Inhospitable

(This post is for yesterday, Saturday September 23. Spotty internet again.)

When we planned our trip we planned for an expected temperature range of 40F up to 90F or so. So when we woke up this morning and it was in the mid 30’s and overcast, with a chilly north wind, we were a little wary. It felt much like those January days in Houston where the wind and damp air seems to cut through all your layers and go right to your core. We had breakfast in Penny’s Diner, conveniently located on the Oak Tree Motel property in Milford. In anticipation of the cold weather, I had an appetizer of oatmeal in the room, then ordered the “hearty breakfast” which consists of two huge pancakes, eggs, hash browns, bacon, and sausage.

We donned all the layers we could muster (including the new layers that we had bought at the Family Dollar yesterday). Here is Tom, modeling his leggings, plastic food-preparation gloves that we scammed from the diner, and duct tape covering the vents in his shoes.

Tom's hi-tek sta-warm gear. Total cost: $2.50

The route was pretty straightforward: three climbs of 1000-1500 feet, and three descents of about the same length. We are moving into the Great Basin area, which features broad valleys separated by big ridges roughly 20 or 30 miles apart. And, it should be noted, absolutely nothing in between Milford and Baker, Nevada. In fact the waitress at the diner warned us about the desolation we were heading into.

No joke

The initial climb was gentle and long. My hands and feet were a bit cold but I was otherwise OK due to the climb and a bit of a headwind. The work felt good so we went fairly hard. A bit too hard, as we would soon find out.

Tantalizing patches of sunshine

The descent was a 10-mile drop into the next basin, with the cold wind still in front of us. I was a bit damp from sweating on the climb. About 2 miles in I started getting cold. About 6 miles in I started getting really cold. I could see patches of sunshine on the valley floor below, and what looked like a small farm on the upslope on the other side. I thought “if I can just get to the sunny patch it will be warmer.” The problem was, the valley floor was deceptively far away, and the patches of sun kept moving away.

One of the basins. The pass on the far side is about 20 miles away.

Finally we reached the sunny patch and stopped riding in an attempt to warm up. By then I was seriously cold. I was shivering so my handlebars were shaking back and forth, and my speech was slurring a bit. I knew that I was approaching a potentially dangerous situation. There were no cars for miles, so I lay down on the black asphalt, which helped a little. Tom was also cold, but mainly his hands and feet, so it seemed that my situation was more serious. I was considering my options, which seemed to be wait for a passing car, which could be awhile, or try to go over to the farm and find shelter. Stopping had warmed us a bit so we decided to ride up to the farm. By then the road had finally started trending back up. I knew once I started climbing again I would warm up, but I was worried about the next descent, and the one after that.

We decided that we should continue up, but do two things differently: first, go easier on the ascent so that we would not be wet with sweat; and second, go slower on the descent in order to minimize the wind chill. And it worked. On the climb we warmed quickly, and on the descent we rode the brakes to keep it slow. I even pedaled against the brakes a few times just to keep the blood flowing.

The rest of the ride went along in the same fashion. We tried to manage our effort and speed in order to stay warm. I was never what I would call warm, but I was never uncomfortably cold either. It even rained slightly, but never hard enough to put us in the deep freeze mode again.

In the 84 miles, we saw hardly any cars, and no buildings (other than that farm), but we did see other cyclists! One guy was headed east from Oregon to Flagstaff. He was loaded down and looked totally comfortable in the elements. Then, in the next basin, we saw a group of 4 young women on the side of the road eating peanut butter on tortillas. They were super friendly, and giggled with delight when they learned we were going from South Carolina to San Francisco because they were doing exactly the reverse. So, Rich, maybe you can check their blog to get your daily fix.

On the last climb, I experienced a strange mixed feeling of wanting it to end but also not wanting it to end due to the warmth it provided. But the remaining 30 mile descent was gentle, and into the wind, so it took enough effort to keep the blood flowing.

Tonight we are at the Border Inn, literally right on the Nevada border. They have a bar and casino, as if to flaunt sinfulness in Utah’s face. But most importantly, they have hot showers. In fact, one of the best hot showers I’ve ever had.

Cold but happy

The motel rooms are in Utah. The casino and cafe are in Nevada.