I was greatly relieved to wake up Saturday morning to a sunny, windless day. I had been eating alot of eggs and decided that I would have oatmeal this morning. I went down the street to Heidi's but they didn't have oatmeal on the menu that I could find. Instead, I had a 4-egg omelet. I returned, changed clothes, stretched, and finished packing up. I was out the door before 10am.
I knew that riding on 395, as directed by the Western Express map was dangerous. But, since I had a Carson City map, I tried to find a parallel street that I could ride on past where Highway 50 joins 395, which is where the bike lane disappears. I did find the street I was looking for but it soon headed uphill. Instead, I rode on the sidewalk next to 395 until there was enough shoulder for me to feel safe.
Since it was a weekend, I saw several cyclists out for some local rides. It was nice to have some company in the bike lanes! I retracted my route, turning right on Jacks Valley road and was again riding past a high desert landscape.
When I got to Genoa, I didn't feel like a cheese sandwich but wanted to eat something so I opted for an ice cream cone, instead. When I crossed the California state line on the way there, I hadn't take a picture. I figured I would get one on the way back. There is no sign there, but it appears obvious where the line actually is.
Aside from no wind, one difference I noticed from my previous visit to this area two days earlier was the constant scent of wild sage. It was in bloom all over the hillsides I was passing. It is the yellow flowers in this picture, which was taken on the uphill ride to Woodfords.
There is about 800 feet of gain from Carson City to Woodfords; very little of it steep. Much of the gain comes after the California state line. This picture shows the road snaking ahead. Eventually, the route heads between the two sets of bumps in the picture, which is were Woodfords is.
When I got to Woodfords, I was surprised to see a street fair going on. Since Woodfords only has one street, it was quite a display. For the most part, it was booths selling random goods, like a real small swap meet. Some booths were sampling chili and there was some kind of contest to see who made the best chili. There was a stage that seemed to have an open mike that anyone would use. When I arrived, there were three young girls reciting nursery riymes. A short time later, four locals started playing old rock and roll standards loudly, if not very well.
I decided to eat another one of the good vegetable sandwiches I had had earlier. The same dour waitress was there exuding the same negative vibes. This time, I sat at one of the tables to try and get outside her range.
It was about 2:30 when I finished eating and I felt pretty good. My plan called for me to overnight in Woodfords. But, it was early enough and there was no wind so I thought it might try to get over the pass that day. However, this meant sleeping at Kirkwood and I wasn't really anxious to test their night clerk system again. I tried to call them and after being on hold for 5 mintues on three separate occasions, I waited long enough to get a real person on the phone. The woman I talked with said that had rooms and that all I had to do was called the night clerk's phone number when I arrived. I told of my earlier experience and my reluctance to trust them and asked that they put a key out for me that I would pay for in the morning. She wouldn't do that and assured me that my earlier experience was a fluke.
After that conversation, I decided that Kirkwood could kiss my ass and decided to stay at Woodfords. The Woodfords Inn is about 400 yards off-route down Highway 4/89. The manager was very nice and the charge was only $75 (versus $120 at Kirkwood!). The place had a hot tub but it was too hot to sit in. Instead, I took a short nap and then went and got two videos to watch. I had never seen Zardoz and watched most of it until I simply lost interest.
I had purchased two packages of pre-cooked beans and rice that only needed to be microwaved in the pouch. I used the
microwave in the lobby and ate one for dinner. It wasn't bad, considering, and after eating, I was soon asleep.
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Description of Day 7 ride