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Published: June 26th 2013
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This morning we are leaving Ely early and riding route 50 "The loneliest road in America" to Lake Tahoe. We decided to ride the first 70 miles to Eureka and then stop for breakfast. This had been something we had talked about doing for quite some time but had never actually followed through on. What this did was change my focus completely. Instead of thinking about the meaning of life, what was on the side of the road, or thinking of cows and trees, the only thing I was thinking about was what was for breakfast? Pancakes or waffles, easy over or poached, maybe corned beef hash. This was a tough ride. 70 miles passing one truck and seeing about 8 other vehicles. It was a scary moment when we arrived in downtown Eureka, Helli was leading and we drove completely through town before we noticed there was only one cafe that was open. Great breakfast at this 1920s style hotel/casino/bar/diner combination called the Owl Club Bar and Restaurant. The only other people that came or left were bikers. Motorcycles randomly parked around the diner looked like the old west with horses tied up. Main Street was 3 blocks long and
then it's back into the desert again.
Next stop Austin. Another 70 miles. Still no traffic. There really is nothing out here. At one point we passed a sign that read "Wildlife viewing area". My first thought was can you really see Las Vegas from here. With Helli still leading we could see a group of bikes ahead of us. I could see Helli start to accelerate so staying with her, we caught and blew past our first "gang of bikers". Take that. You'd think we were running a 10K race. No competitive spirit here!! Everything was fine up to the point we had to stop for gas at the only gas station in Austin. Before we were able to leave, guess who pulls into the gas station. Yes the same group we had passed. They pulled up beside us and took off their helmets and approached us. There were six of them and they were about 55 to 60 years old and pulling a trailer behind one of their Harleys. To me they were still a "gang". Turns out they were also on their way to Lake Tahoe and one couple was getting married there. Austin turned out
to be smaller than either Ely or Eureka. There was the gas station ,a couple of RV parks and maybe a small cafe but no real town to speak of.
It's 110 miles to the next town of Fallon with a whole lot of nothing in between. This is the route of the pony express. To see the conditions that the young riders, many of them under the age of 18, had to deal with, made me think about what a hard life they would have had. A site that made me smile to myself was many signs and sign posts had bullet holes in them. Have gun will use it!!! The other point of interest that caught my attention was a sign pointing to a naval base. There is NO water for hundreds of miles in any direction. As it turns out this is the navy's Top Gun training base for naval pilots. We stopped for a couple of breaks and parked the bikes well off the road just in case another car came along this month. We could have parked in the middle of the road.
We pulled into Fallon and found shelter in a restaurant
just as it started to rain. Another stop and another chance meeting with another motorcyclist. This fellow was heading east to do the same trip we had done. He was a little older and a little more grizzled than most we had met. He was riding a smaller Honda with no windshield and his camping gear tied to the back of his bike. Smaller bike, smaller budget, more experience and just as much enjoyment. Another reason to smile.
We rode up to Lake Tahoe in a downpour. This meant that we had a chance to park our bikes in the valet entrance and block it off while we checked into the hotel, soaking wet again. We have learned that the valet attendants don't like motorbikes because they can't touch them which means no tip. It makes it enjoyable to see how they try to deal with them. Usually they want us to move them right away. Jim Taylor if you're reading this, you taught us well, we just walk away.
So here we are in Lake Tahoe, I think we will stay for a few days. It's very nice and as I have always said "if anyone deserves
a break, we do".
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Bev & Ron
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Happy Anniversary on Thursday !
To the Two Tough Bikers. We've been enjoying your wonderful blog.Enjoy a Great ride tomorrow on your Anniversary or Maybe you should stay and celebrate #4 in Tahoe. Looking forward to seeing you soon. Love from us Both, Ron and Bev