Mile 355.4 - All part of the adventure

The day started well enough, with the breakfast half of the b&b I was at. Despite doing all the bike maintenance the night before, I still didn't get started before 9. My goal for the day was Fallon, the last real town I'll go through until central Utah.

I began downhill going alongside the Carson River. It was just beautiful. I wanted to stop every 300 feet to take pictures. After about half an hour or so, at mile 303, we crossed our first state line into Nevada. Almost immediately, the wind swung around at started coming at me from the north and east. Too bad those were the primary directions I was traveling. At points, it was so windy that I had to work at going downhill. After the wind helped push me up the mountain yesterday, it clearly didn't want me to come down.

At mile 314.5 I entered Genoa, one of two municipalities claiming to be Nevada's first (white) settlement. The other, Dayton, I would get to in a couple hours. Not to tarnished the pride of these towns, but I'm pretty sure that there were lots of people born in what is now Nevada before 1851. There were a good number of roadside historical markers, but local history seems to have started only 160 years ago. But I digress.

In Genoa, there is the original Mormon station, with a plaque containing a quote basically calling the Mormons crazy for settling there.

By 323.5 I had entered the state capitol at Carson City. I grabbed lunch then headed across town to the bike shop by highway 50. I knew it was the last bike shop for the next several hundred miles. I bought 4 spare tubes and started eastbound on 50.

This is a picturesque part of the country. I kept finding myself glancing over my shoulder as the Sierras slowly receded behind the closer foothills.

24 miles out of Carson city, I took a break at Stagecoach. There was something not right with the front tire, I couldn't tell if it was a bald spot on the tire or a lump in tube. I deflated then re-inflated the tire, but it didn't seem to make a difference. Sure enough, half a mile later, I had my 4th flat tire. Thank goodness I just bought a bunch of new tubes.

Well, I know this was an error of my oversight, but they wern't the right tubes. They were the schrader valves and I need the presta. So the tube just didn't fit into the rim. The bike shop was 25 miles behind me and I had no way forward. I sucked it up and started walking back. After a couple miles, a pickup pulled over and the driver, Daniel offered to take me back to Dayton, saving my feet about 6 miles. He dropped me off and I started walking west again.

Soon enough a station wagon pulled over, and, after explaining my ordeal, the driver, Lou, offered to see if he had a spare tube that would fit. People who ride bikes are the best. He didn't have one, so he put down the seats and we loaded Penny and panniers into the back. Thank you so much, Lou for driving me back to town.

There are a couple inexpensive hotels by the bike shop, so I grabbed a room. The shop wouldn't open until 10 in the morning. Sigh, another late start.

I asked the woman at the hotel desk where to go for dinner and she recommended a brew pub down the street. I was quickly sighted by the local hustler as a possible mark, but frustrated his every attempt at an in. Sorry, but unless you have the answer of how to get the Cubs to be world series champs again, there is nothing you have to offer me that I'd be interested in. He gave up on me and went to go harass some cute girls.

Well, the day didn't end where or how I started, but that's part of the journey.

Day 5, Sorensen's (Woodford), CA - Carson City, NV
64.1 miles today, 355.4 total. Riding time, 4:09:07, total trip time 17:06:19. Today's high speed 39.1mph.