Remnantology

Riding the ACA Western Express Bicycle Route.

The plans are shifting and the Saturday lay over desitinaiton is in flux. Thus we are poised here for a few possible destinations. More on that as and when. Today though was quite a breeze–literally. First off we had a gentle parting from the hotel after drinking enourmous quantities of very cold orange juice in the lobby. We did a quick loop through the core of Carson City just to know we had seen the place while here. Some nice buildings there and a large number of casinos. It seems a sort of metaphor for state government, and I must say, I have never seen a state house with a vape shop right on its door step. 

With that tourism done, we set off down Rt 50 east into the rest of Nevada. ​There is a nice large climb just out of town and really zippy long downhill on the other side. The road is busy here, but the shoulder is wide and we were cozy. We passed the Brothel Zone just out of town. Somewhere in there was the one that Louis Theroux did his time. There were more brothels than I would have thought had I been asked. Vices are a theme here. 

Along we flew though and made great time for what promised to be a short day.  Very quickly we were making 23 mph on the flats–and doing that with less effort than I have to expend to hold at 21 mph on the road bike at home. How to explain that? The answer of course was that we were now beneficiaries of the endless strong wind sweeping down from the Sierras. Yesterday it was catching us at intervals and throwing us sideways. But today–ah today–it was a welcome friend, a hand on the butt pushing one along, nature’s own pedal assist. There were times when it felt like this wind could just push us all the way to Utah. Here’s hoping.

The landscape change was rapid and dramatic. We are now in the desert and high dry prairie. The sun is strong and hard breathing leaves me parched. We stopped along the way to fill up on fizzy water and salty potato chips. There are some interesting towns out here–Dayton for example–but they flew by too fast for us to notice. Flying along though we made it to Stagecoach and stopped at the Stagecoach Market. There we met the welcoming and friendly AJ–owner and proprietor. AJ is a Londoner who has left ready access to Caffe Nero and the 25 bus to run a rather busy and well-stocked roadside shop with a great view of the hills. We are on the old Pony Express route and one of the places Mark Twain visited in his western years–those memories are still here. AJ has a blue binder in which riders write a bit about themselves and their travels. Some of the stories are very touching and it is much to AJ’s credit that he sees the value in collecting them. The ACA maps only list the shop as a CS (convenience store), but the location is ideal for cyclist watering hole between Carson City and Lahontan. AJ is interested in stocking up on cycle goodies, so when you pass by, make sure you stop in and help make this the next big thing on Rt 50.

We made it to Silver Springs and saw the massive line of traffic caused by the blinking red light. That is when things got a bit worse for us. The State of Nevada, in its wisdom, has seen fit to make sure that the entire shoulder from here east is cut with rumble strips. That leaves us to ride on the inner edge of the white line! The good news is that there are very few cars on this section of “America’s Lonliest Highway,” but–WTF? What asshat said “I know, lets have no shoulder on a road used all the time by cyclists! Brilliant!” We have a few hundred miles of rumble strips ahead of us and I am not psyched. The wind will still be strong through so we will travel over them quickly. 

Lahontan is a huge resevoir and winter snows–now melting–have it filled and cold. We splashed around a bit and set up camp and settled in to look at desert stars after a nice sunset. More miles tomorrows. Ready to rumble!