Sunday, July 17th.
I got up early again to get a jump on the heat. I was off and riding by 6:30. I decided that I was going to take a different route and stay off the Interstate, too many trucks and traffic. So I headed north east towards the Sonora Pass. This was a very scenic, twisty and challenging ride through forests of ponderosa pines and over undulating hills to an elevation of 9000 ft, where it was much cooler than the valley. It was a long pass which was originally used by wagon trains, but today trucks are not allowed to use it. It was difficult to take photos for most of the ride because of the roads and hills. Just before the summit I came across the Darnell viewpoint where I took a short hike to an overlook of the dam and a reservoir of the same name. On the descent from the summit there were hills of 8, 15 and 25% as I wound around the mountains. It was a longer ride than the interstate route but much more scenic, but I was glad when I reached the valley and the 100 degree heat again. Then I rode for another hour before having to cross the Sierras again to reach Lake Tahoe, but this time although still steep it was a more direct route and reached 7000 ft. When I got to Tahoe I found a beach on the south shore and went for a swim to beat the heat. I went in with my shorts and shirt, to rinse them but also to keep them wet to cool me as I rode again. After leaving there I rode along the east shore of Tahoe and had to cross the mountains for a third time to reach Carson City. When I got to there (which is the capital of Nevada) I found a Starbuck’s had an ice coffee and used their wifi to make plans, I needed to choose a route, and a destination town for the night. Since it was only four o’clock, I decided to ride for two more hours along a secondary highway to Fallon, Nevada. When I got there I found a Comfort Inn and a Safeway to buy supplies for dinner, and settled in.That was 502 kms today.
Love the colour contrasts of blue skies, green trees, and the browns and greys of land and rocks.
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