When we left Fallon we rolled into Reno, NV for our next build day. We first rolled into someone's mansion where we got to have a little pool party & BBQ. We spent about 5 hours just lounging around. We then went and stayed at the house of a great guy named Steve. He opened his entire house to us. It wasn't a big house but enough for half the group to sleep inside and for the other half to pitch tents outside. I slept outside in a tent with Dennis.

On the build site Jenny, Dan Coop, and I worked on "crafts" as we like to call it. First Dan and I painted the trellis of a house a nice shade of purple. We managed to paint that in about an hour. We were ready to go inside because it was cold and windy in Reno that day. When we did finally go inside we painted some boards that would serve as address signs. We had a good time doing that because we stayed warm and out of the wind.

The next morning we rode our bikes to South Lake Tahoe. This was a great ride. I was riding to my home state. We rode through Carson City and took Hwy 50 up Spooner Pass into Tahoe. The climb was about 10 miles long but beautiful. And when I finally crested the top and started on the way down the other side, the view of the lake was spectacular. I was so glad I was home. The next day was a day off. Sean, Dennis, and I met my parents and we all drove around the lake. Cool part about doing this was that we got to see the better "Welcome to California" sign. I'm sorry but the California sign at Stateline is kinda sad. We stopped in a story that made beautiful wooden boats and we went on a little hike near Emerald Bay. After all this we ate dinner at the Beacon and watched people "dance". It was very funny watching these people attempt to dance with a drink in their hand. Anyway....

We then rode Hwy 50 out of Tahoe and started for Auburn. I was able to plan this cue sheet for everyone. We rode through downtown Placerville where I got to stop into my sister's work. It was her birthday so most of my family was there with her to celebrate her birthday with her. Sean, Dennis, and Dan M. were able to stick around and they LOVED the appetizer Quesadilla they make. We then trekked down Cold Springs Rd into Coloma where we got to meet a B&B Alumni for lunch. After eating there I sped off to Auburn. Going down the canyon was fun but going back up... not so much. I wish it was required for road crews to give a 3 foot shoulder. Some people got a little close but I finally made it to the top. We rolled in and had a great pot luck dinner provided.

Then we set out for Davis. I also planned this route which everyone loved. We took Folsom-Auburn Rd down to the new bridge where we got to ride the American River Bike Trail all the way into Sacramento. Everyone loved it because this was about 30 miles of bike trail. My friend Dave G., B&B Alumni from last year, in Sacramento. He rode with us into Davis where we got to stay about 2 block away from my favorite burger joint. We were greeted with water balloon grenades from the B&B SC2SC route that was also staying in Davis that day. We had a little competition between the routes and a mock wedding. I don't know how the idea came around but it was pretty funny. Afterward Dave and I went down to Burgers & Brew for a drink and some food. It was great being able to see him again.

We then rode into Santa Rosa. We started through some more rolling hills and dry lands. I got to ride with one of the program directors, Kristian. We got to see some hot air balloons, one of witch landed right in the middle of a field for some reason. It was kinda funny to watch. We then hit a hill that was about 4 miles long with a 12% incline. Not the funnest hill I have been on but I climbed it. I got to the top with Kristian standing there cheering me on. It was great. We then had some amazing downhills. I found out that Kristian does not believe in breaks, or so it seemed that way. I was going down a hill with him in front of me. We would take one turn and by the time I saw the next one, he was gone. Talk about a speed demon. We stayed at a church that was build into an old barn and they cooked us pork Loin. IT WAS SO GOOD! I walked down to the Safeway to use their Internet for about 4 hours. I needed this to finish part of my video.

The next morning we went to San Rafael. This was the hottest day in California. I rode with Dan Coop, Carlie, and Carina. We rolled through a lot of rolling hills but still had a great time. This was only a 50 mile day and I got to our host after 5 hours. We decided to take out time and we were still the first group in. The church we stayed at had a guitar group that played for us and cooked us a great chicken and pork dinner. The church was located on the north side of the bay and overlooked it from it's balcony. We had a great time there.

I am going to share more about our final day in my next blog that I will work on this week. Thank you again for everyone's support.

UTAH & most of NEVADA

So far it's been an amazing week. I was going to update once I got to Nevada but towns with populations of 500 don't get internet all too well.

I last left with word of our friend Miranda. She broke her collar bone in 4 places. She flew back home to New York and had surgery to put a plate in/on/around the bone. I don't know what it was but I do know that she is doing a lot better. In-fact, we will be picking her up in Reno tomorrow or the next day and she will be riding in the SAG van. She then plans to ride across the Golden Gate with us. She is having an amazing recovery and we are all excited that she is coming back. She did leave us with a friend that we have all been carrying around. His name, "No Flats".

We had another build day in Moab. We build with an organization that builds adobe houses. We learned more about the project and helped rebuild a wall with adobe. It was a cool way to actually see what it was like to build with natural earth materials. It was also a little messy. There was mud everywhere. Afterward I went to the hospital with Dennis to hang out with Miranda before she left for New York.

The next morning we rode to Green River. A very small community that was slowly dwindling because a freeway was built to by-pass the town. They are slowly starting to grow again. We met some very nice people that gave us free access to their candy stash. Yumm... It was also a 57 mile day so the majority of us got in before 11:30 in the morning.

We then had a 92 mile ride to Capital Reef National Park where we got to camp. There was an amazing sunrise that morning. There really wasn't anything that exciting to the ride. The terrain was flat and full of little bushes. I think you will find most of Utah like this.
From Capital Reef we rode 80 miles to Otter Creek State Park. This was a little harder because the first 40 miles where nothing but uphill. Not so much fun to stat at 6 in the morn. The downhill was nice for the first half but the on the second half we had a really nice headwind. It took us a little while to get there. This was our second day of camping but this host had some of the coolest camp showers ever. AND THEY WERE WARM!!!!

On the 31st I actually got really sick. I think it was from the dinner the previous night. But I rode the van for about half the day. Lets just say that having dinner and breakfast come up in the first mile of the ride isn't a good thing. I rode in the van till mile 70. From there I got to ride the last 30 miles with a group into Milford where we got to stay in a hotel. It was nice because it was only Sean and I in a room. All the other rooms basically had 4 people to them.

The next day we rode into Baker, NEVADA!!!! This was also a small town. There was one guy who owned a restaurant, hotel, and the only gas station. He was really nice and gave us a ton of bread for lunch the next morning. There was also a sweet lady that made us the best meatloaf I have ever had. I wish I had the recipe. We stayed in the gym of an old elementary school.

From Baker we went to Ely, to Eureka, to Austin. These towns were all basically the same. To me they were just some random town in the middle of nowhere. They all had populations of less than 5000. They are old mining towns from the 19 & 20th centuries that have sense been abandoned. They were all great hosts and were really happy we got to stay in the towns. Through this we have found that Nevada is not flat. There are mountains then valleys. We were told that we would overall be going over 12 mountain passes while on highway 50.

Today we rode 110 miles into Fallon. It was a nice ride that took about 8 hours to do. We are staying at the Methodist Church where we get to sleep in the dining hall. The church cooked us a great BBQ dinner. It was so good; especially sense we have had cold pasta and PP&J for the past week. Tomorrow we ride into Reno where we have our final build day.

I will be riding through Downtown Placerville on Sunday. I just might see some of you there at the Craft Fair. You should also go to Tortilla Flats for Lunch. My sis is working there and it's her birthday, so stop by and say hi. I will be there...