(May 26th) Back on the road again! Today, we biked from Carson City to Fallon, NV. We were well-rested from our climbing and it was good to get our legs up and moving again. We went through several cities on our ride including Dayton, Stagecoach, and Silver Springs. We were lucky enough to stay with Donna and Gay at Epworth United Methodist Church. They took great care of us: making us both dinner and breakfast. Thank you so much for graciously opening your doors to us, Epworth!
(May 27th) Today brought us onto the loneliest road in America, Highway 50, and in similar fashion, it led us away from nearly all civilization. We landed in Middlegate, a small “town” with a whooping 17 residents. Although they lacked in numbers, they more and made up for it in accommodations and spirit. The stop had a campground, gas station, and a restaurant/general store/bar all wrapped into one. We were lucky enough to enjoy listening to a live musician, interact with other travelers, and play basketball in the parking lot before we crawled into our tents for the night. On a separate note, the day was also very cloudy, and in lieu of that, many riders neglected to wear sunscreen – HORRIBLE IDEA. It wasn’t until we reached Utah that the peeling finally quit and the aloe could be put away. But now we’ve all got some wicked tan lines that we can flaunt everywhere we go.
(May 28th) After taking down our tents and enjoying an incredible breakfast at Middlegate Station, we made our way to Austin, NV. There we stayed at Austin City Town Hall and thankfully had much needed showers at Austin Baptist Church. After having a great dinner at Silver State Café in downtown Austin, we headed to a nearby gas station to get snacks for later that night (to make up for all the calories burned throughout the process of biking) and were able to catch an incredible sunset overlooking Austin. Small things like snacks and incredible views are always a great way to end a day full of biking. We are so appreciative of the hospitality from the city of Austin!
(May 29th) As one day melted into another, the team began to settle into a routine. Wake up. Eat breakfast. Bike (drive) on Highway 50 all day. Sleep. Repeat. Although the scenery was beautiful, it did not change much, allowing for lots of introspection and team bonding on the bike. The highway also placed another obstacle in our path: wind. We biked into a headwind for the next week, forcing us to bike later and later each day. But after a 65-mile day, we finally reached Eureka, where we stayed at Diamond Valley Church. After a gourmet spaghetti dinner, we were blessed to see another breath-taking sunset as we settled in for the night. Thank you, Eureka for treating us so well!
(May 30st) Today began our 80-mile day from Eureka to Ely. Eureka itself was a quaint, old western style town that was very neat to bike through. Once we climbed our way out of the town, we faced the long and lonely Highway 50 for the rest of the day. Twisting and winding through valleys and over hills led us to our destination: Ely. The population of Ely was much bigger than the previous towns we stayed at, leading us to our first McDonald’s in quite a while (we may have consumed all the chicken nuggets in stock at this restaurant—oops). We were fortunate enough to stay at Bayside Church for two nights, and they hooked us up with an indoor place to stay along with a TV for us to have a team movie nights! We are certainly grateful for your hospitality!
(Mat 31st) As we hopped on the bike for the sixth straight day, we were greeted with a nasty 30mph crosswind that lasted the entire day. The wind took a toll on our already exhausted muscles and in turn led our first major biking accident of the trip, leaving Griffin unable to bike for the next 5 days. Thankfully no-one was injured! Seeing as we were caught in the middle of absolutely nowhere, the closest place for Griff to get his bike repaired was in Salt Lake City.. 150 miles away. But he was a great sport and rooted us on as we continued our ride. We also encountered some wicked climbs (1100 feet and 1500 feet respectively) directly into the wind, making this our most difficult day yet. But our determination to succeed was stronger than the wind and the mountains, and before we knew it, we were welcomed to some beautiful sights right on the Nevada/Utah border.
