Today we started with a climb over two mountain peaks at 6am before coasting down into Austin. It took about 3 hours to do the two peaks which spanned only 16 miles. Once we got into Austin there was a cafe that we decided we would eat a late breakfast at. We planned on riding 80 miles to Middlegate, NV, so we had a lot of ground to make up but fortunately the ride was more downhill today.

Since it has been about 5-6 days without a shower, we decided we would sleep at the hotel in Middlegate. As we rolled into the very small town, we noticed another group of 19 cyclists unpacking all their gear into the motel rooms. I went inside and found out that all the rooms were reserved for the night… what a bummer. All day long Seth and I were excited to get into a cozy bed and watch some basketball, and now we were stuck in a tent another night.

On the bright side, I calculated that we will be in California in 2 days! Which means we have less than a week before we reach the Golden Gate Bridge. The realization that my journey is about over is starting to hit me already, but luckily I have another 6 days to get the most out of it.

Total miles biked: 80 miles from a field outside Austin to Middlegate, NV

“I get up in the morning looking for an adventure.” – George Foreman

*Delayed post 1 day due to no service*

Yet another day on the Loneliest Road In America. The one exciting part about this day was the fact that I counted 13 drivers who gave us some encouragement as they drove by us. Whether it was a light honk, waving, or even a thumbs up, the encouragement was awesome! I’m not just talking a ‘lift-the-finger’ kind of wave, but these people were putting their hands out the window, the sunroof, or using both hands in their car. It was just incredible to come across so many encouraging people. Throughout this whole trip, today definitely trumped all the others with friendly drivers.

One particular driver even pulled over to ask if we were ok (at this point we were walking because of the wind). The man, Bruce, and his wife, Lane (I hope that’s how it’s spelled), hopped out of their car and immediately asked if we would like some cold drinks. We gratefully accepted and began talking to them. Bruce said they were just finishing a cross-country tour in their car to celebrate his wife’s retirement. We told them about our trip and just chatted for a little bit before it was time to part. Before they drove off they gave us their information (name, phone, email) in case we needed a place to stay. Unfortunately our route doesn’t take us by Nevada City, CA, but we are extremely thankful for their offer!

Despite having a headwind after doing 44 miles in the morning, we still reached over 90 miles today. We didn’t make it to Austin unfortunately, but we’ll be able to make our stop tomorrow in Middlegate, NV for a hotel room finally (we haven’t showered since Cedar City).

Total miles biked: approximately 93 miles from a field outside of Ely to a field outside of Austin, NV

“People who make no mistakes lack boldness and the spirit of adventure. They are the brakes on the wheels of progress.” – Dale Turner

Riding on the ‘Loneliest Road In America’ is something exciting to say that I’ve done, but as you can image, this post won’t be riddled with any thrilling news. We woke up this morning and got going around 7:30am to get to Ely by lunch (26 miles). We arrived there at 10:15am and I immediately stopped at McDonald’s – it had been too long!

My first order consisted of a grilled onion cheddar burger, a McDouble, 20 piece McNugget, a large shake, and large fries to top it off. YUM! We planned to sit this afternoon out to get out of the heat and to rest up after yesterday’s killer ride. I began getting caught up on emails and the blog posts with the free wifi as Seth scouted the town out for grocery stores. About 2-3 hours later I was ready for another meal and ordered myself 2 Big Macs with a hot fudge sundae on the side. I swear that I put food into my mouth and it’s immediately engulfed by a black hole in my stomach. As we filled up our water for the 78 mile journey with no service, I was already hungry again!

Tonight we rode until dark (8:15pm) and pitched a tent on the side of the road once again. Tomorrow we’ll reach Eureka, but a nice destination would be to get to Austin, NV – 110 miles away. It would be our first century, but we’re putting ourselves in the mindset of getting there tomorrow if the weather is nice.

Total miles biked: 58 miles from Majors Junction to 32 miles outside of Ely, NV

“Adventure is worthwhile.” – Aesop

*Delayed post 1 day due to no service*

Woke up this morning in a field. Not the last time it’ll happen out here in this unforgiving desert either. Our plan from last night was to hit Baker, NV (55 miles from where we slept) and call it a day because the next town was an additional 36ish miles from there. Well, with a tailwind at our back we were able to get to Baker by 11:30am. Although, we crossed the Nevada/Utah border which made for another timezone change, therefore it was technically 10:30am in Baker. Before getting to Baker though, we met two other cyclists – Scott and Noah. They were also traveling from the east coast to Yorktown, VA. Great dudes to talk to you, best of luck to them on their travels!

As we rolled into town, there were about 5 other cyclists eating some sandwiches under a tree and they hollered at us. We parked our bikes and a man immediately came over to us and told us everything in town was closed. He offered to give us some ice water and Gatorade, and informed us he was just driving behind those other cyclists and was their liquid man. We reluctantly accepted and filled up our bottles and talked to the guy as the other cyclists continued eating. He told us that they were riding from San Francisco to Yorktown, VA as well (just like Larry and Carter) and were doing it to raise funds/awareness for multiple sclerosis. Just as we were about to head out, the grocery store in town opened up, so everyone went in and stocked up on supplies for the long journeys in between towns.

Since the day was early still, we marched on to that next town, Majors Junction, NV (it’s not even listed on Google Maps, that’s how small it is). Ely was an ultimate goal which happened to be approximately 60 miles, and two mountains to climb, from Baker. As we surpassed the first mountain and coasted down it, we knew we could make it to Ely… until we got around the bend of the mountain. In the distance there was a field of wind turbines, and sure enough the nasty headwind hit us right away. We struggled pedaling down hill because the wind was so strong, making this stretch much harder than it should have been.

I know I say this a lot, but as our journey continues there are days that just suck a lot more than any other previous days. This was one of those days. There was nothing to look at for this 20 mile stretch to Majors Junction, the wind was blowing at our face at 15mph+, and we had a lot of uphill climbing to do. What should have taken us 2 hours, ended up taking the rest of the afternoon and evening. By the time we rolled into the bar/campground at Majors Junction it was 5:30pm and we were gassed. After eating a hamburger and fries, we unrolled our sleeping bags and fell asleep on hard cement with no tent behind the bar (that’s where the owner told us we could sleep). Tomorrow we plan to get to Ely and spend the hot afternoon at McDonald’s to freshen up and get some food in our bellies before tackling another 78 miles of no service.

P.s. – The title of this post wasn’t a name I gave this stretch of highways… it was coined by a photographer for Life Magazine. There really aren’t any houses, people, or any kind of life out on these roads.

Total miles biked: 88ish miles from a field 47 miles outside of Garrison, UT to Majors Junction, NV

“The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes ‘sight-seeing.” – Daniel J. Boorstin

After eating our awesome continental breakfast this morning, we knew what pace we could go at for the day. By 10am we were already 40 miles done with the day, but after the next town in 13 miles there would be no services for 84 miles. Once we passed through that last town, Milford, UT, and filled up all our water packs, it was time to climb yet another mountain in the heat of the day.

As the wind picked up and there were no clouds to be seen, we decided to take a nap in a ditch culvert (about 5 feet in diameter). We ate lunch inside the cool, metal, pipe and rested for about 2 hours until 2:15pm. At this point we had already travelled 55+ miles, so there was no hurry to get to our goal of 74 miles for the day.

On our way up the small mountain there were many herds of sheep (hundreds upon hundreds!) grazing alongside, and even onto, the road. Since it is so desolate out here there really isn’t any fencing restriction, which allows the animals to roam freely.

Once our bikes began their coast down the other side of the mountain, we noticed two other cyclists on this barren road a few miles ahead. We approached them and talked for about 20 minutes. Larry (presumably the father) and Carter were headed from San Francisco to Yorktown, VA! They were from western Iowa so they knew all about Nebraska, and Larry even knew a professor that Seth had a class with at UNK. Eventually we both said our farewells and began the immediate climb back up another small mountain.

As our water was getting lower and lower, I began to worry if we’d be able to make it another 55 miles to the next town with enough water for tomorrow. There was a steep incline at one point during the climb, so we walked for a mile or so. As we walked, there was a raised lagoon-looking pile to the side of the road. Curiosity got the best of Seth and he went and checked it out. He waved me to come over, proving my skepticism wrong. There happened to be a clear pool in that pile we saw, along with a small cement container that had water pouring into it continuously from a small PVC pipe that came from the ground. The water looked clear enough, so the assumption was made that it was well water. We drank until we couldn’t drink anymore. Let’s just hope our assumption was right…

It was past 6pm at this point and we had gone 76 miles already. There wasn’t any protection from the wind for our tent tonight, so we just pitched it on the side of the road, hoping the landowner doesn’t see our tent. Tomorrow we’ll reach Baker, NV where we’ll be able to stock back up on supplies. That’s right… the desert of Nevada will be welcoming us tomorrow!

Total miles biked: 83ish miles from Cedar City, UT to a field 47 miles outside of Garrison, UT

“Adventure should be 80 percent ‘I think this is manageable,’ but it’s good to have that last 20 percent where you’re right outside your comfort zone. Still safe, but outside your comfort zone.” – Bear Grylls