Hopkins 4K for Cancer

July 22, 2002

Day 51 (60 miles) Rachel, NV to Warm Spr
Another day in the absolute middle of nowhere! When we left Rachel, we left the only people we would see all day. But the 60 miles we did today were some of the most beautiful we’ve done yet, in my opinion. The roads we rode on are like the ones you see in posters, where they aim perfectly straight and flat for 30 miles eventually running into the horizon in the distance and disappear.

Most of the group left at the crack of dawn so as to finish biking before the hottest part of the day. Smart idea considering we’re in the desert. But a few hardcores like myself left at 11 am, just as the sun was getting ready to fry a few eggs on the pavement. What’s the use of biking 60 miles if you don’t do it in 100+ degree whether, anyways? Once Jenn, Kelly, Leah and I made it to the lunch stop we found out that the vultures ahead of us had eaten nearly everything that was edible in the van. Word was that Travis even took a few gnaws into the steering wheel…that savage. Jenn and I made due by scrounging together all that was left and diving into a couple of fig newton tortillas topped with salsa. They were surprisingly quite delicious. And although we didn’t actually spot any, we heard rumors of a clan of naked bikers somewhere along our route.

The wind was not a factor the entire day. That is until the last ten miles when the road turned directly into it. It seemed like it took us two hours to finish this final stretch, and I’m sure I saw a few turtles pass me on the outside. You bike three fourths of the country and you think you can take a little wind, but it just ain’t so.

Warm Springs is actually one abandoned building at the intersection of two roads. Yet it does have a couple of really nice trees for shade and, best of all, its own natural hot spring. We all immediately soaked our feet in the spring and many of us took baths in it later on…definitely a great way to end a day of biking. After Thayer and company cooked us a pasta dinner, some hiked up a mountain to see the sunset while the rest of us just hung out and vegetated. After several mean ladies kicked us out of a swimming pool fed by the hot spring, we finally found some people nice enough to let us swim. Under the night sky we all jumped in and relaxed in the best hot tub we had seen all summer.

We fell asleep together under the stars. It’s one of the first nights none of us used tents. It was definitely a great way to fall asleep.

- Ryan Hanley