Surprise! The Blog Lives On

I would first like to say, Surprise!! I bet you didn't think you would continue to be graced with my wonderful blogging even after the trip is over!  This is for all you loyal parents, friends and family who followed us every mile of the way without fail and would like to stay in the habit for a bit longer even after we have completed our journey.  As you can tell my posts stopped with the end of Utah, and I will just have no closure until the remainder of the trip is recorded and the trip will for once and for all be complete (this may, and in fact probably is, only a sad attempt to keep the trip going on if only in my head for as long as possible).  So as I lie in my new dorm room in my comfy, yet modestly sized, comfy bed in frigged air conditioning unable to sleep due to my room-mate's dale like snoring I, if only in my mind, return to our first nights in the deserts of Nevada, and recollect.

Nevada, to put it simply, was given a bad wrap by all who spoke of it.  Riders we met going east explained the splendor of Utah and the disappointment that was Nevada.  It was said to be a baron wasteland, with mountains to climb every day and relentless heat.  So as I have many times along the way, I made Nevada out in my head, for lack of any better comparison, hell.  And in retrospect, well it honestly was a bit of a disappointment especially following what turned out to be the most beautiful and enjoyable experience in Utah. However, Nevada was not hell, therefor I was at least in some capacity pleasantly surprised with my experience there. I will only write one entry regarding Nevada because every day we rode through Nevada was essentially the same.  Nevada is said to be the most mountainous state in America, and having bicycled across the face of it, I can say that statement does not surprise me.  Every single day in Nevada went something like this. Baron shrub and dust landscape with no plants above waste level with the exception of the once a day tree sighting; mountains with a single and straight road to the ascent which you can see from at least an hour of riding time away; climbs that were not impossible but not negligible by any means followed by long descents into the biggest valleys you have ever seen, possibly because you can litterally see the entire valley from one summit to the other and in miles in either direction; repeat this at least 3 or 4 times a day and that was our day.  The climbs were tough, the winds were tougher, but all together manageable especially with the sight of California on the horizon I think anything was possible with that kind of motivation.

Some cities in Nevada were the smallest we had encountered, Middlegate Nevada (city/ gas station/ hotel/ restaurant/ bar, all in one building), population 18 17; and some cities were pleasantly surprising such as Eureka Nevada home to the Karaoke bar that the team took over, or Fallon and their excellent Chinese food and our midnight road takeover on our way home, or Carson City where I helped demolish a 16" ice cream cake with only 4 other calorie warriors.  Nevada was Nevada, definitely not the best state but definitely not the worst (Misery, I-I mean Missouri).  Nevada was means to an end, and it was the end that made the means meaningful and significant because every ounce of pain and discomfort in Nevada made California that much sweeter. And sweet it would be.