Day 53 – Austin to Fallon

So, I got a century in today… sorta. A metric century. The imperial century remains elusive on this trip (I think the closest I got was back in VA on Day 5). Read on to see how the day went.

Yesterday, I alluded to how boring/desolate/lonely US 50 is through this area. In fact, it’s called the Loneliest Highway in America. There are signs on the road that proclaim as much. You can buy t-shirts in the small towns that dot the landscape that say things like “I Survived the Loneliest Highway”, etc. After 3 days riding this road in Nevada, I can say it’s very aptly named… tho there are roads in Alaska that are more desolate, but the folks around here don’t want to hear that.

The Pony Express went through this part of the country. I had no idea (or at least I don’t remember enough grade school history) that the Pony Express only lasted 18 months. I was thinking of starting a cycle-express to deliver messages across the country, but I don’t think 57 days is an acceptable delivery timeframe.

So, about the ride. I left Austin shortly after 7 and had a good ride the first few hours. I climbed through the pass at Mt Airy (not the Mt Airy in MD… I was about a mile higher than Mt Airy, MD) without much hassle. It was a long (hour-ish) climb but really not too steep. It was a great way to start the day.

After that pass, I descended down to the basin below… and that’s when all hell broke loose. Or rather, the winds from hell. I’m not an exceptionally seasoned rider, but I have never in my life ridden in wind like I had today. Within about a mile, the air went from basically calm to approaching gale force. No, I’m not joking. The grasses were bent over, tumbleweeds were tumbling, and small pebbles and pieces of sand were blowing down the road. From my kite flying days, blowing sand means the wind was going at least 25 mph… the closest weather station I could find on Weather Bug verified sustained winds of 25 with gusts up to 40.

You know that gust of wind you get when a tractor trailer goes past you in the other direction? It sort of knocks you around and slows you down? It was like that, non-stop. My wonderful pace of 18mph dropped to 13.. then 11.. then 10.. then _9_. There were stretches where it was a battle to keep my speed at 9mph. Totally flat, sunny day… in the middle of nowhere… working my butt off for 9mph. Yeah. That was awesome.

After several hours of battling that mess, I gave up. Partially because I was tired, but mostly because my hip was really hurting me. I think that all the buffeting of the wind was forcing me to constantly correct my position and riding mechanics just to hold a straight line. I felt it in my knees first, then my left hip just went bonkers. I pushed through it for a while, but after 65 miles, that was all I could take. I’ve pounded a bunch of advil, and it feels a bit better. It doesn’t hurt when I walk, but I can feel it when I’m on the bike. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Anyhoo, I finished up at Middlegate Station. This place is sorta like the bar from top gun. It’s about 20 miles from the nearby Naval Air base, there’s pilot memorabilia all over the walls, and about $1,000 in 1 dollar bills stapled to the ceiling with messages all over them. Oh, and late 80’s beer pinup girl posters in the men’s bathroom. Of course, the food was awesome 🙂

On the way in to Fallon, we passed this…

Yep, it’s a mountain of sand. Why? No clue. But it is huge, and made entirely of sand. Nevada is an interesting place.

Tomorrow we ride to Carson City. Terran will ride out with me in the morning to keep me company. And then tomorrow night JP joins back up with us. After that, it’s only 3 days till San Francisco. And THEN we start the drive back home. Heidi and I started looking at routes and timing for that trip and realized we need to really scoot to make it back in time for school. This trip is far from over 😉