Friday, 11Jun10, Lovelock, NV
What an incredible day!
Even as we left Sparks, NV, the wind was blowing and it continued to “blow hard” all day long. (check out the pix on Facebook)
For part of the day we rode with Rand, John, and Lauren … each of us trying to learn how to ride in a smooth paceline in very strong winds. It was a great time to practice finding the “sweet spot” because the wind was always changing.
We rode most of the day on I-80 until about 47 miles … when Adella got sick.
We called for the SAG wagon and Gerard came by to pick her up … in the meantime … Off. Hickok from Nevada Highway Patrol was nice enough to stop and check on us and allowed us to take a picture with him.
Our bicycles are amazing … Adella’s LOOK is working flawlessly and my Landshark … is truly a dream to ride (thanks to John Slowta) … even during the winds. Which reminds me … as we (John, Rand and I) were riding along we were admiring the little dust storm that were spinning around on either side of the road. Then suddenly … today was the 1st time in my life that I watched a “dust devil” (a mini tornado kicking up the dirt and sand) actually came across the freeway and spun right through us.
Man was that exciting! It was all we could do to pedal as hard as we could and hang on for dear life … and then it went through and past us … WHEW! (Something for the three of us to talk about for years to come!) All my life I’ve seen them on the side of the road … but never had the desire to be on the “inside” of one of them.
It was a truly challenging day … because the “wind” never let up … and … we did an 8-12 mph pace all day long, most of the time it was 9-10 mph.
Rand had a “flat” technically speaking … his front tire picked up a very shiny and long “thumbtack” which we had to pull out and then it went flat … so we changed it and helped him back on the road. (check out Facebook picture … of the Reynolds rim and Gator Skins tire as a picture drop for the foreground of the flat scene.)
Lovelock is a very interesting town … there is a prison here and rumor has it that is where O.J. Simpson now has a permanent residence.
Also the county court house is very scenic and a place of lots of “folklore”. (see Facebook pictures)
Adella is feeling much better tonight and I’m glad because tomorrow is a 71 mile ride … and the weather report says it will be another incredibly “windy” day … so here’s a special prayer to the “wind Gods” for a slight switch of direction to bring us a favorable wind at our backs!
Talk to you tomorrow.