Day 8 Winnemucca to Battle Mountain, Nevada 55 miles 1650 feet of climbing

the road goes on forever

okay, it's official...i'm brain dead.  i could have sworn that we only had two more days before a rest day.  turns out there's three more days.  a 70+ miler into elko, nevada before consecutive 100+ mile days, eventually getting into salt lake city.

it's such a swinging town that they named their only real underpass

i know my mind has been wandering out on the road these past few days.  i thought i would first notice some body part falling off or throbbing in unbearable pain.  but, instead, it's my mind that's starting to falter.  maybe it's the four days in a row of 100+ degrees.  maybe it's the riding.   maybe it's the monotony of I-80.   all i know is that i am getting a bit foggy now and then.  and forgetting that there's a third day before the rest stop is just icing on that cake.

these are normal rumble strips.  the shoulder is wide enough that we never have to worry about riding over them, and they are loud enough for those cars or trucks that accidentally cross over that white line.

occasionally, we catch an older section of I-80, probably from the days of the inception of the interstate system.  in those cases, these rumble strips run all across the shoulder.  it makes for a very bouncy, vibrating ride.  not fun.

today was a straight shot from winnemucca to battle mountain [still don't know why it's called that -- which battle, when and between whom?].  except for the three miles to get out of town this morning and the one getting into battle mountain, it was all on I-80.  and as the scenery didn't change, there's not a lot to tell.

i mentioned cattle grates.  we rode over more of them today.  here's what they look like up close.

my daily routine:

as it was a slow day, thought now might be a good time to catch everyone up on what my typical day is like.

the day starts with breakfast anytime between 5:00 am [like tomorrow morning] to 6:30 am, depending on the route, the weather and the degree of difficulty of the route.  obviously, the harder, the longer or the hotter, the earlier we'll all rise and grab breakfast.  i usually leave myself 45 minutes between waking up and getting to breakfast to shower, do 15 minutes of stretching and then prep for the day [refilling my water bottles, pumping up my tires, checking to make sure i've got whatever i'll need, applying sunscreen, and repacking my bags].

this is my typical room.  bike, clothes, a basic mess.  it's a throwback to my college days!

breakfast is usually either in the motel lobby or at a nearby chain [ie, denny's].  the day in lovelock, we lucked out with the cowpoke cafe.  nice home cookin'.  my typical meal, pretty much the same for most everyone else, consists of scrambled eggs, bacon, either pancakes or oatmeal, orange juice and tea [btw, i've been very surprised by the number of tea drinkers in nevada.  i just figured ranchers would be devout coffee drinkers but there they are, alongside us in the mornings, knocking back earl grey's and english breakfast teas.]  sounds like a lot of food, but when i'm on the bike at least four or five hours a day, i burn through that pretty quickly.

after breakfast, we load our luggage in one of the vans and take off.  not everyone leaves at the same time and, on the route, there are usually one four twosomes that ride together:  bud and ken, the fast duo; meaghan and emma, the couple from duluth [can't remember their names], and tom and tommy, the father and son duo.  everyone else leaves with the intent of riding solo.  if, as was the case yesterday, that we hook up for pace lines, that's more the exception than the rule.

there are sag [support and gear] or pit stops every 25-35 miles, depending on both the length of the ride as well as the practicality of the location for the stop.  at each stop, riders replenish their water bottles, get snacks and any last-minute information on changes to the day's route [such as last-minute road construction].  snacks usually include fruit [bananas, peaches, grapes and orange slices], peanut butter, a homemade brew of trail mix [dried fruits and nuts, sometimes with m&m's thrown in], some kind of salty chips [frito's, etc.], granola bars and gatorade.   if it's really hot, as it's been lately, the sag vans will periodically stop alongside the road, in between scheduled pit stops, to refill our water bottles.

upon completion of the day's ride, we check in to the designated motel.  we all bring our bikes into our rooms, collect our bags and get on with our day.  i usually do about ten minutes of stretching before hitting the shower.  once i'm done showering, i'll fill the tub and soak for another ten minutes.  then it's off to the ice machine to fill up the bucket in my room.  from there, i transfer the ice into a couple of plastic storage bags and proceed to ice down my knees, wrists and shoulder.  pop a couple of advil and i'm good to go.  afternoons are also the time when i'll sometimes do laundry.  in a pinch, we all do a sink-washing of our clothes.  if, however, the motel has a laundry room, all the better.

around 4:30 each afternoon is mechanic's hour.  i take my bike outside and clean off the crap that's accumulated on the bike during the day's ride.  it's usually just a simple wipe down of the frame, plus alcohol to clean the grease off the chainring, then lubricant to get ready for tomorrow's ride.  i'll check my brakes [something i don't always remember to do and, with consequences.  the first day in california that we were riding up I-80, i noticed how slow it was going.  much slower than i should have.  turned out, my front brake was rubbing against my wheel.  no wonder i was feeling sluggish!].  i'll also check my tires to ensure there's nothing stuck in there, including small shards of glass or wires from the roadside.  we all have tweezers and superglue and we'll be going over the tires with a fine toothed comb, pulling out crap and filling it in with the superglue.

around 5:30 every night, we gather in the motel lobby for "route rap."  we go over any issues from the day's ride and review tomorrow's route map.  any special instructions are given that rap.

from rap, we all head out to dinner.  it's usually something low-key.  tonight, it's mexican.  but it could also be an all-you-can-eat buffet place like golden corral or olive garden.  in truth, the hardest thing about the dinners are finding healthy things to eat.  there's a whole lotta fried foods.  we got lucky last night and went to a very good barbecue place in winnemucca.  really excellent ribs and pulled pork.

we're usually back to the motel before 7:30.  it's then that i download all the photos from my day's ride. lately, i've also been exchanging photos with other riders.  either they got a better shot of something on the road today or vice versa.  i then write my blog, add the photos, and hit the "publish" button.

after that, i'm usually exhausted and in bed between 9 and 10 at night.  i set the alarm, maybe do a quick crossword puzzle and then pass out.

the next day, i start it all over again.  rinse, lather, repeat.