in Virginia City
at Ely Nevada
in Delta UT
Friday, August 31, 2001
stories from the first part of the trip
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| Virginia City at night | band at the Red Dog | Sugarloaf Motel in Virginia City |
view of desert from motel | |
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| Middle Gate | Rustic Inn at Ely Nevada |
rain chasing me in Delta UT |
630a in Green River | |
...well, it decided to rain all day here in PA and supposed to be nice tomorrow so I decided to just hang out, fiddle some on Triksie's carburetor (put in a bigger intermediate jet, thinking the humidity in these parts is making her run too lean while just cruising and that's the strange engine sound I've been hearing since Kansas when I finally figured out what the other strange sound was (gas tank loose); if that ain't it at least I'll have something else to think about while I'm riding!). I had planned on writing down the stories and sending the pics from before the Continental Divide when I got some time and this is the perfect opportunity. Tom and Ann took off to a concert in Pittsburgh and I had planned to leave shortly after since it looked like the weather front had passed but then it started raining again so I went out to dinner with the kids and gonna write down stories now.
After my original "outta here" message at the end of this thread it took me till almost 3p to get all packed up to be on the road for a month. Ended up just throwing things together and strapping it down and took off and got stuck in mega Friday afternoon get-the-hell-outta-town traffic. Once through that it was a great ride through the Sierras and I had planned on making some headway across Nevada before calling it a night but I missed a turn going through Carson City and ended up headed for Reno and decided Virginia City was calling me so pointed Triksie up the mountain and rolled in there around 930p or so. Found a motel then went back down to town to check out the bar I had so much fun at a couple of years ago but the lady bartender said they were closed (at 10p on a Friday night?!) so I put my tail between my legs and went to the one across the street that I also had so much fun at a couple of years ago! Great band and ended up buying a CD of theirs! Later on they gave me a tape for free since I was such a good guy? The lady bartender from across the street came over and apologized and I told her I was coming to say hi to Willie (the owner) and we got to talking and she ended up going back and getting me a bunch of match books and a town newspaper with her picture in it and a turquoise stone to carry with me for luck on my journey then gave me a big smooch! What a great way to start the trip! I like Virginia City.
Cashed it in around 1a or so and made it back to the motel and to bed. Up the next morning @ 7a and went out to get coffee and yakked with the owner and some other people there who were having a good time when I rolled in last night. Some history from the owner said the room where I was sleeping used to be a smoke house: I had wondered what the huge iron shutters were over the windows! Another story was how the town used to be divided into a Union and Confederate side during the Civil War; interesting. Of course you know that Virginia City was built on top of the largest silver deposit ever discovered (the Comstock Lode)- so big the USG decided it was better to build a freaking mint in Carson City rather than try to ship all that silver to Denver to be made into coins. Remember Bonanza? Now you're getting the picture.
Took awhile to get Triksie squared away as the parking lot was loose gravel and pretty hard to move around in my wheelchair and the sun was beating down so the owner (big burly red headed guy, probably be scared to have him around your children) got me one of the umbrellas from the tables in the pic and stood it up over me and Triksie till I got her all packed back up; lifesaver. Headed out after that into the big desert. Stopped at a place called Middlegate which is in the middle of nowhere, nothing for 50 miles in either direction. Got a beer and a salad (to go with the jerky I had been eating up till then!) and felt better after that. Two couples on motorcycles had passed me on the way out there and had stopped for a little break as well and yakked with them some: on vacation for a couple of weeks, sorta making their way to Wyoming for some good beef and stopping at just about every bar along the way. Got Triksie refueled and took off and next gas stop, there they were, at the bar! It had been looking like rain and got a little sprinkle going but nothing serious so took off again and ran the tank out and stopped for gas again and yakking with some guys coming back from Sturgis, hard asses riding 800 miles a day. All they do is stop and fill up and look around and take off. I sat there for 3 different groups going through! The last ones where headed east like me and we were kinda wondering if there were gonna be any rooms left in Ely, NV for all the riders coming back from Sturgis so I told them to save me one if they found any! It'd be a LONG ride beyond that before the next civilization, not much going out there in the desert.
Got to Ely and sure enough I saw them walking down the street and they said there was one room at the motel up the street so I quick went there but the lady said she already gave it away. Didn't look like a place I'd'a picked myself anyway and she called around a bit and found another one that had rooms so took off for that. But then those rooms all had steps to get in and I really didn't feel like hassling with that and there were 3 or 4 other places within walking distance so decided to check them out and ended up at the "Rustic Inn" - more my kinda place: $35 and some interesting owners to yak with. Appeared to be a middle aged lady and her mother and we went on for about an hour about all sorts of philosophy and life things and they felt like they were trapped in Ely, NV for the rest of their lives and I told them it's all how you look at it and to be careful what you ask for. Triksie was happy with the arrangements as she got to sleep under a tree, right in front of my room. Another hard ass rider came in after me, 800 miles straight through from Denver today, all he could think about was a drink of water, a cracker and a pillow. Guys are nuts, unlike me, of course.
Up early enough and looked to be a fine day but there ended up being a rain shower while I was doing my duty and by the time I finally took off I appeared to be heading straight into a storm. That didn't look so fun so I pulled the map out and found that I was going the wrong way anyhow, must'a got turned around in town.
Still got a little going over the next mountain range out toward Baker but it cleared up the further east I went and some other bikers heading from that direction said it was fine. One talked to me for quite awhile, reminded me of my friend Cindy's dad, same voice, same smile, same face; should'a got a picture! Both agreed that life was WAY too short to waste it not having fun. THEN the ones headed for Wyoming and stopping at every bar along the way caught up with me and ragged me out for not making it to OH yet! Pretty funny. I told them when I left that they'd NOT catch up with me again!
Outta NV and into UT and the storm that was trying to get me in NV was flanking me and closing in fast at the gas stop so I quick scarfed a sandwich, wiped off Triksie's oil leaks, filled her up and took off again. Next stop was in Delta, UT and the same thing! This time I scarfed a sandwich, wiped off the oil leaks, filled her up AND snapped a picture of the freaking storm chasing me! Ended up making it to Green River, not even a hundred miles more to CO. Had been there before, pretty neat little community on the Green River, main economy is based on camping and fishing and stuff. Thought about staying at the same motel as last time but it was a hassle for getting into the room because of a big step so found another one and all I had to do there was take the bathroom door off the hinges so I could get in.
Up early the next morning and it looked like it would be a nice day but by the time I got ready another storm was moving in so I waited through the initial shower and watched guys coming in on motorcycles from the direction I was heading and they didn't appear to be too tore up so took off and ended up riding through drizzle all the way to Grand Junction, CO. Once again I thought I had ridden ahead of the storm but it caught up with me while I was eating a burger at a fun looking place and had to quick take off outta there again. Managed to get ahead of it for awhile but it flanked me and ended up getting me soaked by the time I made it to Gunnison. Had been there before too, furthest east Triksie had ever been so gonna be all new territory for her from now on. Met a guy at the gas station who was driving around in an old pickup with no second gear, pulling all his worldly possessions behind him in a trailer. Turns out he used to own a motorcycle shop back east and had taken off to find his fortune in the west and not finding enough so thinking about turning around and going back but not so sure his slipping transmission with no second gear would be able to make it back up over the pass. Had a trick Harley in the back he showed me and we yakked about motors for awhile then he took off to see if he could make it over the pass, figuring he'd probably have to pull over multiple times to let the transmission cool down before he could coast down the other side. Made me think of the two motel ladies in Ely: it's all how you look at it.
Headed outta there and ran through some more drizzle but not too bad and passed the guy I had been talking to in Gunnison, parked along the side, waiting for the transmission to cool down so I honked and waved and kept on going. Made it to the top of the Continental Divide and you already know what's happened after that...