October 6: Susanville, California to Reno, Nevada
We made it! About noon today, we crossed the border into Nevada, the forty-eighth and final state visited on The Dream Tour.
The first 45 miles of today’s ride were on busy Highway 395. Its shoulder was inconsistent — nice and wide in some places and barely useable in others — so I was glad to get off of it and onto a local road called Red Rock Road. Yesterday I called a local bicycle shop in Reno and they told me about it. It was about as nice a way to get into Reno as you could hope for. It was quiet, well-maintained, and very scenic.
Red Rock Road also was the road that took me across the border into Nevada. Crossing the border into Nevada was a big milestone for The Dream Tour so I decided I better document it with some video (below).
At the north end of Reno, Red Rock Road connected me with Virginia Street. If you’re familiar with Reno, you’ll know that Virginia Street is basically Main Street in Reno. I took Virginia Street right through downtown Reno. It was kind of fun for a while, but then I decided to take a jog to the west and get on another road headed south. This one had a bicycle lane. I worked my way all the way to the south end of Reno in this manner. We’re staying the night at the south end of Reno and tomorrow, we’ll head for Virginia City and then connect with Highway 50 for the remainder of our trek across the state of Nevada. In 1986, a story about Highway 50 in Life magazine described it as the “lonliest road in America”. I can’t wait to see it!
| Total distance: | 98.52 miles |
|---|---|
| Time: | 7:39:11 |
| Average speed: | 12.9 mph |
| Maximum speed: | 38.5 mph |
| Total calories: | 6840 |
| Average heart rate: | 116 bpm |
| Maximum heart rate: | 157 bpm |
| Total ascent: | 4033 feet |
| Total descent: | 3721 feet |
| Ride profile: |  (click on image to view a larger version) |
| Ride comments: Finally! A day with a tailwind. It wasn’t much in the early morning, but it picked up as the day wore on. Cool temperatures at the morning, but it warmed up nicely (highs in the mid-60’s). I had a flat about two and a half miles outside of Susanville. That’s my twelfth flat on The Dream Tour. At about noon today, I crossed the border into Nevada. Nevada is the forty-eighth and final state to be visited on The Dream Tour. |
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October 7th, 2006 at 6:25 am
Congragulations Pete & Pat!!!! I can’t tell you how proud I am to be associated with you guys. I’m so impressed with this trip & your efforts to educate people about diabetes.
October 7th, 2006 at 7:37 am
Congrats! On a job well done!!!!
October 7th, 2006 at 12:29 pm
Hi Pete,
Congratulations on completing the Bayer Dream Tour.
Were those snakes on the Red Rock Road carrying rattles on their back end? They look kinda big.
I think I mentioned that the photos taken with your Casio Digital camera are so sharp and clear. I asked one time about the settings and I saw that when you are looking at the pics you can click on properties of a photo and it lists everything you could possibly want to know about the photo. Someday after you’ve had a chance to put together a photo album of your bicycle Dream Tour on a DVD let us know.
I guess you can really smell the finish line now. Do you have a specific date that you have to be home by? Take care, be safe, and stay well
Florian
October 7th, 2006 at 12:42 pm
Congratulations! Applause! and many rich Hurrahs! Well done. You’ve certainly inspired me, and I imagine many, many others.
I haven’t seen the invitation for the event yet. Hope to see you soon, perhaps ride a day or so with you.
John
October 7th, 2006 at 2:35 pm
Congratulations! What a journey this has been and I’m so glad we get to share it with you daily. How’s it feel on the home stretch?