I love California! SOOOO much better than Nevada, obvi. We got here 2 days ago, but first were in Reno (I wrote from there when we got in, but didn't include that night's events). In Reno, Becca, Joseph, Justine, Courtney and I went out to "Hot August Nights," an annual classic car show. Definitely local color...some people get really into it, it was cool to see. We also went to our first In and Out Burger of the trip (I'm sure many more will come), where Joseph introduced us to all kinds of secret orders including animal-style french fries. Of course I only get the milkshakes there, and they were delicious as usual. I don't think I've had ice cream in a while...oh wait, that's a lie, in Lovelock I got a pint, a softserve, and a milkshake all in the same stop.
Before going to Hot August Nights, we went to Target, which was definitely a culture shock. I wasn't sure if it would be hard to readjust to the real world after Bike and Build, I mean, there are so many things I am looking forward to, a bed for one, as well as being able to just keep my shampoo and stuff IN the shower, rather than having to schlep it back and forth to a new shower every night. I also am excited to not have to live out of a bag anymore, wear normal clothes, and go running (and get rid of all this extra weight I'm carrying around!).
But yes, culture shock will happen, and that was pretty apparent upon walking into Target. Roshan and I pretty much just stopped. There were so many...things! We went to the DVD section and I was like so overwhelmed at all the new DVDs I'm going to have to buy, plus I know there are so many new songs I need to learn and new artists to check out, etc. etc. It is totally hard to be up to date with pop culture while on Bike and Build! I mean, really it's not a huge deal, but then you walk in to a place like Target and it just kind of hits you.
Sparks, NV (just outside of Reno) was by far the best mail drop of the summer. It was our last one, so I had pretty high expectations. Mostly because one of my best friends had been in Zambia for all the others and this mail drop was the one that she was finally able to send me a package to. So, along with this amazing package, I got a bunch of things from my parents (they have been really awesome about sending stuff) and a letter and some cash (yay ice cream!) from my aunt. I also got some postcards from some friends who are in Europe for the summer.
I know you are dying to know what was in my package from Maggie, so I will stop leaving you in suspense. Really, it was just a bunch of African candy and a Chitenje, which is the colorful printed fabric that African women wear as skirts and hair wraps and use to attach their babies to their backs for easy carrying. I thought that was pretty cool, but besides those things I also got the sweetest tshirt. It has a picture of a bike on it with the infinity sign above "city mpg" and "highway mpg." So clever! And according to Joseph, it is from the website www.threadless.com, which is a site where you send in your designs for a tshirt, and if they're liked enough, you can sell them. There are so many great messages on the shirts they sell, it's pretty cool. So when you're done on here definitely go check that out!
To get into California, we had to climb over Mt. Rose and descend into South Lake Tahoe. Definitely one of our harder climbs. And for me, it happened in the late afternoon. Hey, it wouldn't be Bike and Build without an adventure!!
So I needed a new cell phone, I had been having problems since western Nebraska, when I dropped it in a toilet. I tried to go after our build day in Reno, but the store didn't have any more of my phones, and it was close to closing time, so there was no way I could make it across town to the other Verizon store in time. So, I decided to go the next morning, and would just be behind all the other riders. Becca was nice enough to stay behind and ride with me, so I wasn't totally alone which was nice.
Everyone else left the Sparks YMCA around 7, but since the Verizon store didn't open until 8 Becca and I found a Starbucks, bought a New York Times, and just kind of hung out until 8. So much of Bike and Build is on the go that it was really nice to just be able to relax for a few hours. I also really enjoy knowing what's actually going on in the world, so it was nice to the have the paper.
I called the Verizon store a bit after 8, and got a message telling me their hours were 9-9 on weekdays...so that gave us another hour at Starbucks. Fine with me, but I was beginning to stress just a little about our ride that day, which of course included Mt. Rose.
At 9 I was at the Verizon store, got my phone, and then Becca and I went to get lunch at Qdoba (when you've been up since 5 it's completely normal to eat lunch at 9 or 10 in the morning). After a quick bite to eat we headed back across town, towards California!!! We happened to stumble across the Sierra Trading Post Outlet, so of course we went shopping (didn't really find anything decent though), we also went to Barnes and Noble to get Best In Show for Roshan. Finally, around noon, we were headed up towards Tahoe.
Mt. Rose is a 3000 ft. climb, very similar to Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park but maybe 8-9 miles shorter. The road we were on is the highest-year-round road in the Sierras and I am not ashamed to say I stopped a LOT.
The downhill was AMAZING. Definitely one of the top 5 rides this summer, without a dobut. We had fantastic views of Lake Tahoe -- it is so beautiful! Just like Lake George but on a bigger scale. And so blue! Gorgeous.
Becca and I rode into Incline Village around 5, the same Incline Village where our group had had lunch 5-7 hours earlier and where the Southern trip had had their lunch, as well. We grabbed some Thai food to fuel us for our final 20 miles along the winding, hilly shoreline of the lake.
Entering into South Lake Tahoe means entering into California...unfortunately the sign was beyond lame -- I could barely see it (ok, I know it was like 8 at night but the size was just so small)! What were they thinking?! Not only entering California, but being able to LEAVE Nevada! They should definitely put up a more climactic sign.
I was able to sit out on the beach and watch the Perseid Meteor Showers that night, something I have done every summer since I was little. I think this was my first time not doing at Lake George, so I was sad about that, but really appreciated the fact that although South Lake Tahoe is a touristy and developed area, there was still a dark enough piece of beach from which I could easily view the meteors.
So we're now in Placerville, CA, and when we arrived in town there was a street fair going on. After walking around for a bit, Mariah, Kristi, Erin K., Joseph, and I went to grab some gelato at this cute cafe along the main street. And the church we're staying at tonight is HUGE, one of those big evangelical ones with lots of singing and dancing on stage and TV screens that broadcast it all around the church, including the dining hall, where we had a limitless supply of soda from the soda fountain, and of course, TONS of food.
Another one of my favorite rides was the ride into lunch today. It was an awesome downhill, I mean we had a hard climb first but after crossing the Pacific Crest Trail, all it was was down hill. So beautiful, too.
Davis, CA tomorrow, and then San Fransisco in just 4 days! I can't believe it.
No comments:
Post a Comment