Ride the West: Tough Slog To Wendover

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Riding Day 10
Elko to Wendover, Nevada

107 Miles
7 hours, 59 minutes
4,528' climbing
4,291 calories
13.4 mph average speed
36.7 mph maximum speed

This post is three days late. That's how long it's taken me to recover from what was for me, a very hard ride. Just for some background, it wasn't the longest ride (107 miles not a short ride), highest ride (although plenty of climbing), or hottest of rides I've done. It just drained me dry.

The riding started in mild headwinds (5 mph) that increased to around 20 mph winds. A pace line of about 9 of us started from the hotel in Elko and we pushed hard, taking turns in one mile increments at the lead. We drove unceasingly until mile 40, our first SAG stop. I've never ridden 40 miles without stopping. Let alone in 20 mph head winds. It was good to be in a group to help slice through the winds, but there was little time for casual chit chat as we all had our heads down and stuck to the work at hand. But this all is part of the experience.

Refueling and topping of water bottles under steel blue and sunny skies, we reassembled our pace group and headed out for the next 30 miles. It included two significant climbs, the second of which was a 6 mile ascent up the Ruby mountains to Pequot Pass and our second SAG. Climbing after a hard 60 miles started to sap the remaining strength I had. It was probably a combination of riding so hard earlier and the constant noise and hard focus needed while traveling on the interstate.

I have to admit I did glance down at my cue sheet clipped to my handlebars for a brief moment and when I looked up a big orange diamond shaped construction sign was right in the middle of the shoulder. I swerved just in time but did manage to clip the tip of the sign with my left shoulder. Got a scratch but some Neosporin will take care of it. But that's how fast it can change.

Finishing our refueling at Pequot pass, we continued on I-80 for another 36 mileshad a series of rolling descents and a sharp climb after exiting the highway and heading towards the hotel. The western part of Wendover is in Nevada. The eastern part is in Utah. The result is that west Wendover is a big casino town. We stayed at the Rainbow casino. After such a grueling day, I couldn't wait to get out of my sausage-casing like bike clothes and get out of my shoes. However, as beat as I was we first needed to roll our bikes through the casino, past the slots, past the stage and performance area, take a right at the table games cross the casino floor to a hallway, take a left go down hallway, take another right and left to get to bank of elevators to take us to our rooms.

After getting those directions, I unbuckled my shoes and put them in the luggage room adjacent to the front desk where our bags were stored. Then I proceeded to walk the quarter mile through the casino in my neon lime socks pushing my bike to my room. Then reversing directions, went to grab my two bags and lugged them to my room. Really nothing left in the tank at that point.

Brief shower was the best one I've ever had. Crusty salt and road dust melted from my face, arms, and legs and I began to feel human again. Managing to call home to check in, I had to hustle to the evening's Rout Rap describing the following day's 117 mile trip across the Salt Flats on I-80 to Salt Lake City. I was so tired I just sat on the floor and looked at the tour manager describe the turns and exits we needed to take. I saw his lips move, heard sounds, but it was all like a Charlie Brown cartoon, where when an adult talked, all you heard was wauk, wauk, wauk, wauk wauk.

We did get to eat at the Casino Buffet which was really good but took forever to get water and soft drinks brought to table. Did manage to score a chocolate soft serve cone for desert. We needed to be at the casino restaurant "Primo's" at 4:45 am local time to have enough time to load luggage on van and get out on the road by 6. This was done primarily to beat the expected heat and blazing sun expected across the salt flats.

So, ya. I didn't have energy/desire/time to post the blog Tuesday night. If so, it would have been true gibberish and I might have set myself up for an epic failure on the ride to Salt Lake City.