| Monday
Racing Results
Rob Wood, Norus, 49.19 mph, legal wind
Matjaz Leskovar, Eivie, 54.28 mph, non-legal wind
Sam Whittingham, Varna Diablo, 75.56 mph, legal wind
Thom Ollinger, Coslinger Special, 59.45 mph, legal wind
Mackey Martin, Virtual Rush, 37.09 mph, legal wind
Fred Markham, Varna Mephisto, 53.96 mph, legal win
Travelogue to Battle Mountain
I drove to Indianapolis, flew from Indy to Chicago's Midway airport where I changed planes, then flew to Salt Lake City with a stop in rainy Kansas City (KS or MO, I'm
not sure which) to drop off some passengers and pick up some more. I don't really enjoy
flying, but fortunately I got to experience 3 separate takeoffs and landings that
day... At SLC I rented a car, called and met a friend for supper and a couch to sleep on overnight, then got a good start Sunday on the drive to Battle Mountain.
Not far west of SLC the speed limit on I-80 raises to 75mph, so I was able to make pretty good time for the 300-mile trip. It's a good thing, too, because the distances are deceivingly vast out here. I'd look down the long, flat road and think I
was seeing a mile or so away, and it would be 10 or 15 minutes before I'd get to a landmark that I had seen!
About 100 miles west of SLC there's some sort of large sculpture rising perhaps 40-50 feet from the salt flats. It's a sort of column sprouting perhaps half a dozen
large, multi-colored spheres from its top.
There are also several surrounding pieces looking like broken sphere pieces, as if one of the top spheres had fallen and broken, or perhaps something had hatched from one. There appeared to be some sort of
plaque on the column, which was perhaps 40 feet off the north side of
I-80.
I passed quite a few classic restored cars of various kinds heading west, including several beautiful old Chevrolet Bel-Airs. They brought back memories of a time
before we knew about momentum and seat belts, when my sisters and I would argue over who got to sleep in the big back window of the car on family trips. Thanks, Dad, for not slamming on the brakes!
Just into Nevada I-80 begins a long climb to Silverzone Pass (5900 feet). The climb was
several miles long, and I thought about what a chore it would be to climb
that on a bike. Of course, it would be lots of fun to descend. I remember that on our 1991 (upright) tandem trip across the U.S. Jane and I discovered that the peaks in Nevada often seemed to be just about 15 miles apart, with a long, wide valley in between. We'd be at one peak, look to the next one, ride for an hour or so to get there, then check our cyclometer to find that it had been 15 miles since the last one. I remember that one day we did 6 or 7 of those 15-mile peak-to-peak journeys.
Exit 365 has a sign saying "Prison Area--Hitchhiking Prohibited." Another sign said the exit was for Independence Valley. Which came first--the valley name or the prison? I'm guessing that someone with a warped sense of humor decided to build a prison there...
About 80 miles out of Battle Mountain I saw a large billboard for Battle Mountain boasting "Voted Armpit of America," and "Make us your pit stop!" About that time I
was listening to an Elko, Nevada radio station and heard a commercial for the World Human Powered Speed Championships! This was followed by another commercial new to me, an Army-sponsored spot urging people to have their kids stay in school because "you taxpayers pick up 40% of dropouts' food and medical bills." Interesting motivation.
As I was exiting I-80 at Battle Mountain I noticed a sign saying "Bicycles Must Exit." That seemed to me like a good omen!
Jeff Hunn 9/16/03
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