(Luther Pass, CA -> Carson City, NV)
Asia: I biked as fast as a purple martin swallow today. Sending it down the mountain from our campsite at Luther Pass standing at about 7000 ft, we biked about 30 miles in an hour (not really sure if the math checks out–oops) out of California and into Nevada. I woke up around 6:30 to the sound of my alarm failing to go off after spending a semi-restless night wondering if I was encroaching on Cole’s sleeping pad. Packed up my sleeping bag and pad pretty efficiently (personal best might I say) and went off to cook some nice oats for the morning. Anna and Cole boiled up a nice pot of joe for our caffeine dependent members and we all enjoyed the perfectly spiced clove/salt/brown sugar/chocolate protein powder oatmeal. Yummy yummy. We broke camp and were on our way. Putting on chamois cream (cream that we put in the down under to prevent saddle burns and chaffing from extensive biking) without the comfort of a locked bathroom door was quite an experience and changing into our biking jerseys while the brisk early morning mountain air kept me alert. But once we got onto our bikes and felt gravity pull us down the mountain, we flew! Riding through the windy mountain roads, peddling maybe once or twice, I experienced both immense joy and staggering fear as the fresh wind sent wiggly wobbles through my bike. Ahhhh!!!!!!! We reached the Nevada/California state line at the bottom of the mountain and took a brief break before blowing (alliteration!!) right into Carson City before noon.
We made it to Nevada!
We took a long flatish road into the Nevada’s capital and practiced “drafting,” where one biker trails very closely behind the other to reduce tailwind and take advantage of the reduced wind to save energy. It kinda worked-ish. Will have more opportunities to practice. We had an earlier arrival than anticipated so we met Anna at a cafe while we waited for our Warmshower hosts, Joan and Greg, to arrive home.
Cole:
Asia finally left the computer so I can take over, phew.
After snacking at the cafe for a bit we finished off our ride day by spinning the last mile or so to Joan and Greg’s house, where Joan welcomed us and showed us the cute little guest cottage where we would be staying for the next day. We cleaned up and piled into our car to explore Carson City, and settled on a small brewery for lunch downtown. A few fiercely competitive rounds of cards (watch out for Travis in Liar’s Poker) tided us over until food arrived.
Travis, Maceo, and Anna chilling at Schat’s Bakery.
The delicious meal quickly disappeared at the hands (mouths?) of five hungry bikers, and we continued wandering Carson City in search of more, you guessed it, food. We found a jazz guitarist outside of an ice-cream shop, and settled there to munch on immense, multiflavored scoops for a bit while we waited for dinner time at Joan and Greg’s. Our two wonderful hosts served us fresh grilled fish, squash, corn, bread, a salad with dressing made from papaya seeds, and topped it all off with watermelon for desert. Thank you Joan and Greg! After we finished our food, our hosts entertained us with stories of their adventures traveling the world by bike together and competing in half-ironman distance triathlons—suddenly our ride that day seemed a little less intense! Our day of bikes, food, and good company concluded when we retired to our guest cottage, except Maceo and I, who got cruelly kicked out by the team to sleep on lounge chairs in the yard. Joke’s on the rest of the team though, the yard was beautiful and we fell asleep under a starry night sky. OK, maybe we chose to sleep outside. All in all, a great start to our adventures in state number two of the trip!