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Made it to Nevada
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The second day of our trip started out well. We were already ahead of schedule, and the terrain that had to be covered was by no means demanding, so we set off early from our motel and set out for Placerville. We got to Sacramento fairly quickly and stopped off briefly to have a look at the 'Old Town', after we which we carried on joining the Jebediah National Bike Trail. This was a wonderfully scenic route that took us all the way to Folsom, where we met up for lunch. We rested a while by the river at Folsom then we headed off again in the early afternoon. All went well up until the last slope rising up to Placerville, where Ben Leigh's bike broke without apparent cause, the gearing system on the rear wheel came loose and got jammed into the spokes. As the bikes are new models and we didn't have the spare parts necessary we knew that only three bikes would be able to make it until the parts could be collected from a dealers. Arriving at camp that night, therefore, was not the merry occasion it should have been. We went to bed hoping fortunes would rapidly change.
We woke to a bitterly cold morning at the KOA camp site. With the previous days events still on our minds we decided to get on with the day as soon as possible. The idea was to get as close as possible to Carson's Pass, so we looked to get to Kirkwood. This was to be around 60 miles of cycling rising from just under 2000ft to 8000ft...certainly something to clear the mind. We planned to meet at Ham's Station for lunch, so arriving there at 12.30, admittedly half hour before schedule, we proceeded to wait for a further two hours for the arrival of the support team plus Ben. They had gone off to a bike store to try and organize things so that the fourth bike to be up and running as soon as possible. Even with this in mind we were starting to worry, deserted, hungry, cold. But they came bringing good news, the fourth bike would be up and running in two days time, as we could get it mended in Reno. The only frustrating part of the news was that the two hour wait was partly due to them stopping off to sample an American MacDonald's, after the initial anger subsided we were relieved to find out that they are considerably cheaper than in the UK, so not all bad! So far the route had been an ascent to 5,500ft mainly in woodland which was itself extremely attractive, however the remaining climb to Kirkwood was really something to take our breathe away. Snow started to appear in dribs and drabs and gradually the woodland disappeared from the side of the road up until a ridge at around 7500ft, where the whole country seemed to open up into a vast area of snow topped trees and rocks and a magnificent lake, still frozen in mid-May, and a fantastic view of all the surrounding peaks. I would love to say a deep breathe was taken at this point to try and cap off this rather dramatic description but, unfortunately, several breathes were need to accumulate the required oxygen due to the altitude.
One more ascent took us to Kirkwood where we stayed in a ski resort, which only a week earlier was busy with the ski season. It was a very comfortable place with fantastic views and it certainly made up for what had taken place the day before.
Carson City was to be the next stop off, and at 55 miles from Kirkwood with Carson Pass still to be overcome, we expected an early start. Thankfully after taking a look at the contours we realized that after Carson Pass it was a 25 mile descent, so we took the opportunity for lie in.
At breakfast Ben Leigh discovered that he was either allergic to peanut butter or one of our energy bars, as a result by 9.30 he could barely see out of either eye and was left looking like something from Star Wars. Thankfully now, after taking some Benadryl he is ok. It did, however, solve the problem of who would be cycling that day.
At 10.30 we set off for Carson's Pass and after a 7 mile ascent we were at 8,600 and experiencing yet more spectacular views. We stopped off for some photos and then carried on. The descent was amazing. Never have I been so happy to be so cold. A sharp, cold wind blew across us as we descended but this was more than made for. We were quickly into Nevada, avoiding the squashed snakes that littered the roads as they tried to warm themselves. We reached Carson City shortly after 2.00 and were warmly welcomed by the owners and managers, who generously gave us food a TV and a BBQ. Yet more generosity we have experienced since we arrived last week. Tomorrow we will stay in Carson City and enjoy the only City we will come across for quite some time.
After last nights feast we all woke still feeling full so naturally we decided to go out and eat at the Round Table pizza place. The deal was all you can eat for $5.99 and the sixth person goes for free. We stuffed our faces until we got into pizza sweats; Joey Tribbiani eat you heart out!
A few hours later we emerged resembling Mr. Blobby and waddled back to the camp site.
The afternoon seemed to fly by with people reading or trying to sleep off the pizza.
Not much was eaten for supper that night for supper that night but we all settled down to a DVD and some poker.
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Latest Comments (1)
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hi guys (reply)
May 12, 2008 16:53 EST by 2748
hey ben
its good to see that everything that has gone wrong so far is to do with a leigh
anyway
hope all is well and all you guys are not getting on well
see you when you get back
keep in touch
xx
Marina
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