Team Blog

Austin, NV to Reno, NV

We all met 7:30, ahem, ok, 8, and went a few blocks up the hill for breakfast at Elizabeth Rassiga’s home/museum where we were served breakfast by the beautiful ladies of Beta Sigma Phi- Beta Epsilon Chapter. It was an amazing home cooked meal, something we are all longing for,  and the house was just amazing (Thank you so much ladies!).

The beautiful ladies of Beta Sigma Phi-Beta Epsilon Chapter( from left to right) Lynda Seymour, Joe Robinson, Elizabeth Rassiga, Sharon Tremayne, and Roberta Winrod

We had so much fun riding with our friends the last few days , but alas, we needed to say goodbye to Anne and Bill Otteman who had been riding with us in their 1912 Regal since Lehi, UT.  Although Bill and Anne’s journey on the road began in Lehi, they have been working with the drive for a year plus and we can’t thank them enough for the amount of work they put into our route directions.  Bill, we know you were weary about handing them over without driving them, but LOOK!!!…..we are 20 miles from the finish and we have taken very few wrong turns.  Thank you for everything, especially talking to us about not braking on hills and throwing the car into neutral!!!  SO MUCH FUN.  

As we sat at the overlook taking pictures before we left, we realized that Sally, (who Tim and Barb refer to as their resident floozy because she rides in a different car everyday) did not have plans for the day.  We shang-hi’d Sally, motioned to the Spyker, Lil and Don, and we were on our way.  Lil and Don met up with us in Delta, UT.  Their hope was to have their Maxwell up and running for the whole drive, and it was, but they were breaking in a new engine so they decided to baby it and not drive it up and over all of the passes.  They were a great team switching off who was riding/driving.  We were lucky to share Don’s 76th birthday with him in his 1911 Maxwell   

Don Ritchey in his 1911 Maxwell, on the loneliest highway in America on his 76th birthday!

We had 170 miles to go and 140 and almost the entire  route was on route 50.  Once again the scenery was amazing!  We started out climbing right away and headed up and over both the New Pass at 6,348 feet and Mt. Airy at 6,700 feet.  When we approached Middlegate about 50 miles east of Fallon, NV,  we were excited to look for something our cycling friends had told us about.  The shoe tree.  The story behind the tree goes as such: A young couple camped there on their wedding night and got into a tiff. The woman said she was gonna walk away and the man said, “If you do, you’ll have to walk barefoot,” and threw her shoes in the tree. Then, the man got in the car and drove to Middlegate to have a drink at the bar. The bartender talked him into going back to his wife, which he did. A year later, they brought their first child’s shoes to the tree and tossed them into the branches. Since then, people have been adding and removing shoes from the tree.

Babbs and Sally in front of the Shoe Tree, Middlegate, NV

After our stop at the shoe tree Lil Ritchey joined us in the Maxwell.   

Sally and Lil sitting pretty in the Maxwell

This trip through Nevada has been such a pleasant surprise.  Prior to this journey Emily and I had both only been to Las Vegas, NV.   We were prepared for hot flat desert and have seen so much more.   The views have been so beautiful and the route has been full of historic sights!  Today we paralleled the Pony Express trail most of the day.

a view from the loneliest highway in America

Thirty miles down the road we were fascinated by what is referred to as Sand Mountain.  Sand Mountain is a “singing sand dune”.   The singing sound is triggered when the dune is under pressure.  When someone is walking on it or when the wind blows over the dune.   Sand Mountain is two miles long and 600 feet (180 m) high.

We stopped in Fallon, NV  for a quick bite and hashed out the ride for the rest of the day and lost both of our.   We made a plan that Emily and I were not terribly thrilled about, but there were a few cars involved this day so begrudgingly compromised. We finished our beautiful day on route 80 into Reno.  It is not fun to be on the major highways but we grinned, bared it and were happy to pull into Reno in time for dinner!  One more state line to cross!