October 13
43mi/69km
+3000ft/915m
It was so nice to sleep in a cozy warm room and get ready indoors. The temperature outside was 26F/-3C, but as we got started we felt a lot warmer than the last two mornings. My fingers weren’t numb, which was quite nice.
We had to climb 2000ft/610m to start, which also helped keep us warm. The air was still and sunny as we climbed. It was a beautiful morning with lovely fall colors.
Once we reached the top of the climb, we expected to coast quickly downhill, but that was not the case. The roads were chunky, bumpy, and rocky. Paul crashed, so now we’ve both had a spill on this trip. Fortunately, it was a low speed fall. We took the rest of the descent with caution.
We reached the bottom and realized that we were in Nevada, although we weren’t sure exactly when we crossed the border. From there it was paved roads into Reno, which surprisingly has excellent bike paths. It was probably the most pleasant time I’ve had riding in a big city, the bike lanes were great.
We checked into our hotel, took showers, and unloaded the bikes before riding them down to REI for some much needed service. The employees there were excited to hear about our journey, and helped us find replacement tires. We left the bikes there overnight as we are taking the day off tomorrow.