May 29, 2005
Day 12: Boundary Peak to Tonopah
I woke up at sunrise, but couldn't get out of my sleeping bag. It was that chilly. Finally I got the nerve to get going. I had a little snack and started up Montgomery Pass. Having done Sonora Pass, everything else seems easy by comparison. The valley was greener than I have ever seen it and Boundary Peak still had lots of snow on top.
When I got up to the summit I discovered the casino had closed but the motel was still open. I guess casinos on reservations in the Owens Valley put the kibosh on a casino across the state line in the middle of nowhere. Even when it was open, it was rather threadbare and seedy. I remember the smell of cigarette smoke and cheap whiskey and people with no teeth dropping their last dollar into the slots. I've always had a hard time with gambling.
Well, anyway, I asked some people at the motel for water and jumped back on my bike, looking forward to a whale of a downhill ride. But it didn't turn out that way. First I had a flat tire. I used the opportunity to switch back and front tires since I suspected the cut sidewall as co-conspirator in the flat. Then the wind, which had been veering suspiciously to the north, shifted to the northeast. And I had a slow, steady leak in the front - formerly the back - tire. I thought it was that the patch hadn't adhered, but after switching out the tube, that also went flat. So it was off with the wheel, yet again. It was nearly impossible hearing where the leak was because the wind was blowing so hard, but I found the spot and then found the culprit wedged in my tire - - a tiny sliver of glass, barely poking through. No shade, no water, no nothing.
I spent most of the day in the gutted Coaldale Junction station, a stopover on US 95 that had been closed for more than ten years. Most of the tourist cabins had been torched, broken glass was everywhere, but the main building offered shade and shelter from the wind. So I took it. I had hoped that I might catch a ride into Tonopah, but the few folks who stopped would hardly look in my direction. I don't think I look that scary - it's just that so many people are living scared since 9-11.
After yakking with some Harley riders - who were also getting pounded by the wind and could relate - I set off for Tonopah. The highway makes a big arc - first heading northeast, then east, then southeast. The first stretch was toughest, but when I turned east it got easier, and finally getting a sidewind was like a blessing.
I had looked forward to a long break at the rest area that's ten miles this side of Tonopah, but it was filthy. I couldn't even stand to go into the bathroom and I'm used to some pretty skanky stuff. So I just kept on going. It's a pretty steep climb into Tonopah. When I finally arrived at sundown there was no question. Motel tonight!
Today's ride: 74 miles (119 km)
Total: 596 miles (959 km)
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