Mon May 21st
The low temps yesterday was 42.
It was a semi sleepless night. There was a light breeze and the rustling of the tent cover kept waking me. I kept hearing footsteps. At 2am I realized it was my heartbeat in my ear as I lay on the new camp pillow :rolleyes: At 4:44am I decided I wasn’t getting back to sleep so decided to get up and go.
As I packed and put things where they belonged on the bike, I remembered the bike was off a little on balance. So I switched the tent and sleeping pad. That made it much better.
I headed out, getting on the road at 6am just as the sun was lighting up the sky. I immediately crossed into Nevada.
The ride past Border got twistier and fun. There were several campsites beyond the Utah border onthe mountains. Too late now. 🙂
Coming down the other side exposed a wind farm being built. Lots of windmills up and others in stages of construction. The roads were straight as a ruler between points and the mountains. Temps dropped to 37.7 degrees as I approached Ely.
Interesting that the Ely Shoshone reservation is about a block long in Ely. I stopped and filled up. I’d been doing 90 so my mpg was at 40. In order to make Tonepah at 170 miles, I’d want to be patient and keep a light touch on the throttle.
I passed several interesting sites including lava, a base station for something, and cows. It’s not a desert in the way you might imagine. There is growth. But low and with almost planted regularity. There are times when I can almost see rows amongst the brush.
Tonopah is a moderately sized burg. I filled up (4.05) and picked up some more water for my camelbak. Took a bathroom break (it’s amazing how quick you can pee on the side of the road 🙂 ). I headed out. Next stop, California.
In Brandon, I stopped for gas. Rita had remarked on how often I stopped. Yea, she’s still big brothering me :rolleyes: Gas was 5:55 a gallon. Since I’m getting a couple of gallons each time I stop, it doesn’t seem such a big deal. Maybe I just want to ride 🙂
Heading north on 120 was pretty cool, especially since 120 was closed and we had to take a detour 🙂 Fun road up to 395. Lots of nice twists and little traffic. The lake was busy with boaters.
It has been somewhat warm for a bit. As I head up 395 to The Yosemite turn, the temp starts dropping again. I pull off to a rest area and put on my rain coat as a wind block.
As I’m gawking at the Sierras to the left and the lake to the right, I see a California Highway Patrol car on the shoulder… Way too late, but I slow as he begins to take off. I’m doing 55 waiting for him to either wait for me to go by, which I did, or maybe he didn’t get a reading and was going to follow to track. I know the street sign radar only gets me at the last second if at all.
Anyway, no ticket, yea for me 🙂
At the entrance gas station, I ran into a group of guys who just came down from Yosemite and they said the temps were fine and Tiova Pass was open. Woo hoo
I filled the tank and headed on up. Of course it got cool on the way up and over. The views were pretty and I stopped in a few places for pics.
I continued through Yosemite to the other side. In Priest, the county built a replacement very twisty to replace a straight down road with a low weight bridge. I headed down the twisty road. A car in front of me pulled over. I gave her a nice wave but the pickup at the front declined to pull over. All the way down. I wasn’t too irritated. I could see the driver laughing and looking back. Meh though. I didn’t push it and didn’t pass on the yellow. At the bottom I passed him and headed on my way.
At the Sonora/Oakdale turn, I called my cousin since she’d called me. We exchanged messages before actually speaking. She gave me directions and off I went. I did make a wrong turn but did get here.
I changed clothes, cleaned and lubed the chain, checked the oil, and checked out the new born foal (about a week old).
My two cousins and I chatted for several hours about family before hitting the sack.
High temp, 91.7 degrees.