Day 11: Something About Soda

Course: Ely, NV to Baker, NV

Distance: 60 miles

Max Speed: 48.5 mph

Conditions: Cross winds

Baker population: 68

Today was meant to be an easy day, but unfortunately it was anything but that. We began the ride by climbing about 400 feet, then dropping over 1000. Everyone was thinking, “Man I love this ride!” However, by the end, everyone despised the ride.

I rode with Reggie and Kyle Marpe, two guys that I haven’t ridden with yet. We made some fun out of the ride despite its challenges. For reasons unknown, we named our pace line the Beavers. Every time we hit a hill we’d be yelling, “Let’s go beavers,” or “Show ‘em how it’s done, beavers,” just for inspiration.

For some reason Mother Nature likes to make the last 10 miles of every ride next to impossible. Right when we were about 7 miles out, the cross winds kicked in like crazy. I swear that for the last miles of the ride I was riding at a 45 degree angle to the ground with a death grip in order to not fall over. Once, the wind pushed me into the lane for oncoming traffic and off of the other side of the road. Luckily, no cars were coming. I don’t weigh enough to counter the winds and my bike has a carbon frame, so it’s even lighter. Not a good combo for cross winds.

After arrival we went to a local cave and were given a tour. Before the tour, our tour guide was explaining how the caves form and why they’re considered to be alive. She threw out a lot of geological terms and metaphors. She said something about how the caves are like a can of soda. It was pretty confusing. When she finished explaining and headed into the cave, we all looked around and someone announced that all they heard was “Science, science, science, something about soda.”

The dinner was sponsored by the city of Baker, which is actually plausible since there are so few people. They cooked my favorite meal of the trip so far. The menu included funeral potatoes, turkey, pickled artichoke, salad, bread and apple butter, corn casserole, hot fudge cake, apple pie, ice cream, and more. It’s amazing to see just how much people do for us when all we do is ride through their town and ask for a place to stay.

Tomorrow, we head for Delta, Utah. It’s supposed to be a 95-mile ride, but guys felt adventurous and majority voted to go ahead and make it a century ride. I was not a part of the pro vote.