Day 13, Sun 9/20: Ely to Baker, A Good Day and an Angel

It was a good day today. We got on the road before 7 am and enjoyed the beautiful early morning light, with scattered clouds. We passed a pretty little lake full of ducks, and lots of historic markers telling about the old mining towns.
Only two passes today, a fairly gentle slope up Connors Pass with one of those incredible long, fast downhills with no traffic, and smooth pavement.


We stopped at Major's Place, one of those old establishments long in need of cleaning, dollar bills covering the walls and ceiling, a surly bartender, and this Basque sheepherders' wagon as yard art.

















Sorry about the underline, a mystery.

Then we had a longer and steeper climb up to Sacramento Pass, a 6% grade, followed by another joyous downhill all the way into Baker. It was a 63 mile day. After a snack, heading to the campground, one of Kit's spokes popped out of the wheel. That put a damper on our spirits as we realized she would have to drive 170 miles to Cedar City for the possibility of repair. We carry extra spokes to at least have the parts available for a professional to install. We dumped some of our gear to save our place at the campground, and hopped in the car with Bill for the 12 mile scenic drive up towards Nevada's Mount Wheeler. The aspens were glorious. We were impressed by huge old knarled mountain mahogany shrubs, as big as big pinons. We were too tired to walk the 2.8 mile loop to see the bristlecone grove, but Bill decided he would do it in the morning.

















Upon returning to camp, we met three cyclists who were doing an entire coast to coast trip. One, Brian, was very competant bike mechanic. He was our angel. With his experience, and the leatherman tool that Chris insists Martha carry, he was able to fix the spoke. Hurray! We will have to stop at a bike shop in Cedar City for a checkup, but at least we can get on the road in the morning. What luck. That great fortune, a shower, and good grilled dinner lifted our spirits, and gave us the optimism to tackle the tomorrow's ride, 84 miles with 3 passes. A quiet campground and beautiful starry night topped off the day. It was a good day today.





Kit and Bill admire the mahogany in Great Basin National Park, Mt Wheeler scenic drive.







Bike Angel, Brian, working on Kit's spoke, below.