6 days and counting...

it's very surreal that this trip is almost over. we have less than a week left and i still don't feel like i have traveled across the country on bike. it's insane that in 6 days we will be on the beach in san francisco dipping our tires into the ocean.

we are currently in nevada and i have to say ... i'm not really a fan. i wasn't really sure what to expect for nevada, but it is definitely much different than i thought it would be. nevada is climb after valley after climb. we climb a mountain for about 15 miles, descend the mountain, then ride through a valley where y ou can see the next mountain you're about to climb but it takes an hour and a half to get there. the valley is always incredibly windy. then you start climbing again. it's the same thing over and over.

there are also hardly any towns. we are riding on what has been dubbed the "loneliest road in america." every day, we look at our map and have no services until the next town which is usually around 70 miles. absolutely nothing to stop and see.

a couple days ago, there was a very random bar at the top of one of the mountains we climbed. it was so incredibly random because there was nothing else for miles, so we couldn't help but stop and grab a beer. if there is anything i have learned on this trip, it's that it is never too early to drink a beer. at least not when you're riding an average of 70 miles a day.

utah and nevada have had a lot of open range areas. it's always odd to see a bunch of cows just chilling on the road, but also pretty cool. just as long as they don't get in my way while going down the mountain.

two nights ago we stayed in eureka, nevada. we stayed at a little park that was right across the street from a bar/restaurant/casino that -- lucky for us -- was having karaoke that night! not only did i rock out to 'build me up buttercup' but i also played my first slot machine. no really... i rocked out HARD to build me up buttercup. unfortunately, matt (my route leader) filmed it. i didn't realize what a weird dancer i am.

from left to right: carmen, seth, bret, tara -- singing "friends in low places." after this, almost the entire BUSMS crew went up and started singing

alex & me at karaoke

today we rode into middlegate, nevada. there is absolutely nothing here except for a bar. we are camping behind the bar and luckily they have wifi here so i am finally able to blog. about a mile outside of town, we saw a "shoe tree" that we had heard locals the past few days talk about. we were so excited to finally see it. it's amazing how many shoes are on it. apparently the story behind the tree is this: "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 Middle Gate 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 so that when you drive over a hill on that ver desolate road, all that you can see is this cottonwood tree with shoes hanging from every branch."

well, that's about it for now. here is video 7. a lot of the footage is from mountain biking on our rest day in telluride, colorado. no footage of me wiping out, though.