Day 3 - Died on the road to Stateline NV

I was too tired to write last night so this is the next day.  Yesterday did not go well.

I got up early and was on the road at dawn.  The first 30km to Plymouth were great and sitting down to breakfast I was only about 10 minutes late on my schedule. I had a large breakfast and from across the room heard all about the various health ailments of all the aging wait staff.

The ride to Plymoth consumed one bottle of Gatorade.  I had two for the next section thinking it was going to be easier than it was.  I needed more fluids and ran out well before Omo Ranch.  The last two days in the heat were taking their toll.  It was hot today too and cramping became an issue after Omo Ranch.  At the end of the collection of houses called Omo Ranch I saw a sign that said "Store Open" and got all excited but it was not.

By the time I got to the Highway 88 junction I was cramping so bad I walked a section.  My speed on the climbs was down to a crawl. I finally got to Cooks Station at 1pm ... two hours behind my "padded" schedule.  I was a mess when i arrived and it took a lot of soda cans and glasses of ice water to bring me back.  I still was not able to eat much of the chili I ordered.

I realized that if today did not kill me I would not make the hotel reservations I had for the next two night and was still able to cancel them so I pushed them out a day.  If I did make it to Stateline, I was taking tomorrow off.

At Cooks Station a New Zealand girl approached while I was trying to recover and she was also doing the cross country.  She was done for the day and camping on the deck in the back of the building.  I have read of other riders doing this.  She is a Ph.D. student in philosophy in Boston heading back after getting locked out for the year.  She got vaccinated when she landed in San Francisco by walking in to a pharamacy.  Should have got her name but was too tired ... maybe she will leave a comment.

Forest messaged me and he was within a kilometer of Cooks Station just as I got there and was turning around.  By the time he got my message he was back in Plymouth.  The mountain killed him.

I was next.

I left Cooks Station with an naked hamburger and lots of water.  I had recovered a lot but I had been there over an hour and a half.  I needed to make up some time but could not get out of my lowest gear on any of the climbs.  It was slow and painful going.

I thought I was funther along on the elevation profile and was expecting a nice long down hill into Kirkwood.  Turns out I was a 400m climb from that point.  I wasn't even doing 10km in an hour and my daylight was not going to last.

Still more than 10km from Kirkwood I knew I had to take a long break. It was alread 5:30.  I looked at options to stay in Kirkwood ... I might be able to make it there.  I tried to eat some of my hamburger but could not get enough spit to swallow.  I knew if I could not get some energy in me I would only be able to make Kirkwood.  I was looking pathetic by the side of the road.  I was defeated.  I was done.

Then a car pulls up and a guy asks me if I am alright.  I told him I was done.  He offered a ride and I took it!  Phil was a former cycle shop owner in Santa Cruz and knew what a defeated cyclist looks like.  He had to load my bike in the car.  I was useless.

He drove me all the way to highway 50 at Tahoe. About 40 miles out of his way.  He was actually going the other direction when he turned around to check on me.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I arrived at my hotel for the night and it was still light out!  I was in bad shape and it took a while to recover.  I went out for food and was only able to get a salad down.  Chicken wings in the fridge ... which when I woke up at 3am I really wanted but my room, fancy as it is, has no microwave.  I ate the cold hamburger and it tasted good.

This morning I am insanely hungry.  Need to go find a big breakfast.

 

Turns out rooms in this hotel don't have microwaves.  I did get a very large room. It is a suite with a balcony.  Probably spend much of the day here.