Saturday, 27 Aug 2016
Alberto continues…
Sleeping thru the night was a mixed bag. The place where we are is a ranch of sorts. Cows everywhere. And cows, MOO! The preferred mooing time… All through the night!. I think they do that to reassure themselves indicating “I am mooo-ving over here” or some such cow-talk that reassures them.
I was up at six. Marco I think was also awake, but it was cold enough to stay inside the sleeping bag, nice and toasty. I kept reading for about an hour some action-trash book by David Baldacci. I head Marco walking about the campground returning me to reality from reading the book.
Correct! Marco was making his renown coffee, without which he does not function. I was offered more tea. Thank you Marco! Tea and 40 degrees of outside temperature mix very well.
breaking camp
Up fast, and hit the road, well, more like the dirt-road. This time it was easier, don’t know why. But in short order we were doing 65 mph on highway 4.
I have been up and awake by about an hour. Truth be told, while I like twisty roads, this early in the morning I have yet to get up to rhythm, I marveled at Marco, who without preambles was leaning the bike with great gusto… Too early for me. I tried and keep up with the guy, not easy.
Just as we are turning from Highway 4 onto highway 89, I see two indians, a “a fat indian and a two wheeler Indian”. What an amazing coincidence, Rob Hyman with his new toy and a bunch of other riders (Rich Penrose, Russ Daniels - who with great pride announced that he bumped into Rich - and I think I saw a fourth bike, I am not that sure, because we were moving). Marco, makes a right turn onto highway 89 into Monitor Pass and Varrooom! Zips on by, without stopping to greet the SMBC comrades and up the hill he goes. What?! , no stopping?
Monitor pass
Alberto still following
The way down
I followed Marco up the hill at a quick pace. Left-right and again, quickly we get to Highway 395. Right turn, head South and three or four miles from there we stopped at a restaurant called “Meadow by the Cliffs”. If you want to locate this restaurant, skip the “meadow” and locate the “Cliffs”. You will not miss it, and for sure you do not want to miss it… Great pig-out! One word: delicious.
Alberto writing
Bridgeport reservoir
Faucet
Marco and I continued all the way to Bridgeport. 395, south of the restaurant, is a great road in a non-agricultural valley with sweeping turns and mountains left and right. You can up the throttle with only a ticket from the highway patrol to worry.
L’Amour country
Past Bridgeport and onto the backside of it by way of highway 182. Pretty country. “Is this Louis L’Amour enough for you Alberto?” You bet! It was easy to visualize how the old west was populated by horse with spirit of adventure that the old Cowboys had. Hard life, rough life. A car passes me and it has a bumper sticker: “Eat meat! The West was not conquered by eating salad” bringing images of the cattle drives and Cowboys.
By 1:30 pm we arrived at Gardnerville to join the rest of SMBC gathered here for the annual dinner.
I leave the story of the Incompetent Boot Award dinner to be told by another (not without saying, it was much fun and camaraderie)
Wellington School
Farm equipment 1
Farm Equipment 2