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T h e J o u r n a l
Photos captured using a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 digital camera.
 DAILY BLOG: July 13 - August 1
After a long day of cycling and the tent is pitched and supper is cooking on the stove, I like to take a few minutes and jot down some notes as I reflect back on the day's events and experiences. I'll often review the digital photos that I've taken as I fast-forward through the hours of the day. On these pages I'll share the daily happenings and offer a few photos that help to capture the moment. You can also view a photo slide show here. |
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 DAY ONE: (California) Central Valley to Copperopolis
I'm like a kid before Christmas prior to each and every bicycle journey, and this was no exception. In fact, the anticipation was even worse. You see, I had originally planned to start in mid-May, and had routed out a much larger journey than what actually took place, so I was eager to hit the road by our July 13 start date. The bike, my vintage 1983 Specialized Expediton, had been tuned-up and the panniers mostly packed for a couple of months in expectation of the earlier start date. Read more here.Miles: 53 • Start elevation: 50 ft. • Ending elevation: 971 ft. • Temp. 104F
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 DAY TWO: Calaveras Big Trees State Park
I had a refreshing shower and a good night's sleep at the "bordello", but, it was time to ride out of town. Fortunately, I didn't meet Black Bart, but I did spend some time before leaving, talking with the owner of the Old Corner Saloon, Bud "Odie" Odekirk. Odie was cleaning up around the place as he shared some of the history of the town of Copperopolis—a booming mining town, back-in-the-day.
Back on Hiway 4 heading east out of Copperopolis is a nice, big, hill. Read more here.Miles: 36 (89) • Start elevation: 971 ft. • Ending elevation: 4500 ft. • Temp. 94F
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 DAY THREE: Lake Alpine
I hadn't used the rain fly, so when the sun rose up enough to brighten the nearby meadow, it also brightened the inside of my tent. I peaked my head out from the tent to see if anyone or anything was stirring, and only a few ground squirrels and sparrows were scurrying about. Everything else was still hushed. So, rather than make a lot of noise fixing breakfast and taking down the tent, I opted for a morning hike through the north grove of giant sequoias and red woods.
I can remember the first time I had gazed at these amazing trees ten years ago, I was in awe! Read more here.Miles: 33 (122) • Start elevation: 4500 ft. • Max. elevation: 7600 ft. • Temp. 86F
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 DAY FOUR: Markleeville
The morning air was cool and clear. I'm usually one of the first to stir at camp in the mornings—it's just so peaceful. Up here in the Sierra where the temperatures are mild, even in the afternoon, I'm not in a big hurry to break camp, although I am excited to be climbing two big mountain passes—Pacific Grade Summit (8050 ft.) and Ebbett's Pass (8736 ft.). So, I took my time preparing and eating breakfast, taking down the tent, and packing the panniers. But, once under way I immediately encountered some extremely steep grades (16%). Read more here.Miles: 36 (158) • Start elevation: 7000 ft. • Max. elevation: 8736 ft. • Temp. 80F
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 DAY FIVE: Topaz Lake (Nevada)
I knew that today would be another short day, but that it would be packed with the rewards of climbing Monitor Pass (8314'). Monitor Pass is known as the most difficult climb of the five passes of the famous California Death Ride. It is a 9.6 mile relentless ascent at 10 to 14% grade gaining nearly 3,000 feet in elevation. At the top the cyclist is rewarded, not only by beautiful views, quaking Aspen trees, but by a "tombstone" marking the summit. This tombstone is affectionately known as the "Cyclists Tombstone", for obvious reasons. Read more here.Miles: 28 (186) • Start elevation: 5300 ft. • Max. elevation: 8314 ft. • Temp. 86F
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 DAY SIX: Ft. Churchhill State Historic Park
I was now in the basin of Nevada and the afternoon temperature would be on the other side of the century mark, so I got a fairly early start (for me), getting packed and on the road by 7:30 a.m. I continued up the hill from Topaz Lake and turned right (east) onto Hwy. 208 toward Wellington, Smith, and Yerlington. I was a little surprised that there were two little 4 to 5 miles climbs this morning, but after coming over the Sierra, these offered little more than variation to the mostly flat basin landscape. Read more here.Miles: 70 (256) • Start elevation: 4000 ft. • Max. elevation: 5408 ft. • Temp. 102F
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 DAY SEVEN: Fallon
I've known Paul Cunningham for about four years, although, up to now had never met him. As members of two different internet bicycling forums/lists we've corresponded on and off during that time. In 2004, Paul went on a cross-country bike tour along the Northern Tier of states, but received a dreaded phone call just three-weeks from completion, informing him that his Father had passed away. I had been following Paul's tour via the web journal and was saddened and sorry for his loss. Read more here.Miles: 37 (293) • Start elevation: 4500 ft. • Max. elevation: 5000 ft. • Temp. 96F
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 DAY EIGHT: Fallon
We decided to take a rest day in Fallon since neither of us had done so to this point. It gave us an opportunity to fine-tune our bikes, plus Paul's front Surly rack hadn't been installed properly by the bike shop in Sacramento, so we were able to make that important adjustment. Paul also decided that there were a number of items that he could easily do without on this trip. So we went through his gear and was able to ship more than 10 pounds worth of items, lightening his load considerably. Read more here.Miles: 6 (299) • Start elevation: 3900 ft. • Max. elevation: 3900 ft. • Temp. 92F
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 DAY NINE: Middlegate Station
Fallon is home to the well known U.S. Navy's "Top Gun" flight training program. Leaving town on US 50 was like biking directly into the Navy's training course as the pilots accelerated directly over us while performing their training missions. I have to admit that it was pretty exciting to see—and to hear!
About ten miles out of town on the north side of the road we came to Grimes Point Archaeological Site. This area claims ancient archaeological discoveries from thousands... Read more here.Miles: 49 (348) • Start elevation: 3900 ft. • Ending elevation: 4000 ft. • Temp. 86F
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 DAY TEN: Austin
Riding east from Middlegate we were presented with a major decision—take the route over the more challenging, but visually more diverse, Carroll Summit (7482 ft.), or stay on Hwy. 50. Both options lead to Austin. Two years ago I had chosen the beautiful Carroll Summit option, complete with its 12 mile climb. I was glad that I had. It may be the most beautiful section in Nevada. Read more here.Miles: 65 (413) • Start elevation: 4000 ft. • Max. elevation: 6679 ft. • Temp. 98F
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 DAY ELEVEN: Eureka
Like I stated yesterday, Austin really does cling to the side of this huge mountain, and trying to climb out of town at 7:00 in the morning (when the muscles aren't warmed up) makes for a tough start to the day. But, eventually the legs warm up and the views from the top of Austin Summit (7484 ft.) are spectacular. It's also a nice ride down the other side, but it comes to an abrupt end as the road suddenly turns upward again... Read more here.Miles: 72 (485) • Start elevation: 6400 ft. • Max. elevation: 7484 ft. • Temp. 100F
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 DAY TWELVE: Eureka
A trip such as ours isn't so much about the destination, but the journey. So, we decided to spend the day here in Eureka, exploring the history, visiting the library (for internet access), and just plain relaxing.
The Regional Little League Tournament has taken most of the available motel rooms in town, and we were fortunate to find one at all. Now, the Sundown Motel offeres the best value in town and was full yesterday. Read more here.Miles: 0 (485) • Start elevation: 6500 ft. • Ending elevation: 6500 ft. • Temp. 96F
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 DAY THIRTEEN: Ely
Having enjoyed a very pleasant day off, strolling the steets of historic Eureka and topping it off with a hearty dinner, compliments of the Senior Center, we were poised to return to the road and make our way to Ely. Paul managed to head out the door at about 7:30 a.m., but I found a way to take about 15 minutes longer before bidding "good-bye" to Eureka. Although we were pretty well rested, we both knew that we were in for a pretty challenging day . . . Read more here.Miles: 79 (564) • Start elevation: 6500 ft. • Max. elevation: 7607 ft. • Temp. 98F
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 DAY FOURTEEN: Major's Station
OK, you're probably looking at today's mileage and mumbling something about "these guys are wimps and aren't going anywhere"—or something to that affect. Well, there's more to it than meets the eye. At the start of the day we received a plea or mandate from the home front that it would be greatly appreciated if we would consider cutting our trip short. Read more here.Miles: 28 (592) • Start elevation: 6400 ft. • Max. elevation: 7723 ft. • Temp. 88F
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 DAY FIFTEEN: (Utah) Border
Like I said, I slept really well on the back porch of Major's Place. Paul and I both got up around 6:00 and took down our tents and were packed up in no time. Kathy had promised us a nice breakfast, so we pulled up a stool at the bar and ordered up some oatmeal, fruit, bagels and jam. Excellent! And she only charged me $4.00. It was just what we needed to get us down the road.
We said our good-byes and took off across the valley. Read more here.Miles: 38 (630) • Start elevation: 6000 ft. • Max. elevation: 7154 ft. • Temp. 96F
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 DAY SIXTEEN: Delta and Springville
Breakfast consisted of trail mix and a Cliff Bar, but we wanted to get a decent start on the day. As we pulled away from the Utah/Nevada border we rode past the sign: "NO SERVICES NEXT 83 MILES"—a stark reminder of today's challenge. The weather forecast was calling for 105F degree temperatures, adding to the reality of our task. After just five miles or so—before we were really warmed up—a couple of guys in a work truck stopped. Read more here.Miles: 88 (718) • Start elevation: 3900 ft. • Ending elevation: 5500 ft. • Temp. 104F
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 DAY SEVENTEEN/EIGHTEEN: Springville
The bicycling portion of our trip is officially over. It's with sadness that this is the reality. I had, at least, wanted to go to Denver, but I'll accept that our journey has concluded after just 2-1/2 weeks. Meanwhile, if we had to call it short I'm glad that I have the opportunity to be with precious friends. Read more here.Miles: 0 (718) • Start elevation: 5500 ft. • Ending elevation: 5500 ft. • Temp. 92F
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 DAY NINETEEN: Amtrak (UT, NV, CA)
The train was several hours late and didn't arrive until after 1:00 a.m. I had no problem finding a nice seat where I could sprawl out and get comfortable. Amtrak may have a terrible track record for being late, but once on board I find it a very relaxing experience. The seating area is generous, with plenty of leg room, and the wide chairs recline nicely. My favorite place is the observation car. Read more here. |
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 DAY TWENTY: (California) Home in the Central Valley
Finally back home, I look forward to reviewing the many photographs taken of this little journey, and replay them in my mind for weeks and months to come. The daily rigors of biking have definitely helped me to feel better—certainly better than I've felt since returning from Africa. Read more here.Miles: 0 (718) • Ending elevation: 50 ft. • Temp. 90F
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