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with Bill |
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JUNE 15 WHINING IN WENDOVEREveryday we get up and go out and ride the prescribed course. Some days it ain't easy! Today was one of those days. We left Elko at 6:00 am with a 108 mile ride to Wendover, NV ahead of us. It was our first century ride (100 miles) of the trip. The temperature was 47 degrees, and the constant wind was in our face. Not a good sign. It got worse. At the 50 mile point we began to climb. In all, we climbed 3500 ft during the day. Long, steady climbs as we watched the trucks on I-80 struggle uphill as well. At high noon, during the most difficult climb of the day, the cool wind was absent. The temperature must have been in the high 80's.
It was a tough, long 9 hour day for most of us. Dennis (MA), the Mt Washington Bike Race veteran, called the day's degree of difficulty, "significant". John (ME), my friend who I rode with most of the day, I think was more accurate when he said, "This is the longest, toughest bike ride I have ever been on"...and we both laughed. We all made it. And we all experienced some incredible sights. We saw cowboys driving a herd of open-range cattle. The landscape here was lush green with the larger snowcapped Pequop Mts in the background. Beautiful vistas! As we approached Wendover, or destination that sits right on the Nevada/Utah border, we could see the Bonneville Salt Flats. Miles and miles of white salt deposits left when the lake dried up centuries ago.
Wendover is a casino magnet for Utah (non-Mormon) residents coming across the state border. Our hotel is again surrounding the large, brightly lighted Rainbow Casino. We annihilated the supper buffet provided. Today was a personal record for the longest bike ride of my life. Tomorrow, I will break that record with a 117 mile ride into SALT LAKE CITY AND A REST DAY!!
We are now on Mountain time...thereby losing an hour of rest. Perfect! - Bill
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