Well, today was a big day. Let’s start from the beginning. I woke up early, freezing (I probably should have setup my tent instead of sleeping on the picnic table). I saw a coyote about 50 yards away walking by. I got all packed up and was gone by 7 or 730. The first part of my ride leaving the lake was good, fast and smooth roads. But then, the dreaded turn off to rocky two track. That was early morning, and things never really improved. I notice the whole morning that there is a thick haze in the air, and it’s not for a while that I remember my mom told me there were wildfires burning in Nevada, so I figure that’s what’s causing this. I made it to McDermitt, NV after lunch time for lunch. I found the only place in town with food, the Say When Casino and Café. It was a kind of hilarious place, built for Oregonians with gambling habits I guess. After I wolf down an omelet, I get back on the road. The trail actually takes me up into Oregon then back into Nevada. I’m going over smaller mountains, but the roads are terrible. Either really rocky, or curvy, or sandy. Regardless, I’m not making very good time and burning up. I finally make it to Denio, NV behind schedule. As predicted, there is no gas in town, but I’ve packed extra. The whole time I’d been riding to Denio, I’d been stewing about my general situation. The trail, as always, was wandering all over the place instead of taking a fairly straight path between cities in its quest to find dirt roads. However, the roads here as mentioned were especially bad. In Colorado, I wasn’t too upset about this because the scenery was so nice, but here it was not quite as good and the road was worse. I was also thinking about my schedule, needing to be back in Texas fairly soon for some work stuff, and how I was going to get myself and my bike there. Long story short, by the time I reached Denio, NV, I had decided I was done with the Trans America Trail as far as “GPSKevin” defined it. Per his route, I still had several hundred miles left to go, easily 5 more days assuming I didn’t have any problems, but likely more. Plus, the further I went toward my final destination in Port Orford, OR, the further I was going from where I ultimately needed to be in Texas. I decided with the time I had left, I’d have a better time riding down the coast of California, something I’d always wanted to do. I’d still hit the Pacific Ocean, so I think I can say I’ve done the ‘trans-america’ part. And, the “Trans American Trail” isn’t some formal designation. In fact, as mentioned in my first post, there are actually two: one made by some guy named Sam at http://www.transamtrail.com/, and the GPSKevin one at https://sites.google.com/site/gpskevin/adventurerides/trans-america-trail. They aren’t the same, but since Sam sells his maps and I didn’t buy them, I can’t see where they are different. I do know that Sam’s trail starts in Tennessee, while Kevin’s starts in North Carolina (and that’s where I started). So, I’ve probably ridden as far as Sam’s TAT already since I started further east. Regardless, the deed is done, and I’ve decided to head south instead of north. I got some intel from a lady working at the tiny post office in Denio, then head out on an alternate route to Cedarville, CA, thinking that I’ll never make it before nightfall going on the trail. The route I took was mostly gravel roads, but well maintained so I could go fast versus the trail route which was nearby but much more off-road. I finally do make it there at dusk, grab some dinner at a diner, then throw up my tent at the Sunrise Motel and RV Park.
