Day 12, Austin to Eureka: Long "No-Service" Day

August 3, 2017

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Mileage Today; 71 Total So Far; 509 Remaining; 1,087

Climbing Today; 3,498 Total So Far; 29,161 Remaining; 70,957

Max Grade; 8.6% Average Uphill Grade; 2.1%

Average Speed While Riding; 7.9 mph (estimate)

Mechanical Issues; None

Photos Credit; Bud, unless noted otherwise

Bud speaking; (I’m getting tired of hearing myself talk – where are Doc and Sis?)

I was out the door at 3:30am, but I didn’t get far; my headlight bracket was loose and had fallen to the side. So I quickly tightened it up and headed off – my headlight controls my taillight and has a feature that lets me know my taillight is working ok, and when I checked I didn’t have a green light so I had to stop again after only a block. The taillight wires had pulled loose from their connectors when the headlight had swiveled over to the side, so I quickly fixed that and; FINALLY I was off with both headlight and taillight functioning well.

It's difficult leaving Austin; you start off immediately climbing. I tried to maintain a steady pace and not spend excessive energy this early, but you must put out a bit of energy to move yourself and about 80 pounds of loaded bike uphill. The morning was quite dark save for my lights.

I tried to capture a photo of Austin from above. I had my telephoto mounted on the camera in case of any early morning wildlife, and I couldn’t hold it steady enough in the darkness so it made for an interesting little shake;

Looking Back Toward Austin, A Bit of Shake Holding the Telephoto Lens

Austin Summit is the first for me today, and I made it while it was still dark.

Signs like these mean that it’s a fun ride for cyclists. Of course, you more than earn that ride with the work it takes to reach the top.

This Sign Means It's A Fun Ride For A Cyclist

I earlier noted that the trees disappeared when we left California and entered Nevada. While that is generally true, there are indeed some trees in the higher reaches of the central and eastern Nevada ranges as you can see in this pre-dawn shot.

Bob Scott summit was my second climb of the day. I was disappointed that there was no summit sign for the glory photo, so this is the best I could do.

Bob Scott Summit Had No Sign, But I Was There

As I was rolling down from the summit, I was surprised to meet Vince going the other way;

Vince, West-Bound on the Western Express

Vince started in Colorado and is following the Western Express westbound to San Francisco. Due to the lateness of the season I had not expected to meet any others, but Vince and I make at least 2 crazy guys on the Western Express route (when Sis and Doc return I suppose we will double that population). We chatted a bit and exchanged helpful tidbits about the road ahead, and then I was off.

When the sun did rise, I was grateful for a bit of cloud cover that provided protection for part of the morning.

The road ahead goes down, then sometimes gets flat for a while in the next valley, then rises to the next summit; and then the sequence repeats. This is my fate for many miles to come.

The Road Ahead Goes Down Then Back Up Again to The Next Summit

While riding in the flat portion of a valley, I noticed a cyclist approaching me from behind; it was the cyclist I had seen the day prior in Austin on a road bike. And that’s how I met Graham. We rode together for a bit (he had to slow considerably to allow me to hang with him) and chatted. Graham is an English cyclist who is on a quest to ride from San Francisco to the Hudson River in 31 days. To do so he must average over 100 miles per day. He rides on a road bike outfitted with triathlete bars, and a support crew of 2 accompanies him. While we were chatting his support crew passed and pulled over and we all had a nice talk about cycling and such.

Hickison summit was my third and final major ascent of the day.

Hickison Summit, I'm In Full Desert Gear Now

One can feel quite small and insignificant traveling across these wide expanses. I know I keep saying that, but each day drives the point home even more as I live the experience.

This Valley is Huge! I Feel Pretty Small and Insignificant

A picnic shelter is found alongside the road in the absolute middle of nowhere.

Picnic Shelter in the Middle of Absolutely Nowhere

I was grateful for a sit-down off of the bike for a few minutes, but I soon realized that I was so tired I was in danger of falling asleep right there. So I forced myself up and got rolling again. I still have a bit of ground to cover today, and I’m still following the old Pony Express route.

Still Following The Old Pony Express Route

It seems that one should beware of farm machinery; or does it mean to beware of farmers?

Interesting rock formations are found alongside the roadway.

Here’s the view approaching Eureka. Notice that it’s a downhill run into town.

I saw that they had set up an automated radar speed check station as one enters town where the speed limit is 25 mph. I was doing about 30 downhill at the time and I reached for my DSLR with 1 hand while holding the handlebars with the other so I could document that I was speeding. By the time I could get off several shots, I had slowed to 20 mph – I was so disappointed! I really wanted to document that I was speeding on a bicycle. Oh well, maybe next time.

I Was Speeding On The Downgrade - I Really Was - But I Couldn't Get The Camera Out in Time With 1 Hand To Photograph The Proof!

Eureka is an interesting old town with character. Here’s the restaurant/saloon across from my hotel;

As I was checking in, the clerk was on the phone explaining that there were no vacancies anywhere in town. Familiar story, glad I have a room. I need to stay on schedule so I can keep my room reservations further up the road. As I headed across the street for supper, I ran into the English crew I met on the road today:

They are very nice folks and told me to just flag them down if I needed any assistance. Graham is traveling much faster than me on his road bike so I will likely not see them again, but it was a very nice offer. Best wishes to Graham and the crew as they continue on this fast-paced quest. By the way, they are raising money for ovarian cancer and have the twitter handle @Bay2Hudson.

Tomorrow is my longest “no-services” day so far, so good night everyone – I'm glad I have lodging for the night, hope you all are comfortably situated as well…

Today's ride: 70 miles (113 km)
Total: 507 miles (816 km)

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