The First Four Days

Art and Ben rode a whopping 80 miles from Palo Alto to Manteca on Saturday! They were helped by tail winds as they came over the Altamont pass on their way to Tracy. Their friends Jeff and Jordan saw them over the Dumbarton Bridge and until they got to Niles Canyon Rd, and friends Atri and Ravi rode with them to Tracy before turning back to go home at 2 p.m. Luckily, Saturday was a bit cooler than the previous few days had been.

On Sunday, they rode to Jackson which is a small town along Hwy 88 in the Gold Country of California. For a ride without much climbing, they were completely spent when they arrived, and that left them wondering just how long it would take them to get over the Sierras. As it turned out, it was just the heat that exhausted them that day.

On Monday, they rode to Silver Lake where they camped overnight -- opting for a $20 camp site at the Silver Lake Campground over a $150 room at the Kit Carson Lodge. This was a big climbing day -- from 1240 ft elev up over 8000 ft and down to Silver Lake (7200 ft). Since it was still early in the summer season, the Kit Carson Restaurant was not open yet, so dinner consisted of anything and everything they could find at the convenience store: Sun Chips or It's-It anyone? They planned to bike to breakfast in Kirkwood the next morning.

On Tuesday, they wheeled down from Silver Lake, up over a 7990 ft hill, and then down again to the Kirkwood Lodge (7600 ft) for a hearty breakfast outside and in full-view of the Sierra Nevada! Next it was over Carson Pass (8674 ft) and down, down, down at highway speeds into Carson City, NV. At this point, I should mention that the bikes are loaded with about 30 lbs of gear for Ben, and maybe 25 lbs of gear for Art. With both front and rear panniers, Ben is clearly the mule in this adventure. Unfortunately, Art discovered that Ben's bike needed a couple repairs -- a stripped screw on a derailleur cable and maybe even a slightly bent rear wheel. Yikes! They will plan to stop at the last decent bike shop on Wednesday morning, to see if they can get the bike in good shape before setting out across the hot Nevada desert where they must average 60 miles a day along Hwy 50 -- "the loneliest highway in America" -- to get from town to town.