Nevada: basin, fault, range.

I awoke this morning with a little headache thanks to the hunters who kept buying rounds for me last night. After dropping the kids off I was alright though and pedaled straight into Baker. Not much going on there. After a great cup of coffee, I chatted with the local shopkeep before crossing into Utah and stopping briefly in Garrison. With the midday sun beating down, I ate a quick snack in the shade before continuing on. Fortunately there was plenty of cloud cover and the next 60 miles was bearable. Many snakes and beatles crossed my path and after climbing into the San Francisco Mountains after dark (the 16th summit since Carson Pass), I camped with a fellow traveler at Frisco Summit and fell asleep wondering if it would rain overnight.

Livin the dream!

This morning was freezing. I was not prepared and the morning ride started off brutal. Along the way, I passed a Japanese man who started from DC and is WALKING to SF. I felt totally humbled! Eventually I made it to Ely where I satisfied a pancake craving (having passed Pancake Summit yesterday) and comtinued to order eggs, hash browns, grilled cheese, salad, and bread pudding. The waitress was nice and she had tall hair.

During the hottest hours, I hung outside the local grocer and chatted with the baggers on their smoke breaks. I learned that the carnival was in town and befriened a local who filled me in on the current middle east political scene (he thought I was Arab). He bought me an apple pie at a fast food chain that I detest and I gave him some goo for his front tire.

Back on the road, I met a girl who stared biking from Colorado Springs bound for SF. We chatted briefly and I continued on toward Majors Junction. It can't even be considered a town. Just a bar with an RV park. I'm camping (and drinking) here tonight and just rook my first shave and shower since the 30th. It felt great!

"I found it!"

Today was a full day of cycling. At dawn, I set for Eureka which is 45 miles east of Hickison. Upon arrival at the friendliest town on the lonliest highway, I ate an amazing black bean veggie burger with sautéd mushrooms and peppers. Receiving special treatment from the chef, she threw in a salad on the house. After lunch, I wandered over to the library and waited for the 4pm opening. A local told me that they might not even open promptly at 4, and with 40 miles still ahead of me, I decided to take off. The cloud cover kept the desert cooler today and I made it to Illipah Reservoir with plenty of time for a quick dip, set up camp, and eat a nice dinner (oats, apple, peanut butter, and a granola bar) before shutting my eyes just after sunset.

Food, with a side of drama

The morning wasn't freezing like yesterday even though I was over 2000 feet higher in elevation. Cruising down toward Austin, I began to pedal faster in hopes of making it to town before breskfast ended. At 10:56am, I entered the Internatonal Hotel & Cafe and ordered a huge skillet from a bubbly waitress who told me of her biking days on Maui. When I went to pay however, I learned that my ATM card was missing and had to pay credit. I spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone with the bank and sipping on delicious iced tea from a rude waitress at the other cafe in town.

While writing a postcard, I discovered someone stole my phone and solar panal from under my nose! What a day! I stormed down to the Sheriff's office (two doors down) to report the theft. Turned out just minutes before someone turned it in thinking someone had forgotten it. I thanked them, packed up, and headed up and over Austin and Bob Scott passes before settling in at Hickison Rec Area for the night. I made an aquaintence there and we chatted for a few hours while checking out some prehistoric petroglyphs, learning a few new constellations, and watching a beautiful desert moonrise.

West-central Nevada blues

With tractors rolling in, I decided to quickly get up and going well before daybreak. It was freezing out so I stopped for 70-cent coffee before heading into the great wide open. At midday, I arrived in Middlegate and reorganized my gear and prepared to mail seven pounds of unnecessary stuff back home. Eating peanut butter and jelly on corn tortillas, I began to crave a solid meal.

The heat subsided and I continued up state highway 722 toward Carroll Summit. At the peak (7500') I set up camp next to the cows and could hear coyotes closeby. I was pretty beat and crashed before any stars could be seen.

Post playa

The mist of nearby sprinklers at daybreak alerted me to wake up. I made good time stopping first for 50-cent coffee in Nixon and later in Fernley to do a load of laundry and buy more sunscreen and lotion. Wiping playa dust again from my limbs I began to wonder if the locals were irked by my choice to self- cleanse on a shaded bench at the local strip mall. "Oh, did you just come from Burning Man," a few would ask me. "How was it?" Apparently it wasn't too big of a deal.

Heading down 50-A toward Fallon, I was happy to have completed ACA map set "Western Express 1." For dinner, a plate of Chow Fun satisfied a craving for noodles and I passed out at a small farm just off the highway.

The end of a chapter

I watched the temple burn alone this evening and meditated about the end of a special relatonship. The golden jewel of fire before me was almost as intense as her devotion and may her spirit find peace in the future.

Back on my bike after nearly four days, I pedaled out to Empire and crashed behind a billboard.