Day 46 & 47 - Middlegate to Carson City, NV

Yesterday was a rare treat on Nevada’s Route 50 with only two small, front-loaded summits followed by salt flats. Riding 50 miles into Fallon was almost a rest day after the previous few day’s rides. I pitched my tent for possibly the last time on the tour and woke up early to pedal into Carson City. 

The “loneliest road in America” became a highway today and I had to keep one eye on my mirror at all times. 63 miles of heavy traffic, but on welcomed flat road. Water stops every twenty miles as I rolled on like royalty with ice cold agua. I had originally intended to ride to Reno as a gateway to northern Lake Tahoe where I’d meet for a family vacation in the second week of July. Getting too far ahead of schedule I’ve just decided to ride back into California as spending nearly a week in Reno is playing with fire. Give me a day or two at a casino and I will come out ahead. Six days and I’ll be a frothing degenerate betting on cornhole futures in Zimbabwe. For this very reason I headed on down to Carson City to spend just a night or two before I make my last hill to climb Carson Pass. Roughly 4,000 feet of elevation to climb to the summit, but from there you shed 8,500 ft down to sea level! That sounds like a blast, so many free miles for me to cruise down. So that’s the plan for now. Enjoy Carson City tonight and hopefully use the book to pay for my hotel room. Carson Pass awaits as the final challenge. 

Day 44 & 45 - Eureka to Middlegate, NV

Wow there is just nothing that comes easy out here. 71 miles to the next town of Austin was a monster of a ride that saved the formidable Austin Pass for the tail end of the day. I don’t know what else to say that would differentiate it from the rest of Route 50 West through Nevada, just know it was a slog. Getting into town I met up again with my Irish buddy I hadn’t seen since Baker a few days back. We were able to form a Nevada support group for each other comparing our miseries, and there are a many. He left out around 5am this morning while I needed some extra rest to recover from the sprinkler debacle at my last camp. I snoozed deeply having scouted out the sprinkler heads in the evening.

We’d end up at the same spot tonight 65 miles later, through the standard agonizing headwinds, in good old Middlegate, NV. This is a place more akin to a compound than a town, but has an RV Park, saloon, and tiny motel. Pretty much everything the cyclist that hasn’t showered in three days craves. Ended up closing the bar down here hanging with all the locals. After 50 miles tomorrow I’ll finally be back into a place where 80 mile serviceless deserts aren’t the norm. You wouldn’t believe how nice that’ll be for me after what I’ve gone through.

Day 43 - Ely to Eureka, NV

Hotel Nevada in Ely, NV was a lot of fun for a small town casino. I ended up staying two nights and funding most of the bill with their sports book. I had a great time at the bar becoming one of the locals and getting them to root on my bets with me. When it was time to leave little Ely I knew the ride to the next town would be another long haul. 78 miles of no services with four mountain passes of varying elevations. After 7 and a half hours pedaling I was eight miles up the toughest pass of the day as it was getting dark. I began throwing my left arm and thumb out while riding when a car was coming up behind me. It took only three vehicles for one to come to a stop, but upon seeing it was just a small sedan with three guys in it already my hope of hitching a ride drifted away. That is until one of them offered to come back with a truck and scoop me up! They tossed me a beer and I sat roadside for just 25 minutes before sure enough they were back in a dualie. Just like the rest of the folks I’d come to meet in Eureka these were some incredibly nice people. They dropped me off at the city park and told me the backdoor across the street was to a bar that would be serving hot food for another thirty minutes. I grabbed a good meal prior to going and setting up the tent. The small park, which was free to camp in, had bathrooms as well as the first patch of green grass I’d seen in over a thousand miles. I should have known what this meant. Because of the makeshift icebox  I made with a gallon ziplock bag in a pannier some clothing was slightly dampened at the end of the day. I left them out on a picnic table to dry, but at 2:30am I heard the sprinklers come on. They directly hit my tent. Around 5am the tent floor was starting to soak through as I feel wetness at the feet of the sleeping bag. It still sounded like it was raining, but I had to get out and drag the tent to a safe zone. Everything I had left on the table was well within the blast radius, 100% soaked. I found a laundromat in town and am standing around now waiting for them to dry out. Another long stretch into Austin today, and there’s another city park there to camp at. This time I’ll be hunting for sprinkler heads assuming a before-dark arrival.

Day 42 - Baker to Ely, NV

Nevada cranked the difficulty level up to eleven on me yesterday. Two mountain passes each of around 2,000 feet of elevation gain followed by truly agonizing headwinds. What should have taken around an hour to ride took three over the last fifteen miles. This state, or at least this section of it, has been brutal thus far. Hanging out at the campground bar last night I was talking with a guy about the next rural stretch from Baker to Ely. He confirmed what my map said about there being one service stop, a restaurant, roughly halfway. A small tavern that sold beer and hamburgers. After bumming one pop tart from the other cyclist camping with me I set off with no food because Baker had only a restaurant and it wasn’t open yet. For 35 miles I fantasized about the juicy hamburger that was waiting for me. One and a half passes later I was finally there, but to my disappointment they no longer served hot food so I had to settle for a small bag of chips. Thankfully they still had an ice machine so cold water wasn’t an issue the rest of the ride. That left the headwinds and the pit in my stomach as the antagonists. When I had finally made it into town the casino hotel had no vacancy so I camped in the RV park and booked a room for tonight. When I get back in the saddle it’s another barren stretch of 78 miles with no services. Haven’t quite decided how to tackle it yet. A ride through the night is looking like a good idea at the moment, but for now it’s time for poker.

Day 41 - Milford, UT to Baker, NV

Well the ride didn’t go exactly according to plan with me chopping off 30 or 40 miles yesterday evening. About 5 miles after leaving the last town I’d see for awhile I got the second flat of the day. This time I just decided to use my last spare tire to replace it as the old one had taken a serious thrashing from a rock in Big Sur. I was thankful when somebody in a truck pulled over to ask if I needed help and gave me a couple bottles of water. After losing some daylight to that ordeal I began climbing into a bitch of a headwind. Reaching the top of the pass I had planned to cruise a bit longer, but upon reaching a historical landmarker with shelter and a picnic bench I called it quits there. 

Pretty good camping spot, but I didn’t get a whole lot of rest. The winds were relentless all night and without the ability to stake into the awful soil I had to keep pushing gear around in the tent to get it to keep its shape. Setting off early I had two more summits to reach and 70 miles left to ration out the water. Very little traffic and even fewer RV traffic to flag down for water (RVs are usually a safe bet for ice cold water for obvious reasons). Right before the second climb of the morning I came across another cyclist for the first time since about San Bernadino. He was hanging outside the only building I’d seen all day grabbing some shade. I rode on over and hung out for a good while chatting and comparing trips - he’s headed up to Alaska. Here at the place I’ve dubbed the “Cyclist’s Mirage” was an old artesian well dripping onto an uncharacteristically healthy tree for this locale. Because of it I ended up not needing to rely on any vehicular aid to get the job done today.  Never die in the desert, folks, let the ride provide or atleast know how to hitchhike. Upon reaching town I found a really chill campground with cyclist rates and a bar. I took one of the best showers of my life and then followed that up with many of the best beers of my life (plus about a gallon of ice water). Writing this here in the tent I hope for a better night’s rest for a much more tolerable ride into Ely tomorrow where I just may stay in a casino :)

Day 40 - Cedar City, UT to Milford, UT

I am finally back in the saddle today and have ridden 57 miles into Milford, Utah. The few days of rest felt fantastic. I car camped down old fire roads while exploring the Grand Canyon North and South Rims as well as Zion National Park. Then I got two real nights of rest in a motel. The drive around the Grand Canyon was a highlight of the trip as it’s so majestic it looks like another planet. Right now I’m sitting around Milford waiting for a few degrees to fall off the 100 degree temperature before I roll on and ride until sunset. The next 85 miles are void of any water stops all the way until Baker, NV. I have no way of keeping water even close to cold for that amount of miles in this heat so I’ll be trying to chip away 30 or 40 tonight and let the overnight low in the 50’s cool the water supply down enough to finish the ride in the morning. I’m off to overload the bike with water and food.

Day 39 - Ash Fork to Flagstaff, AZ

The last couple of days have been oddly difficult. I don’t fully understand why, but for certain the 60 mile rides both felt like centuries. I’ve chalked it up to the cumulative effect of not being fully past this illness along with a poor desert diet and not the best sleep. My legs don’t feel sore, tired would be more appropriate and they demanded a breather. My hands are both numb from having to carry all the extra water on my back. Around mile 30 yesterday I decided to ride past a northern turn towards the Grand Canyon and on into Flagstaff where I could grab a rental car. This morning I rode into GC National Park where I can now cover much more ground of personally unexplored beauty than I could have on the bicycle. Now the 40 mile out-and-back north rim loop won’t be such a set back to me and I can even do a day hike from there down into the canyon. After checking out the south rim today I’m super excited to park the car and travel in by foot. Best of all I’ve got a cooler full of food and water so I can spend a few days not worrying about the next meal while also getting fruits and veggies that the dust bowl gas stations didn’t have. I’ll drop the car off in Cedar City, Utah and continue the ride to Tahoe from there. I’ll be back in the desert then with 70+ mile stretches of no water stops. Tackling those rides with full strength will be critical! I’ll post again when I’m westbound back in the saddle. 

Day 38 - Peach Springs to Ash Fork, AZ

After an iffy night of sleep last night due to the trains I woke around 5:30 and just decided to start packing up. It was cool enough that I was able to wear long sleeves for the first couple of hours instead of slapping on the sunscreen first thing. Steady northwest winds blew me backwards and sideways all day, but they did seem to keep the air cooler. Just a little ways east left to go before I cut north tomorrow so I wouldn’t mind if those winds stuck around. I did manage to get plunked in the face twice today first by a tumbleweed (ouch) and then by a large moth. Even with the early start I called it quits at 62 miles as I couldn’t keep any kind of respectable pace. I found an RV Park here that let me use their non-public washing machine to clean the clothes I haven’t been able to wash since I was in LA. Time to go finish laundry before I ride back into town for some dinner.

Day 37 - Kingman to Peach Springs, AZ

Smoother sailing for me today as the temps dropped a smidge while I continued to gain some elevation. I’m up around 4800 feet in the Hualapai Indian Reservation town of Peach Springs this evening where it’ll be dropping to a pleasant overnight low of 65 degrees. Some bike touring magic transpired here that put me in a free camping spot with access to showers and a restroom all night. Entering the reservation a few miles before hitting town I started to see fencing on both sides of the road so my plan of roadside camping wasn’t looking promising. After stopping in the market and asking the cashier to no avail I wandered next door and spoke with a non-local that said he’d heard of folks camping, but I’d need to ask a local tribal member for a better answer. We chatted for a bit and he gave me the tribal police phone number which I called only getting the machine. I then saw that the hotel in town was also the center for Hualapai tourism and figured they must have some locals in there. The two women at the counter when I walked in were from Kingman, but they called their boss up from the back office who immediately began making calls and texts to see what she could find out for me. In the meantime, one of the Kingman ladies told me that she occasionally attended service at the church next door and figured the pastor wouldn’t mind me camping out back. After waiting for service to let out we walked over and she handed me a keycard to get into the hotel overnight before introducing me to the pastor here. He was a very kind man that not only quickly agreed to letting me stay, but went on to leave the church unlocked for me overnight so that I had access to it’s facilities! So now I have the hotel for ice and the church for a shower and a bathroom. The only downside is I’m about a football field away from an active train track. Thankfully I have some leftover ear plugs from the hostel I stayed in.

Day 36 - Needles, CA to Kingman, AZ

It was already 90 degrees out this morning setting off from Needles. After the big mileage day yesterday I was beginning to feel like maybe this desert ride was going to be in my wheelhouse. Instead today presented me with complications and a reminder of how deadly this place can be when ill-prepared.

After the 40 mile no services stretch yesterday left me with a bit of water I decided today’s barren stretch would be passable without fully loading all water bottles. This ended up being a huge mistake because this ride was all uphill with a headwind. 15 miles in I was nearly out of water when I waived down an RV and asked them for some water. They gave me two bottles, but they were room temperature and so I chugged one and the other one was pure lava a short while later when I needed it. The last few steeply uphill miles into town I was overheating and talking to the desert explaining my hatred for it. When I reached Oatman I had a good meal with around seven iced tea refills and then some ice cream for good measure. After Oatman only 12 more miles would be needed to make it to the RV Park I was going to camp at. I’ve given up on wild camping out here unless it’s right near a town as cold water is just too precious right now.

On the steepest set of switchbacks I was walking the bike when a truck pulled up asking if I wanted a lift over the rest of the mountain pass. Yup! Very nice family that was headed back to Kingman and they asked if they could just take me all the way there. I thanked them for the offer, but got out a couple of miles later to enjoy the descent into that RV Park. Getting in around 5:30 I didn’t see any tent camping rates posted so I called the number listed as the office wasn’t open. When they explained that they had stopped allowing tent camping I saw myself go through all five stages of grief. The bathrooms were also locked and they weren’t willing to drive over from their home a few miles away to sell me ice. I left them a note in the drop box thanking them for throwing me back into the 100 degree heat with no cold water and then set off 20 more miles to Kingman. I just kept thinking about the family in the truck that I should of taken up on their offer. A little while later a car that was coming towards me began flashing their high beams and pulled up next to me. Amazingly it was the same group I’d seen hours earlier when I was just past Oatman. They had given me a cold bottle of water then when I had full reserves and didn’t really need it, but they insisted I just chug it and hand them back the empty. This time around I did really need it and they loaded me up after I told them the RV Park story. I got to Kingman sometime after 8 o’clock very thankful for all the acts of kindness encountered today. Tomorrow looks to be more uphill grinding with a few more water stops than today.

Day 35 - Ludlow to Needles, CA

I ended up taking that sick day in Ludlow yesterday which proved to be the right move. I’d never of made it through today in the shape I was in. There was nothing to do in that town, but that didn’t bother me at all. My time there was spent snoozing or on one of multiple field trips over to the Chevron station to get a free refill of tea. This morning I still had the lingering backend of a cold, and despite one half of my brain lobbying for another day off I ultimately rode out into that June desert heat.

The initial strategy entailed going 70 miles today with only two available water stops. One at mile 30 and the next at the end, mile 70. The first chunk was fairly easy as it was still morning and the road sloped downhill for much of the ride. Averaging nearly 19 mph I arrived quickly to aid station number one. Looking at the elevation profile I knew the next 40 were inversed and would be a gentle upward trend. This meant the most important thing would be keeping water cold for the four plus hours it would take. You see, in 110 degrees having water is only half the battle. Scorching hot water may as well be no water. Of course this little bumpkin store didn’t have ice, and the clerk was kind of a dick about it saying we don’t sell ice now whattaya want? I wanted an Uber, but bought two bottles of cold water before entering no man’s land.

Up next was 5 miles of low traffic riding before the road closed for 35 miles. If I’ve learned anything from Big Sur it’s that road closure is code for bike path. I was not about to ride I-40 the entire way with cars flying by when there was a perfectly good stretch of car free Route 66 in front of me. Right before the detour sign a guy pulled over to ask if I needed anything. He loaded my water stash with ice and tossed me a couple Gatorades as well. That immensely improved my quality of life until aid station two. For the next four hours it was just me, mile long trains, and the lifeless desert. They closed this stretch of 66 in 2015 for rehabilitation, but I will tell you not a single one of the 5 or so eroded bridges have been touched yet. Most of them only had one lane out and so were trivial. One had both lanes sunken, but this is the desert so it was a bridge over sand and I just walked around it. I got to Fenner, the next stop, by 2:30pm and had planned to camp there. After spending $6 for a gallon of water (see picture below) I decided just to press on. I felt better than I thought I would at that point, and figured the heat would only decline. The final ride was 109 miles to bring me into Needles, CA. That means Arizona very early tomorrow! Not sure I’m down for anymore centuries in this heat, though, and will probably let that stand as my personal best for awhile.

Day 34 - Hodge to Ludlow, CA

So not my best day today, in fact it was the only time I’ve truly been miserable on this tour. Last night  the symptoms got worse as I waited for the heat to subside so that I could get to sleep. Still awake with sinus pain around 1am the ibuprofen was located to get some semblance of rest. Sunrise came around 5:30 and quickly began making a sauna inside of the tent. Determined to slog on through this day, and really with no alternate options, I rode into the next town to get cold medicine. It worked well at first to just dull the cold symptoms, but as the sun dug in reaching 100 degrees I turned into a zombie. 61 miles today of which for the last 30 or so I don’t remember thinking about anything other than sleep. The legs took over saying “I gotchya bro” to my brain thankfully on an almost abandoned stretch of Highway 66. Pedaling into Ludlow shortly after 2 today I checked the price of the small motel in town and found it was under $50. Done. I asked for the room with the coldest A/C, and got a few hours rest prior to doing some cycling chores. As for tomorrow I’ll have to see how I feel in the morning before pressing on. There’s a rough stretch ahead - about 120 miles to a campground, so I’m not going to put myself through another day like today if I need to rest tomorrow.

Day 33 - San Bernadino to Hodge, CA

74 miles down on the old Route 66 in 95 degree heat. The morning ride was pretty cool as I had a good chunk of unused road that runs parallel to a newly paved one. After that I climbed a 4200 foot mountain pass that really slowed the pace down late morning. Before bombing down the other side I pulled off to a convenience store where I met a Pacific Coast Trail hiker and we compared our travels for a bit. The day ended with setting up camp in the dessert here a few hundred feet away from the road. I caught some sort of bug either from the hostel or that repulsive motel room last night. Having a scratchy throat and sniffles all day to go with the oppressive sun was a bummer. With enough rest hopefully it will pass, but getting to sleep will be a challenge until the heat lets up for the night.

Day 31 & 32 - Malibu to San Bernadino, CA

Back to riding today after a well deserved two days off in LA. It’s a gigantic city so of course I only got to see the tip of the iceberg on what it has to offer. I spent three nights in the wonderful Melrose Hostel which is situated three miles away from Hollywood. After exploring during the daytime I’d go back and party with the roommates on the roof. I honestly can’t wait for my next opportunity to book a hostel!

While in town I was able to hit a few big tourist attractions. I was treated to a Warner Brother’s Studio Tour by family that works for them. This was a 2 hour tour that included the original Central Perk set from Friends, a visit to the props warehouse, and a freaking Batmobile room. The following morning I walked around the Hollywood Stars sidewalks before heading up to Griffith Observatory for the afternoon. The observatory is an awesome free attraction with hiking trails leading up to it. I ended up hiking back to the hostel after watching a Big Bang movie in the planetarium.

In the saddle this morning I split time evenly between pedaling and sitting at stoplights. I’m going through the LA urban sprawl so it was just suburb after suburb. After 40 miles of that I was thankful for a 30 mile bike path, although even that still had its fair share of road crossings. Out of the cold and the rain and straight into the oven I go. It’s hot, and my water needs are skyrocketing. There were  no camping or hostel options on the route today so I’m in one of the worst motel rooms I’ve seen. Camping options on this portion of the route are really sparce, but once I get out of the ‘burbs I think wild camping spots should be easy to come by in the desert. As I write this the Washington Capitals just finished off Vegas to win the Stanley Cup! Proud of hometown that hadn’t won a championship in any of the major sports in nearly three decades.

Day 30 - Carpinteria to Malibu, CA

Let me begin by saying that I was way off base on the occupants of most of the other tents at the Carpinteria campground. There were a couple of drug-addled goofballs, but there was also a group of six that had cycled in from Santa Barbara for a one night out and back. I had a fantastic time hanging out, grilling, and drinking with them. So much so that the morning ride was pretty rough. Unfortunately the park did have its issues with petty scumbag thieves as one of the girls in the group had the pannier she left out on the picnic bench stolen overnight. Luckily she had the forethought to remove all valuables from it and it was found a few hundred feet away on the beach. It wasn’t until after I got on the road when I noticed the bike computer that was mounted to my bike was missing. I’ll have to replace that when I’m in LA, but at least it was only a cheap 6 year old odometer and not my bike. 48 beautifully flat miles today brought me to Leo Carrillo State Beach just north of Malibu. So far one other person is here whom is a military veteran that’s on his last tour after having logged over 100,000 miles. Interesting guy to say the least. Early to bed tonight as I’m looking forward to that LA welcome sign in the morning. 

Day 29 - Lompoc to Carpinteria, CA

Up early eager to get on the bike and out of Lompoc I was southbound by 7am. The first few miles were cold with a brutal headwind and I just had to remind myself that these conditions wouldn’t last. That outlook manifested quickly and soon the southern Cali sun was beaming down. There were no services for 45 miles after Lompoc except a highway rest stop where I gladly refilled my water reserves from the water fountain. Once I was back into civilization I came across the first Chipotle I’ve seen so far in 1650 miles. You can bet I stopped and didn’t skimp on the chips and guac. I wonder if I can submit the longest chipotle ride record to Guinness? Rolling into the smaller beach town of Carpinteria I pulled into the campground here and it’s packed to the brim. Here in the hiker/biker section I’m suspecting they use the term “hiker” liberally. I see plenty of ramshackle tents here, and no bikes. The camp host informed me I’ll need to lock up my bike tonight if I want to see it in the morning. So yea, I think I’m sharing camp with some less fortunate folk. That’s just part of the experience, I suppose. I’ve got 90 something miles to go to reach a hostel near Hollywood I want to stay at. I’ll slice that into two easier days and meet my replacement contact lenses there on Monday. 

Day 28 - Morro Bay to Lompoc, CA

I cut inland today off of the coast and into the sweltering farmland. I was stuck in long sleeves for much of the day because it’s been too cold for short sleeves and my arms are way behind my legs on the funny cyclist tan. It’s seems it’s time to start strategically working in the upper body tan so I don’t look like a lobster when I begin heading east. Other than the heat it was pretty smooth sailing 76 miles into Lompoc today. I’m finally back into the land of cell phone service after it had been super spotty for the entire California coast. It’s nice be able to stream podcasts again instead of having to plan around free WiFi places. Terrible RV Park tonight with no running water except for in the showers that closed before I arrived. There are two pairs of touring cyclists here so atleast some company. Tomorrow I’ll be up early trying to beat the heat and make it as close to Santa Monica as possible. Super excited to be in LA in a couple of days! I’ve never been there and there’s much I want to see so a rest day or two is the plan.