles to get there, we headed out on the last 30 miles, and were lucky to be helped by a passing cyclist to point us in the right direction to the bike path. We have come out of one hazard – lack of services – and back into the original hazards: getting lost and traffic.

I worked out that we have had 3 roads 96, 56 and lots of 50 for more than half of the last 2000 miles, since Jefferson City in Missouri, so it was a shock today to have to do so many turns (more turns in one hour today than the last month). There were more road changes today than we have done in the last month. It’s an odd feeling and we may have to resort to listing name changes again (like we did in the beginning).

We got to Sacramento to the Brown’s house, and were posed with the question: Shower, Cold drink, or Swimming pool… not many questions I prefer, and the best thing to hear after 8 hours of cycling. The answer of course is all 3, so we duly accepted first the drink, then the pool, and finally the shower.

That evening we started chatting and worked out that we could and should go to check out Yosemite national park. So, plans were changed rapidly, and early the next morning Peter and his daughter Katya, and Alex and I set out to the park. It is a very long way away, so we had to go out overnight to make the most of it. We thought we were done with camping, but the next evening found us back in our tent, camped on the side of the road just out of the park.

Yosemite is a great place, but so big and varied that to fully appreciate it, at least a week is needed. As it was, we had 1 and a half days, and we were too tired to really go at it. We still had a good time, and saw some amazing things. Thank you to Peter for giving us the opportunity to go.

Tomorrow we are up at 4.15 for our last day! We aim to catch the 4.30pm ferry 95 miles away, and then cycle to the Golden Gate bridge, before cruising down the beach into the freezing cold sea. We are sure our jubilation at having completed this will keep us warm against the pacific’s icy tendrils.

Detour

Today we had the intention of riding roughly 100 miles, so we could reach just east of Sacramento, where we were due to stay with some family friends of Williams. The night was a cold one, but comforted by the knowledge that it would be amongst our last in a tent. To put it into perspective we pitched our tent, which we discovered this morning was surrounded by snow.

We started our big decent. But soon discovered that it was not just down, but a decent followed by a slightly smaller ascent. This set the tone for the rat of the day really. If we cycle the same distance on the flat we would have averaged a higher speed. The temperature change was rapid, and quickly i went from wearing 5 layers, to wearing just a vest. A temperature range of 30 from the start of the day to the end, would be about right.

The days total miles was just over 100 and we finally reached our destination at around 7:30, where we were warmly welcomed by Sherri and Peter. They have kindly offered to take us to Yosemite for a 2 day trip, so although missing out on 2 days in San Fran we will get a chance to see the infamous trees of Yosemite. We wee going to arrive tomorrow but we will probably arrive on Saturday now.

June 22nd- Into California

Yesterday was a fantastic. We had, by our standards, a big lie in till 7:30!! We sourced out a company offering para sailing near by, but they told us, to our absolute dismay, that they were only flying on Wednesdays...However our hopes were dashed only for a brief moment as we were sent in the direction of South Lake Tahoe, where we would almost certainly find the illustrious sport of para sailing.

We ventured forth 10 miles round the vast lake, crossing the Nevada/California divide in the process. We reached south lake Tahoe and booked ourselves onto the next available 'flight'. What can i say- para sailing was phenomenal- Soaring like a bird above the clear blue waters, created a ethereal haze of wonder and beauty, encapsulating us in a sense of sheer freedom.

Getting back on our bikes, much later than expected, we climbed and climbed. Eventually up to carson pass 8500ft, which we approached like a prowling cat. We savoured the moment, as we knew in the next 200 miles we would descend over 8000ft to san fran, without having to climb back up again. We went about another 6 miles or so where we stopped for the night near the small town of kirkwood. There we indulged on the lavish beef stew. Whilst in the bar, a couple of other x-America bikers approached us, and in turn we ended up stealth camping with them on a very secluded side road. Despite the icy breath of mother nature upon us we threw down the tent and dived in.

17 States

Day 60 - Lake Tahoe, NV to Kirkwood, CA, 40 miles, 2 waves, NEW STATE: CALIFORNIA - Totals: 5962 kms, 120 Waves, 17 States

Today we reached our final state; California, and it didn't disappoint. The hills were among the top ten toughest, but top three for beauty. First though, an explanation as to why we "only" did 40 miles today.

We had a lie in this morning - we were aiming to do some parasailing, but the office only opened at 9, so we had to wait until then before making a move. Unfortunately, when we got there at 9, it was only to be told that there was no parasailing today - so we did what we have always done when a decision needs to be made - ate. In this case, it was all-you-can-eat pancakes from the Zephyr Cove Resort's Lodge. Alex ate 4, I ate 6 - and we both felt like we had done well from the deal, the pancakes were huge!

Stuffed to the core with Pancakes, we decided parasailing was still a good idea, so we cycled 8 miles around the lake in the direction we were meant to be going - towards South Lake Tahoe. By this time, it was 11.30, and turning into a nice warm day. We got booked onto the next available parasailing outing, which wasn't until one o clock, so we killed time (not something we have had a chance to do for two months) by chucking a tennis ball around on the beach of the lake. Bearing in mind that when you see snow, swimming is not clever, we took a little dip, but didn't last long - although it was a warm day, the lake was not far from freezing.

We then headed off on the boat, and were launched off into the sky hanging from a kite, being towed by a boat. It was awesome. The view from 800ft above the water and the snowy mountains was fantastic, and hanging so high above the water was nerveracking enough to get the adrenaline going. We took alot of pictures, and once we have caught up on the writing, we will put those up.

After our flight, we had lunch - making an error in judgement of food consumption for the first time this trip. We have got so used to ordering the biggest and cheapest meal on the menu, that we forgot we weren't very hungry - I spent 2 hours forcing the whole dish down, and Alex gave up on it. We left Tahoe after 3 with our favourite aim - get as far as we can before dark. We had two high passes to go over - we started at 6200ft at Lake Tahoe, got to Luther's pass at 7700ft after some hard work and a lot of roadworks making things interesting. Then we headed down for a short time before heading up to Carson's pass (8500ft) - from where we thought we could coast to the coast.

The nice thing about the passes was the beauty. Although cycling uphill is not pleasant, this trip was made bearable by the scenery. All the nearby mountains are covered in snow, and the white reflected the sunset, while the green pine forests provided some contrast.

It was exciting to reach California, something we have been looking forward to doing for a long time - but we weren't expecting it to be this cold - isn't summer meant to have started?! There is more snow here than there is on the Rocky's, and the night was freezing - we camped with 4 other cross country cyclists less than 10 ft from a 3ft deep portion of snow (they were going the other way - I will show their blog later).

I am going to bed now, I will post the next day's (today's) blog tomorrow. We got to Sacramento after 101 miles of cycling from Kirkwood, and are staying with the Brown's. We have changed plans completely, instead of pushing on and finishing tomorrow, we are taking a large side trip to Yosemite, and will finish on Saturday.

We would love to hear what we should spent our time doing in San Francisco if you have any tips.

Tahoe!

Yesterday we left early having camped at a beautiful spot by a National park lake. Our ACA maps dont actually take us near lake tahoe but we have been told by many that it is worth going the extra miles and going to see the tahoe, described by one as the 'most beautiful spot in America'. So our plan was to get to do 38 miles to carson city and decide from there, perhaps go into a bike shop and ask advice from some fellow cyclists.

Upon our arrival into Carson city, we had a early lunch, whilst taking advantage of the Wifi and trying to sort out places to stay in San Francisco. Visiting the bike shop was great, as they not only gave us solid advice on going up to lake Tahoe, but also we lubed our chains(both our bikes have started making funny noises). Going up to the lake, we worked out is only about 6 miles further than the ACA route, so we thought why not!

It was a bit of a climb, ascending 2200 ft in 6 miles, to get over the basin into the Tahoe area, but it was sure worth it. The lake is huge and very stunning. It is said the water is so clear at some spots, you can see 67 ft down into the water. There are some other fascinating stats. which after reading them i quickly forgot, nonetheless, it is a fantastic place.

We found a touristy spot by the lake about 15 miles down, where there was a campsite and the usual other water sports facilities provided, eg water skiing, sailing etc. So this morning we are going to pursue the possibility of para sailing which would be awesome! We camped for vast expense last night, after a very expensive meal, but that is the price you pay(liturally) when you come to the busy tourist spots. Today we will have a bit of fun on the lake, and then will do 50 miles or so to near the top of Carson's pass(8500ft), which would leave us with two fairly big days to san fran, but then we are done!!!

THE END IS NEARING!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lake Tahoe, NV

Day 59 - Silver Springs to Lake Tahoe, 60 miles, 4 burgers, 4 waves - Totals: 5888kms, 127 burgers, 118 waves

We set off early to evade the camp fees at Lahontan Reservoir, and just managed - we left the park at 7.05, having packed up and cycled a mile, and were lucky; the tired ranger who had got in 5 minutes earlier, didn't hear us wizz passt.

We cycled fast 8 miles to the first town to get some food to tide us by the 35 miles to Carson City and Lunch. Carson City is the capital of Nevada, and is markedly different to the rest of Nevada - there are trees! It is going to be interesting adjusting back to city cycling, we are far too relaxed at the moment.

We left Carson City at 3.30 - having been there for four hours, but we needed it. Emails to attend to, and final plans to sort out. I am sorry if I haven't replied, things will be hectic for the next couple of days.

From Carson City, at 4700ft, it was uphill for 10 miles to 7100ft, before dropping 700ft to the level of the lake. Lake Tahoe is on the national leaderboard's for deepest lake, largest lakes and lake at highest elevation - no mean feat - if this blog has told you nothing over the last 2 months, one thing to take away is that America is huge!

We will try and go parasailing tomorrow morning, taking in some of Lake Tahoe's beauty, before cycling as far as we can in the rest of the day, arriving in Sacramento on Wednesday, and finishing on Thursday. We both can't wait to cycle into the sea!

Silver Springs, NV

Day 58 - Middlegate station to Silver Springs - 80 miles, total 5789kms

A day that starts with Pancakes, eggs and bacon is a good day. We were done with our breakfast by7.30, but hung around until 8.30 slowly packingup. We were thinking today about how this felt like a relaxed late start - whereas in the first three weeks, 8.30 was our earliest start by quite a way.

We were headed to Fallon for lunch - 50 miles away and our last long stretch with no services in between. Although it was mostly the same as the rest of Nevada (up and down, dry with spindly, wiry plants and salt plains) we did see a couple of more interesting things: sand mountain - a massive sand dune covered in quad bikes cruising up and down, and also a couple of the target area's for the "Top Gun" fighter pilots. Then we cruised through a large salt pan, where people have written their names into the barren landscape by rearranging rocks.

Along the way we passed a whole bunch (about 25) of people, cycling supported to Washington DC, but they didn't stop to chat - they cruised past us in long lines on fancy road bikes. We did talk to a random couple of other cross country cyclists, one old man cycling home to minnesota having retired from work and having finished with San Francisco, and another guy who had quit his job and was seeing america from the relative comfort of a recumbent bicycle.

In Fallon, we relaxed in Taco Bell for a couple of hours - great place - as much as it takes to fill us up, in Taco Bell it costs only $5, including a refillable soda. We moved on just before 4, after slaloming through Safeway's car park to find some more suncream - the heat in Utah meant that we finished our second bottle.

We took it easy and reached Silver springs at 6, after a long chat with Will Macdonald, another cyclist, 5 days in to his cross-country mission. I will remember Will for his comment on my Icebreaker cycling shirt: "Awesome, Icebreaker! (dramatic pause) - proof that man was meant to enslave sheep!" We had good pizza and pasta and then headed to a campsite by the Lahontan reservoir.

The sport of 'shoe hurling'

We decided to rest today, instead to doing a short day of 50 miles to fallon. Having a rest day today means that we have 5 days riding left consisting of an average of just 74 miles a day to reach frisco on the 24th. Having a few big days has made or task for the next 5 days that much easier.

Last night we actually rode past one of the few highlights of highway 50, that being the 'shoe tree'. There are very few trees in Nevada(in the whole state less than 3 or 4 by my reckoning), so to come across on which has thousands of old shoes thrown upon it makes it even more of a spectacle. As it was dark we completely missed it, so rode back to see the tree and throw some shoes up the tree(as one does). After at least an hour of shoe throwing we returned and had a nice relaxing afternoon, sorting out the next few days, and trying to sort out where we will stay in San Fran. We will do about 80-100 miles tomorrow, depending on how feel. We are now on the 'home stretch'! only 370 miles to go.

The 'Big one'

Day 56. Total miles 3456. Days miles: 112.

Yesterday was a LONG day, 112 miles in total, just over 9 hours of riding. The previous day, we had covered 101 miles so followinf that another big day and we would be rewarded with a rest day. We had camped 20 miles west of Eureka, and it was a cold night. So much so that i woke up several times and eventually had to put on my raincoat, which as you can imagine is not that comfortable to sleep in. It has become apparent that even after hotter days, due to the lack of cloud cover, the nights are cool if not cold in Nevada.

We set off quite early at around 7:30 covered 30 miles or so, and soon ran into a rather strange cyclist coming the other way. Most of the people we ride past are 'normal', this one was not. Anyway after a brief as possible encounter with 'Mr Strange' we bumped into couple riding. We talked for quite a while and the gave us great advice on minor detours we should take, including a route to lake Tahoe. They said we should certainly go out of our way to visit it. After a lengthy session of banter about the soccer world cup, sorry i have become Americanised-i mean the 'football world cup', and an interesting observation that we looked thirty years old, we forged on slightly behind schedule. I think that the long hair and the beard makes me look slightly older. However, being a true 'cycle tourer' i will not cut my hair or shave until i return, it adds to the persona that all cycle tourers are hardened men. Anyway we arrived into Austin at around 3, and had only covered 48 miles, so over 60 miles to go after a very late lunch. At Austin we chatted with the gas station attendant, who claimed to be best mates with the top gear crew who had passed through the little town the previous year. His stories of the drunken Jeremy Clarkson were amusing even if the validity of them were questionable.

By the time we left Austin it was 4pm at least, so we could tell it was going to be a long one, but we put our heads down and forged on. I have, after 50 odd days of riding, eventually acquired some saddle sores. In addition my cycling shorts are on their last legs, so are falling apart in all the wrong places, creating a constant rubbing. This slowed my process somewhat, as had to adopt for a large stretch of the afternoon, a 'standing riding' position.....bit tiring on the already lethargic muscles. Nevertheless we pulled into Middlegate, about 50 miles west of Fallon, at about 9pm, finishing our ride in the dark. To our relief there was a bar, so we indulged in two huge burgers and a couple of beers a piece. The bar which also doubled as a bar/motel/restaurant/camping ground/pool house/meeting place of local drunks, had a shack which they offered us for $10. The shack had a couple of bunks and a shower house next door. We snapped up the offer quick, as a night out of the clod and off the hard floor of a tent, is always a welcome relief. Even though when i pulled back the blankets from the bad a rather large Caterpillar scuttled away, it provided a great nights sleep.

Rest Day, Shoe Tree

 

Alex throwing some shoes!

Day 57 - Rest Day 9, 3 burgers, total 123 burgers

We had a think in the morning and decided that it would be nicer to stay here (Middlegate station, NV) than ride 50 miles to find somewhere in the town of Fallon - with cheap beds, food, water and wifi plus beautiful scenery and nice people, it was a no-brainer.

We visited the Shoe tree - a large tree with thousands of shoes thrown into it by passing travellers - it looks ridiculous, photo's to come - but if you can't wait - search "Shoe Tree, Nevada" in google images. It now has a few more shoes in it - although we didn't have our own shoes to throw, there were hundred's of shoes at the bottom which had been displaced by storms over the years, and we had a good time throwing shoes for a while. Definitely a thing to set up in England, not sure it would work in Kenya. I broke my flip-flop jumping down to collect some shoes, but there is no better place to break a flip-flop! I had a choice of colours and of style in my size, so I acquired some more.

We spent the rest of the day eating, drinking and trying to catch up on emails, I also tried to book my flight from San Francisco to New York. We have 5 days of cycling left - 370 miles, almost the same as London to Edinburgh.

Not sure where we'll end up tomorrow - but it will be between 25 miles and 50 miles east of Fallon - between 75 miles and 100miles away. We'll find out when we are on our way - the wind is misbehaving as I write, but hopefully it will finish its quota of blowing tonight.

One thing I forgot to write about is that we are near the Top Gun training centre - Alex saw some jets flying through the valley's - They use Nevada's deserted valley's to hone their skills. Apparently they often pop up in helicopters to have a burger with the locals here.

New Record - Longest Day

 

To me, this cow looks scared - as I was saying earlier - it often gets shot at.
We camped in an awesome spot by the side of the road.

Day 56 - Side of the Road to Middlegate Station, NV - 13 waves, 3 burgers, 112 miles - Totals 114 waves, 120 burgers, 5658kms LONGEST DAY!

I got up early because the sun was up, and getting up was the quickest way off the really cold ground - nights in Nevada are cold, however warm the day is. Alex did not quite take this approach and stayed snug in his sleeping for quite a while longer, until he needed to go to the loo so badly that he had to get up. I call this a lie-in, but still, we were both up by 6.30. Alex did quite a funny dance looking for a loo spot and ended up having to duck under a fence to find suitable cover.

We left by 7.40, after a relaxing breakfast - eating our few remaining provisions - I had bread and honey, a couple of pop-tarts and a cob of caramel popcorn! These are some of the cheap things that have been our staples when calories are needed (always - the number of pop-tarts must be almost more than the number of burgers). We cruised the first 2 hours at 25kph, until we met a couple of seasoned tourer's from San Francisco heading across country. We chatted to this husband and wife team for quite a while and they gave us a bunch of tips about which places to go for the rest of our trip. She has managed to get herself on our all-time worst guesses board - up there with me being from Belgium and Alex being 35, by guessing we were both 30! Well done wherever you are, and good luck with the rest of your trip.

This was a long chat, and soon after we met another cyclist who confirmed our hypothesis that while most of the people who cycle long-distances are in fact normal and nice, 3 in 10 are just really odd. "USA guy" as we have christened him - was definitely out there: the first 2 minutes of meeting him, he said nothing but USA - and we worked out after some time that he was making a reference to the draw with England in the World Cup. I don't know where he was going.
We pushed on up a steep hill and then over the top of a couple of big hills - our last real ones in Nevada, getting to Austin at 1.30. We had an expensive but nice burger for lunch, and then posted some posters from Bryce Canyon back to New York - to stop them getting wet along the rest of the way (they barely survived the attack of the sprinklers).

The last 60 miles we had to do fast - it was 60 miles to get food, and although we could have stopped and camped anywhere - we wanted supper, so we kept going. The first bit was slow going, a long long hill, and then another, meant we had 45 miles to do in 3 hours of light. We managed, but only just - getting in to Middlegate station at 20 to 9 after 112 miles - it was dark enough that we missed seeing the Shoe Tree - a local landmark right by the road.

We had great burgers and beer, and then splashed out $5 for the "shack"; a bunkhouse that sheltered us from the wind and the cold - too much camping recently and we had earned it after 212 miles in the last two days. We also get beds! A luxury - even if my feet are about a foot off the end.

June 17th-The 'loneliest Road in America'

On the 17th, having reneged on going any further than 28 miles to Ely the previous day, we set out for a big day. Our aim was to cover 78 miles to Eureka(no services between), and then try and do at least another 20 miles and camp in on the side of the road. The day started poorly as my phone, which also act as our alarm, somehow keeps resetting itself to eastern time so instead of waking us at 5, woke me at 2 and then at 3. After overusing the snooze function, i decided to turn off the phone, confused that it was 6:30 but still not light! Anyway we did wake up properly at about 6 to a glorious day, not too hot, not too cold. Despite the alarm fiasco we were fresh after spending the night in a Motel, so were all ready for a big day.

On the way to Eureka we went over 4 passes, all but one over 7000 ft, but although it sounds like a lot of climbing, they go up very gradually, creating situations when you are confused whether you are going up or down! Two points about highway 50- one is that it is all the same, no variety, and really quite boring. Two although dubbed in the 1980's as 'the loneliest road in America', it is not in fact that quite. There is far more traffic than a lot of the stretches we had in Utah and even parts of eastern Colorado.

In the morning we ran into 2 more Trans Am cyclists. Passing cyclists is becoming a more regular occurrence, every day now we bump into at least 3 people, most of them going the whole way across. Both the guys, Kevin and John, were riding for breast cancer. It is always a nice break to stop and talk with the other cyclists, exchanging advice and so on. They were both also keeping a blog, Kevin-www.3781miles.org and John http://www.cycleforgailsangels.com/.

We reached Eureka at about 3:30, having no real trouble with the 78 miles, actually enjoying the passes(especially because of the humorous names), such as 'pancake summit' and 'Little Antelope summit'. We enjoyed a big lunch in Eureka and stocked up on bits- supper, snacks and of course water. It was another decent stretch of 68 miles with no services until Austin. carrying water is not such a problem as it was in Utah, as it is simply just that much colder. Instead of drinking a litre an hour, we are drinking about half that in Nevada. We though that it would be unbearably hot, but in the nights and mornings it is cold, not more than 10 degrees Celsius, and in the middle of the day not more than 25 degrees. From Austin we did another 23 miles, stopping and setting up camp at around ten to eight, We were riding as the sun set, creating an stunning orange sky. For me it was one of those moments that makes the hard days worth it: No cars, no people, no Wifi, just us and the sunset.

101 miles from Nowhere to Nowhere

 

This photo pretty much sums up Nevada - big basin's with not much in them at all - the sign warning of cows come every 60 miles or so, and they always have at least 3 bulletholes - no wonder the cow looks scared (see picture to come of cow in detail.) Each basin is at least 30 miles from Crest to Crest - usually more like 50.

Day 55 counting again but not actually sure on days?? Ely, NV to a spot by the side of the road 23 miles west of Eureka. 8 waves, 2 burgers, 101 miles - totals: 117 burgers, 101 waves, 5478 kms

We set off early, but not as early as we had planned. After a relaxing day of only 27 miles the day before, we were aiming for a hundred today. We had stocked up the day before in a big market and so set off soon after waking up. The donuts you can get at some of these markets are awesome.

I am enjoying Nevada - the hills look really steep from far, but are in fact really gradual. We are munching through the miles, despite a day of only 27, we have done 302 miles in the last 4 days - thats roughly what we covered on our tour of England, in a week. We will probably try and do another hundred tomorrow.

I am sure I have mentioned before that we are cycling "the wrong way" - conventional wisdom says the wind goes west to east, and most cyclists are wise to this. But, one of the best things about cycling "the wrong way" across country, is that you meet everyone going the other way - whereas they only meet the very few lunatics going the wrong way - and a few people who are going either very slow or very fast. We on the other hand, meet them all. We have seen 4 people a day for the last few days - all interesting people on their own little mission.

Kevin is cycling for breast cancer because he lost his mum to it, and we will remember him, because he gave us pink wristbands with his blog address: www.3781miles.org and "NEVER GIVE UP" - his mum's favourite phrase stamped on it.
John is also cycling for breast cancer and is now going with Kevin - they are similar ages and left SF on the same day, but didn't know! Blog: www.cycleforgailsangels.com

An interesting thing about Kevin and John is that they were both cycling with only front panniers and a tent on the back - John sent back probably 25kgs only after seeing Kevin's novel set up.

We met another guy on a shorter trip - from SF to Pueblo, as well as Tyler, cycling the from SF to New York, in the same length of time as us and the same route, just the opposite direction. He was in college, and raising money for the Haiti Relief fund - search "Here to Haiti" on facebook, or click here for the page.

We dived off the road at 10 to 8, giving us 40 mins more light (the time change means it gets dark earlier) we put up our tent, took some sunset photo's, and ate some of the food we had brought with us - asleep by 9.15.

Will put details tomorrow

101 miles yesterday, 112 miles today = very tired - will put more up tomorrow - for now, bedtime.

Nevada - Mountains, Wind, Cold, and nothing.

Day 52 - Majors Junction, NV to Ely, NV 27 miles, 8 waves, 3 burgers Total 5300kms

We were planning on another 30 miles today, but from Ely we have another long stretch with nothing - 78 miles with no services. After a look at the weather forecast, we decided against riding further - it is no fun to camp when it's -2C, windy and raining. Instead we'll take a break and do a longer day tomorrow, when the wind dies down abit.

We took off Alex's cassette (the gear thing on the back) this morning, moved the bungy cord (which had somehow got extremely stuck), and put it all back together, in about 5 minutes - we are getting good at fixing bikes.

The wind is tough to ride against - to put it into perspective: yesterday Alex and I set new top speeds of 54mph, down a 5 mile hill at 6% gradient. Today, we had another 5 mile hill at 6% gradient, but despite pedalling hard, neither of us got above 25mph. The difference - the wind. It is depressing to go down a steep hill using so much energy yet going so slowly. Winds of over 30 mph are happening today - scheduled to go down tomorrow luckily.

Yesterday we woke early and set out on our 60 miles we had left to do of the '84 miles with no services'. Nevada as we have been told by the numerous passing cyclists, consists of many huge valleys, 11 passes in total i think. The climbs are gradual, but long, as with the decents. We did 3 passes yesterday and did over 94 miles, so a really long day...eigt and a half hours riding. We stopped in centeral junction for the night, and did 28 mies this morning to Ely. We now have a 78 mile stretch with no services!