Dozens of Norwegians

July 23, 2013

Day 30: Austin, Nevada to Fallon, Nevada

Got up, did the usual chores, then rode across the street to the International Cafe & Bar for breakfast. I was the only customer in the place at 6:00, and my waitress was a kind, grandmotherly woman with whom I had a long, meandering conversation about life in Austin and other things.

It was cool and overcast. The riding was great this morning - it's so much more pleasant without the hot sun beaming down on you. Almost immediately I was being passed by dozens of vintage automobiles. They were from all eras, and were mostly American cars. These cars, wherever they were headed, and a little more truck traffic than usual, made this the not-so-loneliest-road much of the day. Still, sightlines were long and the shoulder was adequate, so I was happy.

There was an great new development on the Loneliest Road today: A couple of service stops before my final destination of the day. I was pretty excited about this, and stopped at Cold Springs, which is basically a bar/restaurant/motel. Everything seemed shiny and new, because, as it was later explained to me, the original place had burned down a few years before and it was rebuilt from scratch.

There were only a few other customers in the place at 10:30 in the morning, and they were speaking a language I didn't recognize. After they left the waitress told me they were from Norway, and were part of a group of dozens of Norwegians who had shipped their vintage automobiles from Norway to New York City, and were driving them across the country to San Francisco, following as closely as possible the historic Lincoln Highway. Human beings have strange interests (says the guy who is riding his heavily laden bicycle through the desert for "fun.")

Back on the road it continued to be overcast and much, much cooler than the past several days. I stopped in Middlegate, another bar/restaurant/motel/campground complex and found Andy and Claudia, who, having started in the middle of the night again, had already set up camp behind the bar/restaurant and were hanging out in the bar. The proprietor of the place allows free camping there, presumably because he knows he will make money from the cyclists, who are desperate and will purchase expensive cold drinks.

I had a couple of $1 cans of soda pop (expensive, but still 50% cheaper than in Majors Junction on Day 27), and bid Andy and Claudia what would probably be a final farewell, since I was going to do several long days to get to San Francisco on the 27th.

Before I got back on the road I talked to a couple who were driving a tiny, strange little three-wheeled car they had shipped from Norway. There was a bit of a language barrier, but I could understand some of their responses to my questions, which I imagine they grow weary of being asked. I found the most interesting aspect was the necessity of mixing the fuel by hand. They had a plastic gasoline jug bungeed to the car when I looked it over.

The sun was out now, and the riding was much harder. Traffic grew busier, although there was still a good shoulder, and everybody gave me lots of room when passing. Still, this afternoon was the end of the Loneliest Road, even though I would remain on US 50 for another day or so. The scenery was flatter but still interesting.

It seemed to take forever to reach downtown Fallon. I performed my usual motel search and secured a decent one for $40. It was directly across the street from a convenience store where an odd assortment of characters were hanging out. Very reminiscent of the move Clerks. After several days of relatively modest meals, I decided I was very hungry, and ordered a large pizza from Pizza Hut, along with a two liter bottle of Orange Crush. I consumed both quickly and went to bed at a reasonable hour.

Today's ride: 114 miles (183 km)
Total: 2,461 miles (3,961 km)

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