Hopkins 4K for Cancer

July 19, 2006

Las Vegas, NV
Side of the Road, NV to Excalibur Hotel, Las Vegas

143.8 miles

Our longest day of the trip. Talked about and hyped up since day one. Throughout the trip, rumor had it that only those up to the challenge, those who were most capable, would be meeting this challenge. Originally 155 miles. Curious, we mapped out the elevation profile on my computer and found that, besides an 11 mile gradual climb initially out of Caliente, the route would involve a descent of nearly a vertical mile into Vegas. To distribute the mileage a little better, we had decided to attack the 11 mile climb the night before, leading us to this dusty pull-off on the side of the road in the middle of the desert, sleeping under the stars.

We got started about a half hour after sunrise. We had very little breakfast that morning, eating from and sharing our own personal stashes. We then broke into predetermined ‘Vegas’ groups, that is, groups of 4 to 5 riders of varying abilities. This way, groups would travel at similar speeds, making it easier for support to reach them. Also, we had found from prior experience that less experienced riders actually rode much faster when put with more experienced riders. Everyone would ride today, especially after we had all proven ourselves as a group during the 100-mile Boulder challenge. With the terrain the way it was, today was not about strength, for indeed there were no climbs. Today was all about endurance, and for all of us, we’d be enduring more mileage than ever before.

In the Nevada desert, the terrain is very monotonous. You could be in a single valley staring at the next pass for 40 miles before you would see anything else. It’s like you are a smaller than normal. Through the whole 143 miles, I remember every turn and piece of scenery we passed, simply because there was so little of it overall. This was actually advantageous, since actually getting anywhere took more time, but mentally seemed like less effort.

Dave and I continued to ride with Olivia today, and continued to be surprised by her strength. She was riding for her father on this day, who was undergoing testing for the presence of cancer in his body. All was uncertain. We flew through Alamo at mile 40, the only civilization between Caliente and Las Vegas. Upon leaving we saw the ominous sign “next gas, 97 miles”, indicating the COMPLETE lack of civilization until Vegas. We passed by a lake (in the desert!) with campsites available. A mental note was made to come back and visit. Then, a miracle occurred: it started to pour on us. Lightning and thunder too. Then the strange smell. Do you know that smell that you sense when you are on a road on a hot day, when it just begins to rain? For some reason, it was extremely pungent in the desert.

The rain cleared and we moved into a valley where the road and the power lines next to it expanded straight into the horizon as far as we could see. Two water stops later we hit a small pass that we had been looking at since the valley. The pass descended into one more valley and then finally turned left towards highway 15, which we saw from miles away. At this point, people started getting tired and slowing down, the day started to heat up, and the water stops got closer together to compensate. One had no choice but to keep moving; there was literally nothing. No shade or civilization. Nothing to push you either, just the next turn miles up the road. But now, we moved towards the highway, an actual form of civilization, and the mere sight of it pushed us along. We turned onto a frontage road along the highway, and passed by some very dusty sections of road where we could see humongous industrial buildings, probably a power plant. Thunderclouds were closing in all around us. Finally, we came over the top of a hill, where we could see Vegas sitting there, still looking quite small, an island in the middle of the vast desert. Here Olivia got good news: her father was cancer free. Relieved, she descended with us towards the outskirts of the city.

Vegas turned out to be much larger than the island we had seen before our descent. It took us a long time to get through the suburbs, especially now with traffic lights at every block. We caught up with Jess, Ken, Ersin, and Eric, and rode with them as we approached the strip. Finally we found ourselves cycling down the strip in extreme traffic, gigantic casinos on each side of us. Our hotel, the Excalibur was almost all the way on the other side of the strip.

We all made it to the hotel within an hour of each other, exhausted. Soon we were each in our hotel rooms, thanks to the generosity of our Hopkins alumnus working at the Nevada Cancer Institute. Thus, through 144 miles, we had gone from sandy roadside sleeping bags to queen size beds. Some of us had the energy to hit the town that night. Others just slept, content to enjoy the lights and the scenery the next day after a good, long, 12 hour rest.

-Ryan t