Days 4-9

Sep. 3rd, 2010:

Crystal Springs, CA to Fallon, NV
Today we had a long downhill all the way to Carson City, NV. We found two bike shops but neither of them carried fixed gear cogs. At Bike Habitat the owner was very rude, but at the Bike Smithe the attendant was kind even though his shop lacked the equipment we needed. We continued on from Carson City at about 11:30am after picking upsome hearty sandwiches from Wally World (Walmart), which we were unable to finish due to the heat. The rest of the day was plagued by 100 degree heat, constant sun, and two flat tires.
Despite our troubles, we made it to Fallon, NV where we were able to take warm showers and drink cold Fat Tires to top off the day.

Sep. 4th, 2010:

Fallon, NV to Austin, NV
Today started really well. we left Fallon, NV early and managed to ride the first 40 miles to Middlegate, NV pretty quickly. However, after this things took a turn.  Alex popped three tubes and we ran out of spares so we had to start patching tubes. Then we rode uphill for about 16 miles (which was fairly tough), and we were starting worry about the gear ratios that we have. After about 96 miles and 20 still left to go, with the sun setting, we managed to flag down a truck which gave us a ride to our final destination. Also we
met Roy, another cyclist heading in the same direction as us for now. It was nice to have some new company.


Sep. 5th, 2010:

Austin, NV to Eureka, NV
Today we left Austin, NV early and immediately started climbing. The first summit we reached was about 7400 ft. After this we rode downhill for about four miles then hit our second summit which was slightly lower. The overall mileage for the day was about 70 miles, all of which was desert with no services. We were able to buy food in Eureka, NV and reached camp fairly early which was good as it gave our bodies a break.

Sep. 6th, 2010:

Eureka, NV to Ely, NV
Today we rode about 77 miles and are nearing the end of our days in Nevada which is fantastic news as far as we are concerned. The scenery here appears to be unchanging, Just one big continuous desert with summits and then valleys all full of sage brush. Today we rode over four summits ranging from 6500 ft in elevation to 7500 ft. In order from west to east they were: Pinto, Pancake, Little Antelope, and Robinson. When we reached Ely, NV we were able to re-stock on bike tubes as we had 0 without holes in them. We
are staying at the KOA two miles east of Ely which was a little more expensive but the only place for camping and we were able to split the cost of our tent site with Roy the other cyclist that we have been intermittently traveling with. Overall it was a good day.

Sep. 7th, 2010:

Ely, NV to Baker, NV

Today we rode around 57 miles with only two summits, though the second summit (Sacramento summit) was pretty difficult. After this summit it was a short jaunt downhill to Baker, NV. Today we also saw the first clouds that we have seen since we started the trip which provided a us with a little shade. Also we met three young men from the UK who were on the last leg of their trip, and a German cyclist and a cyclist from Santa
Rosa, Ca who caught up with us on Sacramento summit. All of them were nice people with interesting stories.

Sep. 8th, 2010:

Baker, NV to Delta, UT
Today we started early, waking up at 4:30 A.M. and leaving our camp site by 6:00 A.M.. We first rode about 12 miles to the Nevada-Utah border, then about 20 more before we hit our first summit at an elevation of 6200 ft. After this we continued riding, reaching a total of 100 miles and finishing the last 44 miles in about 2.5 hours thanks to a 25-30 MPH tailwind. We reached our destination of Delta, UT at 2:30 P.M. pacific time or 3:30 P.M. Mountain time. We followed our ride up with a good Mexican food dinner and even
had enough time to get supplies for lunch tomorrow and do a little laundry (which was needed after nine days). All in all it was another good day!