My turn to ride! Said "Good bye to Hwy 50"! (WARNING! This post is epic!)
( see how many "Red Flags" you can find in this post")
After coming down from the campground we stopped in Baker, population 52, at a café/deli/bakery with lots of local color. The deli looked like it was built a hundred and twenty years ago but made one want to hang around and enjoy its uniqueness because that's what tourists do. The owner asked if he could help us and I said "we are enjoying browsing". He said "I'd enjoy it if you spent some money." so we bought some great chocolate cake that we later used to celebrate our border crossing in to Utah!. Rusty discovered the establishment is for sale and if he gets a buyer he'll earn $2,000! Be the first!
I decided to ride light today and didn't take my rear pack that carries extra water, sun block and snacks. Also figured I was pretty accustomed to the sun and thought I wouldn't bother with sun block today. Started my ride there at the deli and just after riding out of town I met up with a solo female bicyclist loaded with gear. She had started in North Dakota three weeks ago and was headed for San Francisco. (seems to be the main destination for the touring cyclists we've met along the way). A unique thing...she rides at night! She was ending her ride at abt 7:30AM as I was starting. I wonder how she does that. Where does she sleep during the day in the 100 deg heat? What about the critters that come out at night when it is cool? Would like to have chatted longer and I suggested that she write a book. She said "Perhaps I will."
Crossed the Utah border six miles out. Stopped and took pictures to prove it. and became a beautiful ride that ended up to be a real journal entry. (as my son John said after our "Illegal Alien Crossing" experience in Texas: "You have to live to write it".)
As I rode along with smooth road surface, some tail wind, some slight downgrade % and the beautiful morning I was thinking this was a PERFECT day! There was some change in scenery but not much. A little more traffic from hwy 50 but not much. I was enjoying the ride!
Rusty and Willie were there for me every 5 miles checking on my water and snack needs. We three were a finely tuned machine!
The continued this way until I had done 30 miles and had an ego trip going down hill! Willie was waiting at five miles but I did a "zoom zoom" and went right on by! Signaled Rusty as I passed and kept riding because the road had leveled out some but there was more descent, a tailwind and I didn't want to stop! I kept riding with such speed and decided I'd ride until Willie caught back up with me. I rode.....and rode.....and.....after fifteen miles it was pretty clear that Rusty had not seen me zoom by and was not coming to catch up with me. I stopped to txt him that I had ridden on.....no cell service.
I knew I was ok but HE DIDN"T! I knew he would worry! I had ridden to the point where the road started to climb up to a pass and he knew that I didn't want to ride the pass today so I stopped and waited for him there. My prayer was not for myself but for Rusty not to worry about me and finally figure out I was on ahead.
This was not HWY 50 with only "three shade trees" and a rare vehicle on the road but it looked pretty similar . I had zoomed past a clump of trees that would have made a good rest area but it was on the opposite side of the road and I was afraid Rusty would not see me. I stopped riding at 45 miles and parked my bike on a sign post and perched myself on a cattle guard railing waiting for Rusty and if not him, a vehicle that would get a message back to him for me. I stopped two touring cyclists from Belgium (going to San Francisco) who were heading Rusty's direction and asked them to tell him I was okay and send him my way. I waited......and waited.....and waited......the sun got hotter ....and hotter.....one reason I didn't want to ride anymore was because my knees were badly sunburned.
In the hour that I waited three vehicles passed. One heading my direction stopped and "chatted". I explained my situation and they said "Oh, we saw him stopped back at the bottom of a hill. He'll come soon" and they drove on! It would have taken then 10-15 minutes out of their way to go back up the hwy (at 70 mph) but they chose not to. The other two vehicles DID NOT STOP! We have had such wonderful experiences with "trail angels' on our other rides but they seem to be few and far between on this route....like most everything else. For me this had become THE LONELIEST HWY IN AMERICA!
I decided I needed to brave the sunburned knees and ride back! About a mile up the road I saw Willie!! I got a lump in my throat and was so grateful but I braced myself for Rusty's reaction to the situation. We stopped on opposite sides of the road and he hurried over and gave me such a wonderful embrace! He says he was so full of relief, and love, and thankfulness. He had spent the last hour going up and down the hill where we had last had contact looking in every gully or steep drops walking those areas calling my name (in case I was conscious). He had decided to search on ahead (in my direction) when the Trail Angel Belgium cyclists met him and told him "Your wife is ok and she is ten miles ahead."
It was definitely time for PB&J and an orange!
I wanted to do at least 55 miles today (my mind told me I had done enough) so we drove on to continue the ride for the day. Rusty took me up over Wah Wah Summit (wonder how it go it's name) and then to Frisco Summit. Our destination for the day was Milford about 15 miles down at the bottom of "the descent". I put that in quotes because this descent was nothing like I have ridden before....a little down hill and level and then some climb and repeat. I didn't do much "zooming" . Willie was waiting at the beginning of what I was sure was the last climb and I told him I was going to do it. Went into my granny gears for the first time today and attacked! When I barely reached the top I knew I was DONE! I could see Millford about 5 miles down the road. Willie was on ahead about 4 miles but I was dizzy, nauseated and chilled! AHAH! The "perfect storm" had come together. I made it to Willie by talking myself thru it. Rusty helped me off the bike and into the car. Poured water on my head. Sat in the air conditioned car. and Rusty insisted on an AC motel room tonight instead of the campsite we had planned on. It was 104 degrees !
My total miles for the day was 58 miles! I should get docked because of all of my bad judgment!
How many "red flags" did you find?
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