FACE AIDS Ride Against AIDS 2010 Blog

SPOT System: Follow Us Live!

Map of 2010 Route

Map of 2010 Route
You can view the day-to-day schedule, terrain, mileage, and checkpoints by clicking on the map!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Day 7: The Loneliest Road in America

First off, Happy Father's Day!

Now on to the day's events...
Today we logged 113 miles! WOW. And it was all on ONE road. Not to mention, there were some serious mind tricks being made with mirages. Talk about fake-outs. That was my first time ever biking 100 miles plus. We biked from Fallon, NV to Austin, NV on The Loneliest Road in America. We got an early start to the day to give us plenty of time to cover the mileage. I actually really, really enjoyed today, even though it was so remote. We were literally in the middle of nowhere with nothing or no one around. It was kinda peaceful and liberating to be cruising down the road with nothing else to worry about. The scenery, although very different from the mountains we've seen already, was still very astounding.

The day before I left to go to Stanford, I ran into Shane, a friend from high school, who did a similar bike trip last summer. I asked him if he had any tips for me, and he said, "Enjoy everyday." Austin and Dave, last year's FACE AIDS' riders, also had similar advice. They said their motto for last year was if you had an inclination to do something, do it. I've been following both of these tips and I think it has already improved my experience immensely.

Following these mottos, I made a couple pitstops today. First, I stopped by some cows. Now, I've seen my fair share of cows, but for some reason they still intrigue me. I think they were just as interested in me, as they all stopped what they were doing and stared at me. Then they cautiously proceeded to come to the gate, until they seemed to be competing for my attention.

Then, I decided to stop and write RIDE AGAINST AIDS 2010 in rocks on the side of the rode. That seemed like the cool thing to do for about 20 or 30 miles, as the stretch sported an unbelievable assortment of names and designs on the sand. Mike stopped and joined me when he passed by, and I have to say, it was a blast and I couldn't be happier that I followed my inkling.
At about mile 50, another opportunity came up as we passed the infamous shoe tree. This tree is literally in the middle of nowhere, and has thousands of shoes hanging from it. There is also a pit of shoes underneath it. The most random shoes were hanging from the limbs and scattered on the ground. We saw combat boots, bowling shoes, and wading boots just to name a few. I think there were even some rollerblades.

Then we stopped for some much needed lunch and hit the second half hard. We were getting after it, and I put my right earbud in for a bit, rocking out to the newly made playlist. Then, we ran into another big group of bikers...turns out it was the same group Shane (the same friend mentioned above) rode with last year! What are the odds?! So I ended up riding with 3 of the guys, which was a great way to finish the last 50 miles since I had been by myself for awhile. They are riding to Washington D.C., in conjunction with their fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi and its annual Journey of Hope, Push America.

I also saw a bunch of lizards today - if nothing else made my day, they did scampering across the street.

Today was a blast, and I couldn't be happier. Literally loving life, laughing, and seizing every opportunity that presents itself.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Blog Archive

Followers