Day 5 (5/27/09)

This entry is actually being written at the end of Day 6, 5/28/09. Day 5's finish ended in Austin, Nv. In Austin, there was no cell phone coverage or wireless Internet access. The day started with the support van driving us 16 miles east of Fallon, to the point we ended the evening before. The route, Route 50, named by Life Magazine the "Loneliest Road in America" intersected the Fallon Naval Air Station's target range. In the distance you could see jets making bombing passes, but we didn't see any fireworks. Of all places, Tim had a mechanical issue right in the middle of the range. The day' ride traversed wide valleys with the road extending as far as you could see straight ahead. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing in our faces (not at our backs as the trip brochure advertised) the entire day. As a result we continued to draft off each other, constantly rotating to the front to pull, and to the back to rest. To get an idea of the scenery, (in addition to viewing the slide show link), if you view the Motion Base GPS link, click the option to view either in Google Earth or Larger Google Map. From there you can view Route 50 anywhere along our route in street view. You can almost feel the wind in your face and smell the sage.

We stopped at alittle watering hole 50 miles east of Fallon for a snack. The place called Middlegate had a population of 15. There we met a young German couple from Berlin traveling the west with their two small children in a rented RV. Just up the road from Middlegate we spotted one of only three trees east of Fallon (according to our map) covered in shoes?? (Google "Shoe Tree"). In Austin, one of the shop keepers told us they met a Chinese couple that drove from San Francisco just to see the tree, they missed it and drove all the way to Austin (40 miles past the tree) to get directions back to the tree.

The day's route paralleled and crossed the Pony Express route. The Pony Express had stations located approximately 15 miles apart, so we took a page from their manual and had our support team meet us about every 15 miles to resupply us. When riding out in the middle of no where, and nothing seems to get any closer, having a pit stop at regular intervals was as much a psychological relief as was the nourishment.

According to the barkeep in Austin, at its peak the town had a population of 10,000 in the late 1800s during the silver and gold rush, its current population is around 200. From all appearances, it will be a ghost town in a few more years.

We passed a solo rider going in the opposite direction. His bike was loaded with gear and he was pulling a loaded trailer. He looked like he had been on the road for a long time; baked by the sun, but at least the wind was at his back. At our hotel there was a Dutch couple (we didn't get to meet them) that had left Florida in January and riding all over America. We also briefly met a man at our hotel (as we were getting to leave on Day 6) who was heading east, but not crossing the entire country. If we said it once, we said it a hundred times already, having a support vehicle is the only way to do this trip, all you have to do is ride. No worries about carrying food or water, where to camp, setting up and tearing down camp, etc.
Route 50 east of Fallon is 2 wide lanes, much of it with rubble stirps on the shoulders and middle, to wake sleeping drivers. The speed limit is 70, but I doubt anybody actually drove the limit. Everybody gave us a wide berth, no idiots. Other than the headwind, still no rain, tempurtures in the upper 80s. Everybody is healthy, with no real issues.