Finished with Route 50!

The State of Nevada: Hey, cyclists, if you want to go long-distance east/west, you should ride on Route 50! Route 50 is great for cycling!

Also the State of Nevada: Let’s build a nice wide shoulder on Route 50 and then fill it completely with a rumble strip, rendering it totally unridable.

Today we biked from Ely, Nevada to Baker, Nevada. We’re very close to the state line with Utah. We had perfect weather and spectacular scenery all day, making for a great ride. We had two long climbs but then had a 15 mile descent into Baker. Just before getting to Baker we turned off of Route 50, which we’ve been on for days. I’m strategically not looking at the maps too far in advance so I don’t know if we’re done with 50 for good or not.

At one point, we rode past a sign that said “prison area - hitchhiking prohibited”. I had never seen a sign like that before! Any time I hear about an escaped prisoner, I always find myself rooting for them, which I understand is not the typical response. Probably a consequence of the oversized role Sirius Black had on my formative years.

Most of the motorists we pass have been very courteous of us, giving us a wide berth. Many are also supportive, waving at us or cheering. Yesterday when I got to the top of a summit I stopped to catch my breath and an oncoming car honked to get my attention, and then both the driver and passenger gave me a big thumbs up. Today a car passed me and the driver rolled down their window and rang a cowbell at me, which I interpreted to be a sign of support. How the driver had a cowbell so readily accessible I will never know.

At one point today, I passed a building that advertised they sold meat and “western decor”. The driveway to the building had an archway made out of hundreds of antlers. It was grotesque. I would have stopped to take a picture of it if it wasn’t during a particularly strenuous climb. But it was, so I couldn’t be bothered.

After arriving in Baker, Mike and I drove through Great Basin National Park. We did a “scenic drive” up to view some of the peaks. We started in a desert and drove up to alpine conditions essentially in just 12 miles. The views were outstanding.

Mike and I walked to the General Store in town which was completely adorable (and had a shocking amount of food for the vegans! You want frozen lasagna? Have some frozen vegan lasagna. You want some jerky? Here’s some mushroom jerky). At the General Store we started chatting with a woman who saw my biking clothes and asked what we were up to. When I told her we were biking from San Francisco to Virginia she gave me a hug. She’s staying at the same campsite so later she came over with her husband to chat and look at our bikes. They are both cycling enthusiasts.

Highlights

• perfect weather, spectacular scenery
• I’ve found I actually enjoy climbing (provided the weather is agreeable and I’m not carrying 50 pounds of gear, food, and water - thanks, Mike!). When I’m riding on flats, I often find myself thinking Should I be riding faster? I feel like I should be riding faster. But on the climbs I can just get in my lowest gear, find a groove, and then I feel like I can go for hours (which is good because sometimes I have to).

Lowlights

• after riding straight on Route 50 for 4 days, I missed the turn out of Ely this morning and went the wrong way for a long way. I was going downhill too so I was really being efficient at my wrongness. Mike thankfully called me to tell me I was going the wrong way and then I had to climb unnecessarily to get back to where I was supposed to be.
• all of our legs are littered with bruises from various unfortunate encounters with parts of our bicycles (mostly the pedals). I had my worst encounter to date with my pedal this afternoon and now my ankle is a little swollen. I can still ride though so NBD.

Julie’s food

• Breakfast: oatmeal and coffee
• First Snack: Clif bar
• Second snack: hummus and crackers
• Third snack: second Clif bar
• Lunch: peanut butter banana sandwich
• Fourth Snack: chips and guacamole
• Dinner: couscous and chili (camp-stove creation)

Stats

• Total distance: 66.37 miles
• Elevation gain: 3,447 feet
• Weather: cloudy, high of 75 degrees Fahrenheit, late afternoon storms