Total mileage: 3220.9 miles
Over the hump to Pahrump
First and foremost, Happy Birthday Kristin!!!
Breakfast this morning was VERY IMPRESSIVE with pancakes, waffles, bacon, fruit and home made cinnamon buns. Two of the church members had come in early to make sure we would be adequately fed for the Hump to Pahrump. Last night at dinner we kept hearing this phrase over and over; turns out it was another 12 mile climb over a mountain pass. Feeling very full after breakfast, Nate, Kristina and I headed out after giving ourselves the title of Gravy Train.
Right out of the gate the three of us missed a crucial turn and ended up tacking an extra four miles onto our total for the day. We eventually got ourselves figured out and on the bike path which would take us towards Las Vegas. The ride down towards the Strip was downhill and took very little effort which was much appreciated as we digested the rest of breakfast.
With the increase in temperatures over the past week, combined with biking in more sparsely populated areas, the leaders have been advising us to make frequent stops at gas stations to pickup water, ice and Gatorade. Keeping this in mind, the Gravy Train took two, much needed shade breaks before we found the van and lunch. The three of us fueled up and then hopped back on the road to see what the next few miles had in store for us; no one knew exactly how long or how steep this hump was going to be so we were riding blind.
The hump was not as bad as we thought it was going to be due to some cloud coverage which moved in about half way up the hill. Now dear readers I am not a particularly fast hill climber, but with my slow and steady method I can make it to the top in one piece and usually without stopping. By the time I reached the top Nate and Kristina were there with a few other riders and from there we crushed it down a long gradual hill and into second lunch.
The final portion of our afternoon ride was pretty standard. The nice thing about our ride w that even though it was along a highway, the shoulder was a designated bike lane. While it did not change the riding conditions, it was nice to see that NV was looking out for bikers. We were trying to get to the host as soon as possible because after the last two days we needed some much needed time in the AC and off the bike. Unfortunately when we made the final turn we were greeted by Chika who told us we needed to back track to the new location.
Slowly but surely everyone started to show up. The host was great and dinner as another huge success. One of the things that got many of us riders through the day was the fact that we would be going home with families instead of unpacking and sleeping in the church; there is nothing better for a rider than the promise of a bed and a real towel. After we wrapped things up with dinner Holly, Megan, Julie and I hopped in a car and headed home with hour hosts Carol and Fred. Not only did we have the above items, we were also able to do laundry and watch the evening news. It is the little things in life here people.
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