Day 5 - Trukee, Ca to Sparks, NV - 68 miles

Hello from Nevada!

Yes, we finally crossed the first state today! The total mileage was 68 done today, and we climbed roughly 4,400 feet! In all honesty, today was the hardest day for me thus far. The first part, riding in Tahoe City, and around beautiful lake Tahoe was very calm, fairly flat, and serene. Then, all hell broke loose when I had to climb 8.2 miles up a 6% grade mountain. Everyone I spoke with all thought it was pretty tough, and went at the same fast rate as I did which was 4 - 5 mph -- though at times, I was doing 3 mph! After I went up about a mile and a half, I started to stop every 1/2 mile just to get myself to the top. The top was Mt. Rose Summit - elevation 8,991! It was one mother of a mountain I tell you! My legs literally felt as heavy as bricks when I got to the top! As others have said, it probably wouldn't have been so bad, had I not done all the climbing I did yesterday. I've been told by a few that yesterday was our hardest day of the whole trip, however, for me, today was much, MUCH harder for me than yesterday! With the summit behind me (literally), it was a refreshing break to go 38.5 miles per hour down the other side of the mountain for 16 + miles! That alone, almost made todays climb worth it!

One of the ladies with whom I ride, had a bit of a mishap. She had her jacket tied around her waist, and the sleeve got caught on the derailer, and caught in her chain and spoke! She did not fall and was not hurt, and it was quite humerous, to be two miles from the hotel, and be on the side of the highway working to help remove her jacket. She finally resorted to cutting the jacket, which still didn't help, so we ended up calling for support. Staff took the pieces of her back wheel apart to remove the remains of her jacket, and we finally made it to our destination, right before dinner.

That was my day in a nutshell! I can't believe that I have 5 days under my belt already! Tomorrow is day 6, we are riding 91 miles, so I must now call it a night! Adios!