August 4, 2017
Day 13, Eureka to Ely: Day of Many Summits
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Mileage Today; 79 Total So Far; 588 Remaining; 1,088
Climbing Today; 4,629 Total So Far; 33,790 Remaining; 62,344
Max Grade Today; 7.8% Average Uphill Grade; 2.3%
Average Speed While Riding; 8.7 mph (approximate)
Mechanical Issues; None
Photos Credit; Bud, unless noted otherwise
Bud speaking:
I rolled away from Eureka at 4:30am in total darkness, and immediately began the uphill climb towards the summit of Pinto Pass. Today was going to involve 4 climbs (well, OK, maybe only 3 ½ since the second one was only a small climb – see the profile), so I may as well start out climbing. Reaching the summit, it was too dark to set up the tripod and take the glory photo with my DSLR, as you can tell from the flash photo below.
So I made a poor attempt with the cell phone, which apparently was nothing to smile about.
As I rolled down into the next valley, dawn was coming.
The English crew that I had met yesterday (Graham, with support crew of Daryl and Simon) approached me from behind and stopped for a quick chat. Daryl and Simon were up front in the van, and I assumed that Graham was riding somewhere behind me, but they told me that Graham was actually sitting in the back of the van and that he had done extra mileage yesterday and they were transporting him to the spot where he finished and would commence today. So that's the last that I'll see of them since Graham is riding much faster than I am. Best of luck fellows, I do hope you have an enjoyable time here.
Sunrise found me in a long valley. These valleys are much further apart than they seem to the naked eye, and it sometimes takes a couple of hours to travel from one end to the other.
After a bit of labor I reach the summit of Pancake Pass, and thought to myself how very much I would enjoy some pancakes right now. There was a weather station on top of the pass, and that seems to be a common occurrence in these parts.
The vastness of the terrain out here is awe-inspiring, to say the least. It can take me hours to cross these valleys.
The mountains in this side of Nevada appeared to look more like real mountains to me, and the scenery was becoming even more beautiful.
I saw a sign that indicated major deer crossing. I wonder if the deer are aware that they're supposed to cross it this location, and I thought that perhaps there were some rebellious deer that refused to cross there. Strange thoughts like this tend to go through one's head as you labor away for hours during the day.
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After a bit more labor I eventually reach the summit of little Antelope pass. Here's the glory photo to prove it. That was my third Summit for the day, and that's usually quite enough, but today's travel requires one more.
As I headed down from Little Antelope pass, I saw this sign and wondered if it was mandatory for me to do it.
I had been surprised yesterday to meet another cycle tourist when I met Vince. So I was doubly surprised today as I rolled along and encountered Jim. Jim called out my name as I approached, and I knew that Graham must have met him and informed him that I would be coming. Word-of-mouth is how news traveled in the Old Pony Express days, and it’s still working that way today.
Jim is riding across the country to bring awareness to climate change. He has a great blog going at druther-bike.com, including a picture of his encounter with me today. We both have bikes built around the Surly Long Haul Trucker frame so that gave us even more to talk about. Here's a photo of me taken by Jim:
After I left Jim, I realized that all I had to do was make the descent down into the next valley, then ride across this huge expanse of a valley, then climb the mountains on the other side, and then descend to my lodging for the night. That's all, simple child's play. Yeah, right; legs don’t fail me now.
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It really wasn't child's play, actually it required a lot of serious adult work, and on the way up to the summit I met Zach and Andre. They're riding for an organization that Zach has co-founded called bikefrogusa.com. I don't fully understand its purpose, but it seems to be related to the bicycling community and folks that inhabit it.
They told me they had someone else riding with them and that I would eventually encounter Kristiana. We parted and I continued my uphill labors and eventually reached the summit of Robison Pass. Storm clouds had been closing in on me as I labored up the hill, so I was anxious to take the glory photo and roll on. What you can't see in the photo is how tired I am at this point; 4 summits today was quite enough, thank you.
As I was starting to pedal off, Kristiana appeared having just crested the summit from the other direction.
We chatted a bit, and I learned that she had joined up with Zach and Andre (and others I think) in Chicago. They had traveled down Route 66 into Missouri, then took the Katy Trail westward, and were working their way west. I was the first other bike tourist they had encountered; they had expected to encounter others, but since they weren’t following one of the known bike routes, and since it was now well into the hot season, it was understandable.
We chatted a bit, and then the rain commenced falling so we both hurried off in our respective directions. The rain appeared to be just a mountain shower, so I wasn't worried about donning my rain jacket because these things are usually over with quickly. However, this one seem to stay with me as I was descending from the pass, and it even intensified and eventually became very heavy. I was getting thoroughly soaked, but I was moving downhill and didn't want to stop. The rain was thick and cold and I thought it may turn to hail but it didn't. I was grateful for my fenders because the water was flowing across the road and my tires would have been throwing it up onto me and into the drivetrain.
Eventually the rain did stop, and when I encountered dry pavement it was warm and welcome. As I rolled along I started drying out, and the heat from the pavement felt good because I had become chilled from the cold rain. Entering Ely, I found my way to the Ramada Inn, which unfortunately is also a casino.
It seems as though most of the chain hotels in Nevada are casinos. Fortunately, my room was across the street from the main building, in a building they referred to as the annex. The annex had rooms that were accessible from the street and I was able to simply roll my bike directly into my room.
The Ramada Inn did not have a guest laundry, and when I inquired they directed me to a public laundry that was several miles away. I didn't want to have to travel that far by bike to do my laundry, so I called the small hotel that was located directly across the street. They had a guest laundry and were kind enough to allow me to use it. By the time I got my laundry done, it was getting late and I was very tired. I had dinner at the Ramada Inn restaurant which has a restaurant that specializes in Italian food, and the price was reasonable (most casino restaurants are quite reasonably priced so they can attract folks for dinner and hope they spend money in the casino). Good night all, I get a day off tomorrow...
Today's ride: 79 miles (127 km)
Total: 586 miles (943 km)
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Side note - a woman here in Rifle told me that they lived in Ely during the early part of their marriage, until their kids were old enough to question all of the brothels in town and ask about them. She said that there were more brothels than churches. I don't know if that's fact or not . . .
2 years ago
2 years ago
Google just told me that in the 80's there were 35 brothels in town. In 2018, there were 21. Is Ely THAT large? I've never been there.
2 years ago