Howdy y’all! It’s Jonathan again, but my teammates have taken to calling me by my last name, so I’ll go by Tubb for the last sixty-something days of blogging. Day 10 is in the books! We biked 65.75 miles from Lahontan State Recreation Area (near Fallon, NV) to Middlegate, NV. We climbed 1,698 feet and averaged 14 mph and 83 watts — impressive stuff in the desert heat! The ride itself was pretty uneventful, so I’ll take this opportunity to write about where we’ve stayed the last two nights and the scenery in between.
Kawther, Will, and Hunter at the road down to yesterday’s campsite
Last night, we did our first night of real camping…no nearby bathrooms, no drinkable water on tap, no electricity, etc. As a relatively practiced camper, I loved it. I loved scouting the campsite for good tent spots, monkeying around in trees to string hammocks, hopping in the refreshing reservoir, “cooking” ramen in the chill evening breeze, marveling at the beautiful night sky, and sleeping with a splendid view of the moon’s reflection on the nearby river. It was certainly a fun night and a great chance to dip our toes in the camping water.
First camp cooking!
We got started on today’s ride a little late, so our first taste of the Nevada desert came with plenty of heat and direct sunlight from the get-go. After passing through Fallon (and its Taco Bell), we rode east over fifty miles of Highway Fifty. If you’re a fan of salt basins, arid shrubbery, tumbleweeds, cracked iron-filled mountains, or the complete absence of moisture, this is the part of the country for you. Having hiked, trail-run, and camped in South and West Texas, I thought I knew dry. This is a whole different league of dry. Personally, I found the desert’s uniqueness beautiful. At the top of the day’s longest hill, I remember Hunter and I simultaneously exhaling as we looked out over the thousands of acres of dry Central Nevada before us. Whether that was due to tiredness or awe, I’m not sure. I am sure, however, that I was constantly in appreciation of the continuity and homogeneity of many swaths of the desert. We’re used to living in cities where every business and home is doing its best to pop out, creating jarring differences between buildings and streets. In the uninhabited desert, a miles-wide salt basin slowly rises into a vast red plateau, which gives the cyclist time to appreciate the world around them before it gradually evolves. Also, I loved Ethan’s excitement to check out the handful of Nevada historical markers along our route — I know a little more about Nevada’s mining history as a result.
One of the more shrub-y stretches of desert we rode through
After a fun ride, we arrived in Middlegate, NV. Highway Fifty is sometimes called the loneliest road in America, which makes Middlegate the loneliest town on the loneliest road in America. The population is 17. We spent most of the evening in Middlegate Station, a combination restaurant-motel-showers-campsite. We ate our first real restaurant meal since day one…I enjoyed a scrumptious (and very affordable) buffalo-chicken-tater-tot creation. The food was great, but my favorite part of today was talking to the people I met in the station. DC, our awesome chef and waiter, told me about his time in the military, his advice about college, his fascination with the cosmos, his nieces’ and nephews’ one-hour school bus ride, and so much more. After, I spent time walking around the restaurant looking at all of the cool decor, stickers, and dollar bill notes previous travelers had left. We left one at the back-left of the restaurant…go find it if you’re ever in Middlegate.
Middlegate Station’s cool interior
Now, I’m writing from my sleeping bag atop the van and under a truly sublime night sky. The Milky Way’s purple-ish belt stretches from one horizon to the other and everywhere you look you see more and more stars. It’s a fantastic reminder of how fortunate we are to have this opportunity and how blessed we are to have this planet.
Twilight view
With that, good night! We’ve got an exciting ride to Austin, NV ahead of us tomorrow.