Day 8: Fallon, NV to Austin, NV

First century ride of the summer! 115 miles and nothing to entertain us but ourselves. I had an awesome paceline to ride with today made up of really strong riders. The sun barely beamed over the horizon before we set off at 5:45AM eastward. About an hour into the desert, to our surprise, we saw these massive rocks assembled together to spell words that stretched for a few miles. Towards, the end, in bold letters, we saw "JOH 2017" and "JOH 2018". It was surreal to think that for over thirty years, Journey of Hope cyclists have rode on this same lonely road just as we are now and left behind traces for future riders. There was not a cloud in the sky, and we were convinced that there would never be in Nevada. However, around mile 80, we saw these dark clouds in the distance and hoped that they came in our direction. What we did not realize was that these clouds brought rain and thunder. In the last 25 miles, we face brutal headwinds, hailing rain, and thunder rolling through the valley. Cyclist are allowed to hang up their bikes for the day at anytime but we were all determined to finish. The last 3 miles up a hill and into Austin, NV were the longest miles of my life. Austin, NV is located centrally in the state and is considered to be a "modern ghost town" according to wikipedia. Settlers moved westward back in the 19th century and this town became popular for the search of gold and silver. Today, about 150 people live in the small city composed basically of a church, restaurant, gas station, post office, and pool. After an intense and seemingly endless bike road, our spirits were raised by the absolutely incredible Thanksgiving dinner hosted by the Ladies of Austin. This group had been serving the North Team for over 23 years and looked forward to the day each summer. Each meal, I usually take a moment to go personally thank the sponsor/s and chat about what brought them to the city, experiences serving the teams, and general interests of them and the town. This meal, I met a retired schoolteacher who taught K-12th grade. In those 12 grades, there were only 13 total students that she taught.

First century ride!

Me, myself, and I

Ride dedication to my dad...happy father's day!