Eureka, NV > Ely, NV
Miles Ridden – 79.5
Mileage to date – 587.6
Stop me if you have heard this story before. We got up early, ate as much as we could, and then ate some more. We got on our bikes and rode straight uphill and then down and then up…. Oh, right sorry that sounds like yesterday. Well today was a lot like yesterday except longer and more climbing.
Since we have traveled so far east, sunrise here is nearly a full 30 minutes earlier than San Francisco but we have not really taken advantage of it. We usually leave at 7 am or so.
I was a minor celebrity at breakfast because I figured out what button to push to cook a breakfast sandwich. In case you are ever at Eureka Gold Country Inn use button 6 on the microwave to cook your breakfast sandwich! Other highlights from breakfast include the couple all decked out in camo and the 2 guys dressed as cowboys. One even had spurs on! John thinks they are the real deal. I always thought cowboys camped out next to a fire instead of staying in a hotel?
John wanted to add some air to his back tire before we started and as we pulled away he realized he left his water bottles in the refrigerator! Luckily he caught that before we got too far up the road. Due to the lack of services, we carried about 13 liters of water between us and had plenty left over when we finished.
Today we ascended and descended 4 passes – Pinto(7376), Pancake(6517), Little Antelope(7438), and Robinson(7607). The scenery was very nice. It was amazing how many trees and how green it was at the higher elevations especially over the 1st two passes. The 4th Pass came at mile 61 and it was all downhill into town which was nice.
Ely (pronounced “e-lee”) is a pretty big place compared to the last 3 places that we have stayed. It has qa population of about 4300. There is still mining going on in the area(copper). Some Wikipedia fun facts about Ely–
- It was founded by a Vermont resident JW Long in 1878
- It is the birthplace of Richard Nixon’s wife Pat
Once we got into town we went to the sporting goods/hunting/bike store so John could get some new tubes. Lots of camo being worn by customers today so I am not sure if that is a thing here or if hunting season has started.
We are staying on the out skirts of town so we won’t see much more of the town.
Tomorrow should be a shorter day as we will ride down to Baker, NV(population 68). It is about 62 miles away and there should be some services about 1/2 way there. That will be our last stop in Nevada and then it will be on to Utah.
Pictures from today-
My 3rd pancake of the day –
A sign I hate to see because it means we are going uphill-
Ely
Thanks Jeff for sharing – what an experience! Most people dream of driving cross country – but to bike!! It must be breathtaking in ways! Thanks again for sharing-even after a long day!
I’m really enjoying your blog. The narrative and photos are very informative and entertaining. Enjoy your last early sunrise since, as I’m sure you know, you will lose an hour when you enter Utah and the Mountain Time Zone. Thanks for the (vicarious) ride. Is there any way you can convince your brother to maintain a blog for the remainder of the trip?
Thanks John. I am working on trying to convince him to do it. We are trying to come up with a way to make it easy for him to do.
You are in some seriously lonely country out there! Hey, we’ve been reading about a lot of flat tires. I got quite a few flats until I bought tire liners/tube protectors. Haven’t had any flats since. Just a thought.
Love the adventure. You guys rock . ( Watch out for them falling). Safe travels.