hello world!
Aja here reporting from the one and only Middlegate, Nevada, population seventeen (not including the six, soon to be seven) of us. we managed to score a motel room for the night and, after a delicious meal of burgers and fries at the one restaurant in this tiny… town? if you can call it that? are getting ready for bed and patiently awaiting the return of our San Anselmo horse whisperer and dear friend Vincent.
Highway 50 didn’t earn its accolades as the Loneliest Road in America for no reason. we’ve been riding in Nevada for two days now, predominantly in a straight line speckled with tumbleweeds, the occasional trailer, and, in one particularly eye-catching section, rocks spelling out the preamble of the United States Constitution. the scenery is beautiful though. especially the formations of clouds.
2019’s team warned us of the mental challenge that Highway 50 would pose, and they certainly weren’t wrong. last week’s steep mountains have been, for the time being, replaced with miles upon miles of shallow climbs that stretch on for deceivingly long. while it was once easy to bookmark stretches of effort with physical landmarks, every hill and tree here seems to blend together into a mirage-like landscape with very little opportunity for shaded refuge. our team has gotten into a good rhythm though. today we practiced our peloton formation, riding in a tight single file line that periodically switched leaders to reduce wind drag. between podcast listening and music jamming, carefully gauging distance between bikes to avoid clipping each other’s tires, and becoming hypnotized by pedal strokes and the Nevada skyline, the time passes surprisingly quickly.
we took two rest stops during today’s ride to meet up with our snack-bearing saviors Katherine and Sophia. PB&Js, canned tuna, dill pickles, La Croix, and, Timothy’s favorite, Cheez-It Grooves, were today’s break staples. myself, Joel, Timothy, and Parth stopped several additional times throughout the route to check out the scenery, snap photos, and, about five miles out from our destination, to seek shelter from the rapidly darkening clouds of a thunderstorm in the distance. Katherine, once again our savior, shuttled us the remainder of the way in Ody as winds picked up substantially.
Middlegate consists of the motel we are staying in, a bar/restaurant, and an RV park - perhaps a bit bleak, but maybe instead indicative of the beauty of this lonely lonely road. Rural Nevada has been a pleasant break from Stanford, a pleasant break from Los Angeles, the busy city I call home. the people we’ve met have been kind - the Subway workers who gave us free bottled ice water, the farmer who wished us a safe journey on the side of the road, the church director in Fallon who allowed us to set up camp, cook dinner, and shoot some hoops in their building last night. we’ve collectively settled into a routine of early mornings, early bedtimes, and more mindful afternoons cooking together, chatting, laughing, and savoring the time off of the bike just as much as the time on.
post-dinner, our team gathered up for a few rounds of Longwave, a new favorite internet game (thanks Parth!) which quickly devolved into senseless rounds of belly laughter. we went outside to watch the sunset, observe the bats carrying out their nightly routine, and soak up the wacky, incredible experience that is biking to middle-of-nowhere Nevada just for the heck of it.
today was a good day. onto the next!
aja
before the storm
The Storm
‘twas a bit windy
Joel shooting hoops last night! i wasn’t kidding!
Middlegate giggles
sunset watching sans bats! plus our home for the night