Look mom, I made the paper!!!

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Day 8 - Austin, NV - Eureka, NV
Total Miles: 72 (530.6mi to date)

In Nevada you pretty much plan your days based on the
proximity of the next town. 72 miles to Eureka, no
water in between, 79 miles to the town after that, no
water in between, looks like we have our trip planned
out for us. We decided to take half of a rest day
today to reconfigure some logistics. We “slept in”
(till 6:45) and had breakfast at the same café
(another load from our wallets). We then sat down in
the park to repack and seriously think about ditching
the Bob trailer. The trailer is great for everything
but climbing (which we’ve been and will be doing a lot
of), and it’s bad enough for climbing that an
alternative needs to be considered. Arthur and I
discovered that if we shipped a few more items home,
we could fit all of our things into 4 panniers -
Arthur could give me two of his panniers, thus
lightening his load, and I could ditch the trailer,
helping my climbing and the well-being of my tired
knees significantly. Coincidentally, in the small
town of Austin, NV, a reality adventure TV series
(“Nevada Passage”) was being filmed that day. Couples
from different professions (many triathlon athletes)
were competing in a running/ mountain biking race. We
enjoyed the company of all the contestants (Arthur and
Tris found someone with clippers and shaved their
heads … man, I could go for a haircut), relaxed and
listened to the music playing for the event and
cheered the contestants on (us and the Austin high
school student body (~ 9 kids) were the only
spectators. I was really lucky to find an owner of a
bike shop who was willing to help me out with the Bob.
The local newspaper was interested in our adventure
and decided to do a story on us - hopefully the
reporter will be sending copies of the finished story
our way.
By 1 o’clock we hit the road, Arthur and I with our
new svelte set-ups. We flew up the remaining
switchbacks out of Austin. Oh how good it feels not
to have that trailer pulling you downhill as you
climb. For this adventure, I think panniers are the
way to go. It feels so good not to be lagging behind
anymore. We cruised up the remaining 2 passes for the
day and were able to make it all the way to Eureka (72
miles aint bad for a day that starts so late … we were
very proud). We passed tons of baby cows (Laurel)
playing in fields - I think Nevada cows are the
happiest - lush green grass, beautiful canyons and
even some ponds here and there. The wind was with us
and the glow on the landscape was beautiful. Eureka is
my favorite town in Nevada. It’s such an adorable gem
in the middle of nowhere (you have to ignore the
mining pits near by). We enjoyed authentic Chinese
food and ice cream - mmm, what a day!

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