Day 23 - 256 Miles

Destination: Great Basin National Park

I didn't make it.

Despite there being no heat in the cabin, I woke up warm and toasty in a big soft bed. I didn't want to leave, but the sun is out, so I thought it should be a great day for riding. Little did I realize how wrong I was.

Lucky's cabin is about a mile west of the extremely tiny town of Kyburz. A sign on the solitary business establishment says 'Welcome to Kyburz', the next line reads 'Now Leaving Kyburz'. A light, but steady rain started not long after I passed there. I figured if it was anything like yesterday, the rain would stop once I passed Echo Summit to descend into South Lake Tahoe. Wrong again.

Miles and miles of a steady light rain were in store for me. As I looked towards my direction of travel, I saw blue skies, but I realized it was dark blue like rain, not sky. I eventually hit a small hail storm coming into Carson City. I stopped for fuel before departing on my journey across the Loneliest Highway in America. I somehow managed to avoid the dark rain clouds and showers I could see, but could not shake the light rainfall.

I stopped for a bite to eat in Fernely, I checked the radar at the Chamber of Commerce while getting my 'I Survived Hwy 50 Passport' stamped. I sandbagged long enough to dodge some of the worst rain.

East of Fallon, NV, the land flattens in a huge basin, and since I was chasing the worst rain, the roads were wet. For the next 10-15 miles, the banks of the spillways on either side of the road have become a natural graffiti target. People pick up dark stones, from where I can't tell and spell out all kinds of things along the banks. This goes on for miles and miles. I'm guessing the rainy season is not that long, maybe just today and tomorrow since some are dated over the last several years. The usual so-and-so loves so-and-so along with some other choice statements certainly broke up the pace.

The mountains in the distance were obscured by the rain clouds, I can only imagine how spectacular this should be on a bright and sunny day. There is nothing but scrub bushes and sand in this Great Basin. Somewhere between Cold Springs and Austin on one of the only two trees I've spotted for the last hundred miles or so, must be 500 pairs of shoes hanging from this cottonwood tree.

I decided to only try as far as Austin, NV for the night. Way short of my destination, but I'm cold and tired. I did manage to get a few pictures between the rain showers. Just outside of Austin, right about the time I'm really feeling tired, I spot a couple of pedal bikes stopped on the side of the road with a flat. I turned around to go back and see if they needed help. Gee, I thought I had a bad day, it was their second flat. They said they were OK and to tell the other two bikers ahead they were coming behind shortly. I did catch up with the other two and passed on the message. None of them had a plan except to stop in Austin like me.

I stopped at the first little motel that advertised internet access: the Mountain Motel. It's undergone a recent renovation, and Jim the proprietor was very accommodating. several other motorcycles are here, so it must be OK. The other two bikers pedaled up the winding hill and pulled into the parking lot. They were beat, it was a 65 mile day for them. I pulled my crap off my scooter and drove the three or four miles back down the road to haul some of the other two's luggage up the hill.

David and Belinda and Jack (the terrier) who have traveled by pedal bike since Salinas, CA are heading to Massachusetts. A friend of theirs, Bill is traveling with them only as far as Ely, NV. The fourth cyclist is John, on his way to an artist in residency job in New York, is someone they met along the road this week.

We all got settled in and had dinner at the Toiyabe Cafe. Our road war stories were similar, but I still think they have it a lot harder than I do. I admire their guts and stamina to ride pedal bikes across the country. Belinda showed me some routes that might make my journey towards Denver more enjoyable than the I-70 freeway.

I'm tired and cold. Today's slideshow: