October 14: Ely to Baker, Nevada
I knew it would happen. I raved about the great weather in yesterday’s entry on the web site and today, the weather changed. It was colder and cloudy and it looked like it might rain as I left Ely this morning.
By mid-morning though, I could see that the sun was trying to come out. By the time I was making my way up Connors Pass (7722 feet), I could see my shadow, but just barely.
I stopped about a mile from the top of Connors Pass to take a rest and a photo of the scenery. As I was doing this, a young couple came walking down the mountain. I figured they were on their way to a nearby trailhead. As they passed, I said good morning. They returned the greeting and the woman said that my wife was just around the corner. She added a congratulations for being so close to finishing my tour of the 48 contiguous states.
I replied, “I guess she must have told you about The Dream Tour.”
She said “No. We asked.” I guess that makes sense because how often do you see a minivan like the BayerMobile?
I noticed that they had backpacks on. The backpacks were much bigger than you would need for a day hike. I asked them where they were headed. They said San Francisco. That got my attention. I asked them where they started. They said they started in April in Delaware! Wow! What an adventure!
I rode the rest of the way to the summit of Conner Pass. At the summit, I found Pat and the two touring cyclists, Bill and Art. We got to talking about Chicago, probably because Pat is originally from Chicago and Art is planning a trip to the Chicago area soon to visit family. I mentioned to Art that when he’s in the Chicago area, he should stop by Turin Bicycle in Evanston and say hi to my friend Chris Mailing. Bill chimes in “I know Chris Mailing!”
Bill shared some details about Chris Mailing that convinced me that he and I knew the same Chris Mailing. As it turns out, Bill and Chris knew each other from years ago when Chris lived in New York City. They saw each other not too long ago at a bicycle trade show of some kind. It truly is a small world!
We’re staying in Baker, Nevada tonight. We’ll be here Sunday night too, making tomorrow that very last rest day on The Dream Tour.
Tomorrow afternoon, my friend Paul and his wife, Christine, are driving down from Salt Lake to meet us in Baker, Nevada. Paul, a very strong cyclist, and I will do a long 100-mile ride to Delta, Utah on Monday. You might remember Paul. He’s the guy I wrote about back on September 10. He had finished in third place in his age group in the annual Logan to Jackson Classic, a 206-mile, one-day bicycle race from Logan, Utah to Jackson, Wyoming.
It’s so nice of Paul and Christine to come down. They’ll be the first Salt Lake City friends that we have seen since we left town back in March. Also, it will be a great help to me to have Paul along on this long ride on Monday. I’m sure I could do the ride alone, but it will be so much harder alone and it will be so much more fun having someone along.
| Total distance: | 62.61 miles |
|---|---|
| Time: | 4:53:55 |
| Average speed: | 12.8 mph |
| Maximum speed: | 32.6 mph |
| Total calories: | 3585 |
| Average heart rate: | 112 bpm |
| Maximum heart rate: | 152 bpm |
| Total ascent: | 3179 feet |
| Total descent: | 4264 feet |
| Ride profile: |  (click on image to view a larger version) |
| Ride comments: Two big climbs today, Connors Pass (7722 feet) and Sacramento Pass (7154 feet). Cold and cloudy in the morning, but there was some sun by mid-day to warm things up a bit. |
|