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Bill Bikes My bicycling expeditions and jaunts |
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Reno ::: Antelope Island ::: Independence Rock ::: Badlands ::: Blue Mounds
Gettysburg ::: Rappahannock ::: Katy ::: Breckenridge ::: Grand Junction
Reno, August 2018
Across the Continent, part 1: A Photographic Log
27 August 2018, 13 miles
I'm driving solo across the continent, with the Ogre in the back of the Forester. Some days I'll hop on the Ogre to ride a few miles out-and-back or in a loop. That will slow my forward progress, but enable me to explore some interesting places along the way. Here's my full itinerary.First stop, Reno.
Today did not go exactly as planned. Disaster barely averted.
My ace support crew couldn't quite bring herself to spend so much time in the car with Old Grumble-Face and the Ogre. She'll be flying to the east coast and meet me there. But she was willing to snap a photo as I departed this morning.
Welcome to Reno. One-handed iPhone shot through the windshield when I should have been paying more attention to traffic.
Note the Limebikes. I saw a lot of those in Scottsdale earlier this year. They're everywhere in Reno and Sparks.
I parked in the downtown Riverwalk district, unloaded the bike, and cruised over to the Tahoe - Pyramid Bikeway along the Truckee River.
Looking down the river on the bike and pedestrian bridge to Wingfield Park.
Downtown art. Also lots of walls painted with colorful murals, but—as we'll see—I didn't have a chance to photograph them.
The original (???) arch on Lake Street by the National Automobile Museum.
As expected, the bike path along the river hosts a plethora of semi-permanent encampments and a large population of transients.
The bike path crosses the river east of the majority of that area. Here looking back toward downtown.
Farther east, the path goes through a couple of pleasant little parks along the river.
More Limebikes. It seems like the only way to avoid seeing them was to close my eyes.
I didn't see anyone else in or on the river today, despite the warm temperature.
Cool! Recently I bicycled to the Pick-n-Pull auto junkyard north of Santa River. Near the end of the Truckee River bike path, here's another of the same chain of vehicular graveyards. Or perhaps they are automotive organ transplant donor institutions.
End of the line.
There's Interstate 80. Now I need to turn around, get back to downtown Reno, put the Ogre back in the Forester, and drive farther east.
Problem!
I picked up a goat-head (also known as puncture vine, devil thorn, etc) in my rear tire and it punctured the tube, which quickly went flat. This resulted in a long chain of events including not one but two pump failures. (I've always carried two since my Road Morph crapped out in the middle of nowhere on the C&O in 2011.) That ultimately meant I was stranded with a flat tire and two spare tubes, but no way to inflate them. There was minimal traffic on the bike path. While I spent two hours wrestling with failed attempts to get going again, I only saw two riders to flag down, and neither had a pump.
It was still five or six miles back to the Forester, a bit far for hike-a-bike. Google maps showed no bike shops or useful stores nearby.
I finally decided to drag the Ogre over to the nearby street and stick my thumb out. I stood on the shoulder near a traffic signal and within thirty seconds a young guy in a battered pickup stopped at the light. I motioned to him and he rolled down the window. I offered him twenty bucks to drive me and the bike back to downtown Reno where the Forester was parked. "No problem," he responded. I threw the Ogre in the back and off we went. A few minutes later he dropped me off right where I wanted to be, and he refused to accept any money. Road angel in the right place at the right time.
Disaster averted.
Summary
Date: 27 August 2018
Time: 1:00 - 4:00
Weather: 80 - 85° F, sunny
Route: Truckee River Bike Path to Sparks and part way back to Reno
Distance: 13 miles
Bike: Surly Ogre
Riders: Solo
Comments? Questions? Suggestions? I'd like to hear from you.
Reno ::: Antelope Island ::: Independence Rock ::: Badlands ::: Blue Mounds
Gettysburg ::: Rappahannock ::: Katy ::: Breckenridge ::: Grand Junction
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