Wendover, Utah - Day 10

Hello from Wendover, Nv.
This is our last night in Nevada. Our cue sheet was very brief today! Get up, leave the hotel and go east on I-80 for 107 miles and exit right, turn left into the hotel!!! So, we started out very early after a buffet breakfast that was quite filling!!
After stopping and giving us water, the staff went on to Mile 40 where we had our first rest stop. After a peanut butter sandwich and one for road, we headed out again. Many many miles of construction on I-80 which was actually good to the cyclists because there was no work being done on the road, but had many many orange barrels – my riding buddy and I have had many discussions about how many barrels are on the road and where the state of Nevada must store them when not in use. Nonetheless, it was great for us because we could ride in the closed lane instead of on the shoulder with one lane of 75mph tracker trailers, piggy backs, and triple backs. Oh, speed here was 65mph.













We still had beautiful mountains and crystal clear sky with wonderful temps – “the gods are with me”!! We saw a few open range cattle – the bad part about today’s route was that there was no place for potty stops. And, sage brush isn’t very tall, so you just pick a spot, hope no traffic is coming and proceed!!
At mile 60-65, we began a 10 mile climb – the van met us when we had 3 more miles to the summit and gave us water. We reached the summit and then I started down the other side. I was actually able to do this descent – 3-5miles and didn’t panic and even ate right so I didn’t bonk. However, by the time we hit the bottom we started to see rain in the distance and then 2 strikes of lightening. Within 5 minutes, the van was there to pick us up because there is no place to get under anything for miles!!! We rode about 24 miles in the van and then got out and rode the rest of the way in.
Just as we crested the last hill, we saw a beautiful view of the salt flats and took some pictures. We are in Rainbow Hotel and Casino tonight and they have no WiFi, so will have to post this in Salt Lake City. We had a wonderful buffet dinner – lost an hour because of Mountain Time starting here. It wouldn’t be too bad, but we have 117 miles on salt flats tomorrow. We will have breakfast at 5 and begin riding at daylight.
I haven’t taken a picture of this sign yet, but periodically we see a sign that says “Prison Area, Do Not Pick up Hitchhikers”. We have not seen the prison and can’t imagine who in their right mind would try to survive out here on their own!
I notice some new followers and just a reminder that you can double click on any picture to enlarge it; click on map to enlarge it and then click “terrain” to see what we are riding; and I do appreciate all comments and thank each of you for thinking of me. At this point, my hip is doing super!!!!
Today’s hurrah goes to niece Monica and Mike who exchanged vows and honeymooned last 2 weeks in Hawaii! Congratulations!!!
Thank God for the safety, health, and energy!