nevada..... don't let las vegas mislead you.

So I'm sure tons of people have been to Nevada... whether it's a vegas trip or an overnight stay in Carson City to spent the better part of the weekend in Lake Tahoe. Sure. Nevada is a pretty cool place. I can speak firsthand after biking through it over the past three days and it is actually pretty incredible. Their motto is "wide open" and that it is. So it is pretty spectacular to see an endless valley of absolutely nothing as far as the eye can see. But after about an hour, that novelty wears off and then you get to be in my position where you're spending the better part of your days riding into the sunset on an infinite stretch of highway that leads to another infinite piece of highway that slowly fades into the horizon. So someone told me to watch out for Nevada because it will be 100 miles between trees. haha funny. no really. Yesterday, i biked 63 miles without seeing anything suitable enough to draft a shadow or hide behind to take a potty break.

seriously. don't come here without bringing enough water to survive or enough music on your ipod to keep you sane as you pedal across the great basins. But really, it's not that terrible, it is quite relaxing while biking as you can see cars coming from both directions for at least 10 miles.

Right now, we're hanging out in Eureka!, NV (another mining town) which is quite the bustling metropolis with a population of 400 (as opposed to Austin, NV from last night with a population of 100). However, being a small town guy myself, I really do enjoy visiting these places. People are friendly, and have plenty of good stories to tell from around town. Today's ride was a bit long at 102 miles, but I'm going to try to tuck in and get a good night's sleep tonight.

So here are some photo highlights from the past day or two.

Here's our little accomodation in Austin, NV. A great little motel run by a couple who entertained us that evening with some guitar and provided us some homemade desert. They had an awesome little screened in porch where my parents and aunt hung out for the evening. (By the way. a huge thanks to my family for supporting me through Nevada... riding without the trailer has been a dream)

So to continue with the jumping hysteria... I've decided to jump in the positions of the summit names.... here, I'm trying to be a little antelope... i didn't seem to attract any others... perhaps my others will be better.

Here I am eating some pancakes...

check it out! me and nevada. we're buddies now. I've kept it company for at least the last 80 miles in this photo.
Austin, Eureka, Ely... that's where I'll be in the next few days.