Biketodetroit

What made me think that, in a place where it is 60 miles between water sources, I could update my blog from a cell phone? Please be patient, dear readers, while I grapple with the frustrations of getting my tired butt on my bike every morning while also attempting to be totally connected.

We are in Eureka NV tonight after two days of very hard travel through the desert, carrying all our water for each day. Wednesday morning we left Middlegate Station for Austin, 64 miles away. The day before we had gotten Steve to drive us to Austin with a load of gear. We had figured out that carrying more than 10 pounds of water each on top of all our gear would be very difficult. So we culled out everything we thought we would not need for the day and brought it to the motel in Austin. The innkeeper thought it strange to have us arrive with a large garbage bag, and ask him to keep it for us, so that we could drive back to Middlegate and then ride our bikes back to Austin. But he did, and when we arrived in Austin after a fast ride with plenty to drink, the garbage bag was in our room.

Well, one success breeds expectation. Bill and David started thinking, why should we carry all this stuff the next day to Eureka. We didn't have Steve to drive us, but surely someone would be happy to carry a garbage bag of bike gear to Eureka. We asked around town without success. (Town is too kind a word; Austin is a decrepit silver mining town which had a brief hayday from 1865 to 1880 and has been in decline ever since. It exists today only because it is the only place for 50 miles in any direction that you can get gas or water.) Anyway, at dinner that night at the Toiyabe Cafe, Bill told the waitress our story, but she was no help. As we walked back to our motel after dinner a large truck pulled alongside, and the driver asked if we were the cyclists who wanted something delivered to Eureka. He had overheard in the cafe, and he was driving to Denver that night. Turns out he is a retired logistics engineer from the Bay Area. His lifelong training obviously triggered an appreciation of our plight. Two hours later, our gear was at the motel in Eureka awaiting our arrival. Thanks, Bob.

Today we carried about 5 litres of water/gatoraid each, to make the 70 miles to Eureka. To say there is nothing out there is not sufficient. There is nothing. The road. The sun. Not even a fence post to lean a bike against. When you stop, you just stand at the side of the road in the blazing sun. So the dillemna; if you keep going you are in pain -- but if you stop there is nothing to do but wonder why you are doing this.

And then the wind. The wind is supposed to blow from the west. We understand that is not a guaranty, but really... We climbed about 900 feet very steeply out of Austin after breakfast this morning without difficulty. At the top I said that most of our experiences on the trip so far had turned out to be less difficult than I feared. David, who is reading the Iliad on the trip, said that was a dangerous thing to say, as the gods can overreact to mortal pride. We turned into the long downhill, and for the rest of the day the wind was in our face. Now, there is nothing in biking so demoralizing than a strong headwind. Rain is not half as bad. (I'll update that comment after our first rain.) It took us 8 1/4 hours to make the 70 miles, and we are beat.

No pictures tonight because my phone has vaporized the last 4 posts with photos I have sent, after loving writing. David has a real camera, and is a real photographer. He is taking pictures and soon we will get organized and post a set.

Thanks to all of you who have been sending encouragement. I get your comments on my cell phone, and we all enjoy reading them. We appreciate your support, and it adds to our day. Keep it up.