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 :)