Day 9: Battle Mountain to Elko

Today’s Highlights:
In order to beat the afternoon heat for today’s 75-mile ride, we were up before 4:30 am, had breakfast at 5 am, and where on our bikes before 6:00. A thunder storm had blown through the region last night, leaving behind a nice cool morning with high thin clouds. I welcomed the 57 degree start and filtered sunlight since we have had a lot of sun over the last few days. A couple miles out of town, our route took us on a frontage road for 21 miles. It was very peaceful being off the highway and feeling far from any civilization. Only a few cars passed me on that entire stretch, and at times it was quite enough to hear the birds singing. Our valley ride followed the Humboldt River, which we saw occasionally throughout the day. The rail system also follows the same general route through Nevada and we saw several trains today. We had our first rest stop at mile 25, then the real work for the day started.

On I80 again, we started climbing a 15 mile hill, accompanied by a very strong crosswind. It took a lot of work to ascend, but the views along the way were splendid. I also saw three birds of prey nesting near the road. I think they were Kestrels. Once over the summit (Emigrant Pass), we had a great eight-mile downhill. I easily cruised at 35 mph, but it was a little dangerous with the strong crosswind pushing me to the left. Still, I enjoyed the reward after the long climb.

The descent brought us off the interstate and into the town of Carlin to our second rest stop at mile 50. A few miles later, we had a real treat riding through a canyon along the Humboldt River. It was only two miles, but had some of the best scenery of the day. This little jaunt bypassed the tunnels on I80, which cyclists are not allowed to ride through. Once around the tunnels, we hopped on I80 again and we picked up a significant tailwind for our last 15 miles to Elko.

I reached Elko just after noon. I saw a Subway shop one mile before the hotel, so I stopped to get a sandwich. I used the drive thru, because I’m not one to dillydally. They probably never had a biker come to the drive thru window before. I stuffed the sub in my pack and finished my ride to the hotel, then enjoyed it in the shade of a tree while I waited for the luggage truck to arrive.

Nevada has surpassed my expectations so far. The scenery was very interesting again today. We traveled through wide open spaces with a big sky and beautiful clouds. Mountains are always present in the distance and in every direction, and a river always flows somewhere nearby, creating a little oasis here and there. Besides occasional farm animals and cattle, we have seen snakes, lizards, rabbits and several types of birds. Most of all, this Nevada landscape is incredible peaceful and it can set one free when traveling on a bike in the middle of nowhere.

Pictures Of The Day:

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Statistics:
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