September 7 & 8 - Middlegate to Austin to Eureka,NV

Yesterday we rode from Middlegate to Austin, Nevada. Both very small mountain towns with limited accommodations. Actually, there was only one place to stay in Middlegate. It was a combination hotel, bar, restaurant, museum. The population of the town is 17. Most of the town ran the Middlegate Inn. We met some Kiwi's there who thought the owners were a lot like the Clampets. They were always bickering with each other. Still, in an odd way, it was our favorite place so far.

When we arrived at the Cozy Mountain Motel in Austin, we were told of some natural hot springs pools a few miles out of town. That sounded great to the Bimbos, so we jumped in the car and headed out. 45 minutes later we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere stomping around in the sand and sage brush looking for pools. We did finally locate a galvanized tub fed by a hot spring and took a soak. We returned to town and had dinner at the International Cafe.

Today's ride from Austin to Eureka was our longest yet - 70 miles. It started with a climb to a double summit and ended with a challenging headwind, but in between was pretty easy going. It seemed like we were either going 5mph or 25 mph, depending on the terrain and wind. We met two cyclists from the UK, James and Patrick, who were also heading for Eureka. After arriving here we shared a soak in a more refined hot tub with them.

Tomorrow will be our most challenging day yet with 77 miles over four summits!

Happy birthday today to Megan and Molly Darnell! We love and miss you!

We're sorry to miss the Wednesday Night Rerun at Loose Park - hope everyone had a great time!