into nevada
Thursday, September 12, 2013
wasn't easy leaving Benton Springs, but after another early morning soak in the tub (the HOT TUB! so blessed
by Diane & Bill, the owners at The Inn At Benton, you must must MUST go there if ever you are in the neighborhood), chatting for a bit
with Diane, loading up with water and heading out of the valley and into Nevada.
what a state! today was an amazing ride through rolling thunderstorms that never seemed to hit us, wide desert flats that were incredibly
green and filled with coarse low-growing bushes, and mountains, always providing a spectacular backdrop, but creating an almost
impossible-to-predict set of wind tunnels through the valleys.
overall, I think it balanced out at the end of the day between tailwinds and headwinds, and with the flat terrain,
it was definitely the easiest ride of the trek so far. what's more, the rolling showers provided us with cloud cover and cool weather - perfect biking weather.
pray for us as we continue to cross Nevada. there's nothing out here, and after Tonopa early tomorrow morning, we've a long stretch before out next civilized town.
until then, may the wind be always at your back
coconut water!
Friday, September 13, 2013
coconut water! coconut water! coconut water!
that's really all I remember from our day through Tonopa and into Nevada, HUGE HUGE thanks, mrs. Fila and Lexi :)
we'd spent the night a few miles outside the town, then loaded up at the local mart late morning for the next 3-4 nights in Nevada. pretty
sure my bike was at its heaviest as we cruised out onto highway 6 that afternoon. besides my typical bike/camp gear, I had
23lbs water
5lbs peanut butter
2lbs rice
1lbs beans
2lbs oatmeal
1lbs brown sugar
5lbs carrots
1lbs honey
1lbs ketchup
1lbs barbecue sauce
and half a loaf of bread.
we hit headwinds a lot of the way, but most of the road was flat, easy riding. the afternoon was unlike anything I ever thought Nevada would
be like. cool, cloudy weather with rolling 'spot storms' that often passed right in front or behind us, and were there and gone in 45min.
turned onto highway 395 just as the sun was setting, and camped a few miles down the way behind a dirt pile
just off the road (which doesn't show on the google map, but alas, there's very little in Nevada to lock onto by way of a nearby town that shows where we started/stopped)
God is good, and we are so thankful to be able to experience so much of His creation on this trip. love and prayers for all of you reading, and thank you.
may the sun shine warm upon your face
the century
Saturday, September 14, 2013
look familiar?
began to see a pattern in the landscape as we made our way across Highway 375 and 93: valley - pass - valley - pass.
minus the wind direction, Nevada is a very predictable state to drive across. you wind your way through a mountain pass, emerging on the other
side to an incredible expanse between you and the next mountain range, often seeing the next 30 miles ahead of you as the road carved a perfectly
straight line through the the valley between the hills.
a highly enjoyable coast down to the valley's bottom would follow, and after that, the slow easy climb back out of the valley and into the next
winding mountain pass.
an early start (and only one real stop in Rachel, NV which you should definitely look up if you
don't know what's there) allowed us to book just over 100 miles today. even with the hot dry weather (what we expected all of Nevada to be like, not just one day of it),
God provided easy roads and energized muscles to make it through our first loaded century ride.
we cruised to a stop right around 7pm today, and found some shelter behind a gravel pile just off the side of the road. before you get too
worried about such a place to spend the night, take a look at the view we had over dinner.
until next time, may the rains fall softly on your fields
the gorge
Sunday, September 15, 2013
not wanting to lose steam from such a productive day yesterday,
we felt a light ride was in order rather than resting and losing an entire day of riding. in less than an hour, we were in an area of Nevada I would never have
imagined existing - shrubberies everywhere and trees all of a sudden!
one last pass took us up and over the and down into Caliente, our first settlement since Rachel (about 85 miles ago).
a beautiful coast down through the canyon ended with a fantastic lunch deal at Caliente's Sinclair gas station (2 hot dogs and a drink for $1),
and we biked only another 16 miles down the road before hitting Pioche and Cathedral Gorge State Park.
once again, His hand was before us, providing a free stay at the campground, and even better,
a free dinner with John & Geneva, an amazing couple out of Washington who were on an RV excursion across the West and graciously shared their pastas, meats, veggies,
olives, pickles, fresh bread and ice cream with strawberries from their garden back home to top it all off. might have been the first time i saw mark stop eating while
there was still food on the table. they both shared some incredible tales of their travels to China, Nepal, Egypt - even meeting the Pope in Rome on one occasion.
fresh from a hot shower (with soap!) and lying in my hammock beneath a bright moon, I feel pretty spoiled by God and how much He has provided
for us - and always at just the right time. thanks again for all your prayers. God hears and He DOES answer.
until next time, may He hold you in the hollow of His hand
