Today started out pretty cold - 33 degrees or so (1C), but what we didn't know is that it would get colder before it got warmer! This is what my seat looked like when we got up in the morning.
That was going to make a cold butt right off the bat. Leaving Lee Vining heading toward Nevada went through much higher elevations than I had expected... and it was much colder than I expected! At one point before leaving California, the temp dropped to 28 degrees (-2C) There was also a sign leaving Lee Vining that said "Next Gas - 161 Miles". The KTM low fuel light is pretty consistent at coming on around 200 miles - we should be good... unless there are strong winds, not uncommon in this part of the country!
Just before you get out of California, there is a stretch of CA-120 dubbed "The Roller Coaster Road" and that it was... really smooth whoop-de-doos that make your stomach jump up into your throat. There was one that just after John crested the hill he completely disappeared! That was a really fun section of road!
The first state line crossing of the day came a few hours into the ride - I have been to Nevada lots of times, but this was the first time coming in this far north.
Western Nevada has quite a few mountains, but very soon we dropped out of the mountains and into what you would normally think of Nevada looking like. Most of the day looked like this. Sometimes there was another motorcycle in front of me, other times not.
There isn't a whole lot of traffic on this road, but all of a sudden there was a pack of about 25 vehicles, all bunched together going the other way. I thought that to be very odd, until a few miles later we came upon road construction that was one way staggered traffic. Delays up to 30 minutes the sign said.
Enough time to get off the bikes, stretch, take photos, stand around, etc. I think we only waited about 15 minutes at this spot. After this it was not long before we reached Tonopah (click for more) and stopped for fuel - we made it!
Tonopah is an odd little town. Originally a mining town, it now seems to be a stopover point to get gas and maybe stay the night. Maybe this would be a good choice?
After leaving Tonopah, we turned on to NV-375... Also known as "The Extraterrestrial Highway" (click for more)
We may or may not have left a mark on the sign... as well as a few other places along the way. If you know, you know!
The next stop would be the Little Ale'e'inn (click for more) in Rachel, NV.
Postcards and stickers were purchased, and we were again on our way. Further down the road we hit another construction delay - not quite as long, but long enough to take some road construction zone selfies!
There wasn't much else before we crossed into Utah.
Look close, we got that one too!
Another 80 or so miles to Cedar City. We checked into the hotel and found a great local wood fired pizza place for dinner.
Not the most exiting riding day, but still a good day
Today's miles - 433
Total miles - 4,560
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