Total mileage: 3365.8 miles
After the long day we had yesterday, we were able to push bins out by a half hour. Most of us, however, were eager to get out on the road and beat the heat. We were informed by the van sent from heaven that while yesterday would probably be the hardest day, today would not be easy by any means. With that in mind I rushed through breakfast to get ready and head out on the road. Jack was the only one ready at 6:30 so we headed out together. The ride was not too bad, some hill climbing, but nothing too too bad which was nice as I was still kind of dehydrated from yesterday's ride. The last time I rode hills with Jack, we were going up to Jacob Lake. As we started our climbing this morning I told him that he could pass me and I would meet him at the top. He responded by saying that "you are not slow, you are just relentless" which I was a bit thrown by, but understood where he was coming from. Even though I am slower than many people I end up riding with I do have staying power which allows me to do the longer climbs in one foul swoop. Truth be told I am afraid that if I stop my back and/or knees might go out.
About fifteen miles outside the host Jack noticed an abandoned water park on the other side of the service woad. Because it was so early in the day and there would not be too much to do in town, we decided to hop the barbed wire fence and check it out. When we arrived the two of us were convinced that zombies would jump out at any moment and take us down; definitely worth it for a five star chalking side trip.
The entire morning we to the interstate towards our host and a few miles outside the town we would be staying in, we discovered that bikes were no longer allowed on the road. After some confusion and a quick route change we were back on the road again. Unfortunately not only was it hot and a head wind had picked up, the road was filled with bumps, holes and cracks which made it a rough ride.
When we arrived at our host we were surprised that we would be staying in a recreated ghost town; instead of sleeping on the floor we would be in bunks in a very toasty room.
With a few hours until dinner Jay, Arden and I decided to go and check out Calico, the town (a total tourist trap, but so much fun). The walk up the hill was toasty, but a fun place to walk around for a few hours. Apparently during the gold rush this was quite a mining town. As people began to move on, the town became a ghost town. A local man bought the property and decided he would recreate the town and open it up to people; they would be able to experience what a mining town might look like. While the 18 original bars were not all included the basic buildings like the jail and firehouse are there. One of the original citizens was brought on as a historical consultant. If my memory serves me correctly it was her family's house which serves as the museum today.
At dinner we all hydrated. As you can see I took my hydration very seriously: Water, blue Gatorade and orange cream soda.
After dinner most of the team headed back to the host's house to go swimming in a lake. A bunch of us decided to head back to camp for showers and an early bed time. We came to discover that we had a second building which was much cooler so we all grabbed our stuff and moved across the street. Apparently the secret was let out and we were all sleeping on top of each other. A well deserved treate after the two VERY HOT days we have had.
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