RIde for Rehab

Day 6- Fallon to Middlegate Station ( not really a city)

Breakfast in the casino at 7 AM Half a dozen people were already there on the slots and drinking beer, most senior citizens ( this was Sunday AM). Went through more desert to Middlegate Station. Slightly smaller than your average drive thru Macdonalds. The Middlegate Motel, so to speak, is a trailer divided into four rooms with two out-houses also.

Day 7 – Middlegate to Austin, Nevada

It is really great having Suzy with me to be the sag car. We arrange a time to meet down the road and she drives ahead of me. The only thing between these two spots is The Shoe Tree and bar/restaurant and newly open motel in a small town called Cold Springs. The Shoe Tree is right outside Middlegate Station and is a huge tree with hundreds of pairs of shoes ( and one set of cattle hooves) hanging from it. The story goes that some guy threw his wife’s shoes up in the tree to keep her from leaving him. Once they reconciled, he threw his shoes in the same tree and the legend has grown since..
In Austin at dinner some young kid walks in and sits down at the table next to us by himself. Since we were the only three people in the restaurant, we ask him to join us and ask where he is going. Simon is a 20 year student, just graduated high school, from Switzerland who is riding east to west cross country. He started 2 months ago in Virginia after a three week ride on a carrier ship to Richmond. He is planning on riding for another two months to the West Coast then into Canada. He is carrying over 65 pounds of gear. The kid looks twelve and is about 5’10, 145 pounds. Suzy looked at me and said “You never looked more like a lightweight” No fooling.
At the gas station a couple walks in and the guy has a Cubs hat on. The were from Frankfort, Illinois on their way back home. Small world.

Day 8- Austin to Eureka,

You know you are in a remote spot when the sign on the television says “ Available Channels 2, 6, and 9. Weather permitting” Left early in the AM to avoid the heat. Was able to get laundry done today at the laudrymat/food store/casino. The stores in Nevada are all very versatile. The laundry machine was the only machine without a lever on the side. Thank goodness for Books on Tape. It gets real quiet in the middle of Nevada. I lost one dollar playing the video blackjack waiting for the laundry. I’ve lost money in all the big gambling cities ( Las Vegas, Atlantic City) , its time to start losing at the small ones too.

Day 9 – Eureka to Ely

Had the pleasure of riding on freshly laid asphalt today. Saw a real wildfire in the desert. A number of volunteer fire department people were there including some woman who looked at least 70 hauling some hoses around. I did learn to be careful spitting while riding a bike into a strong headwind.