Austin Population: 168
Total Climbing Distance: 4,000ft.
Temperature: 90 degrees
Max Speed: 40mph
Distance: 113 miles
We woke up early to beat the heat. I rode with Jeff and David - two guys that I hadn't ridden with before but I knew that they were strong riders so we could get the job done quickly. We took to 50 highway, or what is known as the Loneliest Road in America - rightfully so. Let me put the scenery into perspective. Sand, and a never ending road. For a while on the ride we were going pretty quickly. A tailwind and some downhill kept us either at a steady 18mph pace line, or a quick 35+mph burst. Around mile 20, we started noticing that people had spelled out names and such on the side of the road in the desert using red rocks. We pulled up to all of our crew vans to find that as a small tradition we were to spell out JOH '13 and leave it there. To either side of our new rock formation we could see JOH '12, JOH '11, and JOH '10. It was really cool to make our mark as a team.
My pace line ended up passing just about everyone except a group of seriously strong riders, and didn't even feel hot until around mile 80. At that point, our butts were pretty sore and had tight legs more than we were fatigued. The head only set the pain in stone. It got hot - fast. The last 30 miles was nothing but steady uphill and heat. I ended up running on lukewarm water and tired legs. Not a good combo for any cyclist. The last 5 miles had a super steep hill that made it very hard to finish. We came to find out that the handbook for crew members had instructed us to walk our bikes up the last hill, but of course no one told us that.
After the ride we went to a local park to shower and have dinner. A group of women known as the Austin Ladies had prepared us a Thanksgiving-style feast. I ate enough food for two days it seemed. It was probably one of the best meals I've ever had. But of course, coming off of a 113 mile ride through the desert, dog food would probably be one of the best meals I've ever had.
Just after dinner we noticed that the sun was setting behind the mountains. About 7 of us decided to hike up a huge hill to watch the sunset from the top of it. When we finally made it to the top out of breath, it was one of the most amazing views I've ever seen. We could see the entire city of Austin. However, that's not very cool since it has 168 people living there. Unless you like a view of a lot of small houses, a church, and a gas station. But on the other side, we watched the sunset together. It was a great way to finish off the day.
Today was tough work, but it paid off well. Tomorrow we head for Ely.
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