July 30, 2017
Day 8, Carson City to Fallon: Desert Heat and a Flat Tire, but Wild Horses Couldn't Keep Us Away
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Mileage Today; 63 Total So Far; 325 Remaining; 1,271
Climbing Today; 1,447 Total So Far; 20,083 Remaining; 80,035
Max Grade Today; 7,9% Average Uphill Grade; 1.0%
Average Speed While Riding; 11.7 mph
Mechanical Issues; Fla tire, Sis
Photos Credit; Bud, unless noted otherwise
Bud Speaking:
We left the hotel this morning at 5:30. The morning air was nice and cool. The early departure allowed us to avoid a lot of the traffic in Carson City, and it was actually quite pleasant cycling through the city and out to Highway 50 eastbound.
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The hardest climb seemed to come early in the day, and we got that out of the way shortly after we left the Carson City metro area.
We were cruising along just enjoying the morning when Sis's rear tire started wobbling, and we discovered she was having a flat. Fortunately, there was an abandoned building across the road that was up for sale, so we rolled the bikes over there and were able to get under the awning and have some shade to fix the flat.
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Yesterday we had ridden across some new construction and rode on areas where there was spilled sticky gravel with asphalt on it. When we examined the tire, it turned out that a chunk of gravel had worked its way through the tread. So I cleaned all the gravels out of her treads before we started and then we fixed the flat. While we were fixing the flat Sis used my pocket knife to clean all the gravels out of Doc’s treads. Flat repaired, tire pumped up, panniers back on the bike, everything was done and we headed on down the road none the worse for wear other than a bit of delay.
There had been signs that indicated that this was a free-range, or that wild horses may be on the road, and sure enough we passed a group of what appeared to be wild horses. That's the first time I've ever seen horses wild. We were rolling downhill at the time and didn’t want to stop, but I can reach into my handlebar bag and get my camera with 1 hand while cycling, and I often take shots like that. Some work out, some don’t.
This particular sign was a bit ominous; I’m not sure if we can do that.
And we are definitely in open range country;
We labored on through the morning, and as the sun heated things up the labor increased. We stopped in the town of Silver Springs for lunch at the casino. Walking through the casino, there was the thick smell of cigarette smoke. I guess the sort of folks who waste their money in casinos are also prone to smoke – it’s all gambling.
We were hungry, and the food was good, despite the less than pleasant talk from the table beside us. It took an hour for us to eat and leave the casino, and the sun definitely heated up during this time. The temperature in Fallon that day was near 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and the solar radiation in the high plains was intense. And so we left and made our way steadily onward toward Fallon.
It was nice when we met Robert, who stopped beside the road in his pickup with attached camper shell, to make sure that we had enough water for the day. Robert was a touring cyclist himself, and he showed us pictures of his rig with panniers attached and pulling a trailer. He also gave us all a little document titled "Highway 50 Survival Guide," which contain interesting facts about a lot of the cities along Route 50 that we are yet to visit.
Highway 50 East of 95 consisted of a two-lane roadway with an approximate two foot wide shoulder on each side, but the shoulder was unusable for cyclists because the entire thing was taken up with rumble strips. And so we had to ride slightly to the left of the fog line and endure some aggressive drivers who didn't like us being on the road. Most drivers were courteous and gave us plenty of room passing, but it seems like the hotter it gets the more it brings out the unpleasantness in people.
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Someday we will be in Ely. By the way, the locals pronounce it like “Elee” not like “Eli.”
We stopped in a rare shady spot as we neared Fallon, and a bunch of goats were curious;
Fallon has bike lanes, and lots of other things as well;
We were happy to finally make her way into Fallon, and to the Holiday Inn Express where we were staying for the night. Unfortunately, when we arrived at 2:30 p.m., the rooms were not yet ready. And so we hung out in the lounge with our bicycles parked inside, and relaxed for an hour until the rooms were ready.
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We were all happy to clean up, and we ate at a place called Jerry's Restaurant, which was a couple of blocks away from the hotel. We had great food for good prices at Jerry's, and I recommend it for any other touring cyclist who may be passing through.
This was supposed to be an easy day. It was generally downhill, and we had a tail wind for about half of the day. However, the unexpected delay caused by the flat tire, and our first experience dealing with the Nevada sun with no trees for shade, made the day much harder than it should have been. I know that we are all apprehensive regarding the upcoming long tracks with no support services along the way, and today drove that point home. It's getting late now, and we have an early start tomorrow morning as usual, so good night everyone...
Today's ride: 63 miles (101 km)
Total: 324 miles (521 km)
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