Tuesday, June 11:  Elko, Nevada to Wendover, Nevada
Distance:  107 miles
Total time:  9 hours 7 minutes
Riding time:  Unknown

As I posted last night, my cell phone broke so I am unable to take pictures until I can get it fixed, hopefully in Salt Lake City on Thursday.  So today, just a brief narrative.

Today was a long day.  My previous longest ride was 92 miles, a couple of days ago.  Before embarking on this trip, the longest I'd ever cycled in a day was 64 miles.

In spite of the distance, it was a great day.  We made very good time - much faster than we anticipated - in large part because the wind cooperated.  For most of the day there was very little wind at all.

The route was mostly flat, with some good climbs at reasonable grades.  The exception was a mean-spirited five-mile climb which began at mile 65.  We took it on in good order and were delighted to see the SAG stop at the top, at 7,000 feet of elevation.  This is the weary bunch at the summit:

As tough as that ill-placed climb was, the worst part of the ride was a teeth-jarring five miles over rumble strips - those indentations in the pavement meant to keep truckers awake when they veer onto the shoulder.  There was a five mile stretch where they were re-doing the shoulder, and we rode over these rumble strips until our fillings fell out.  Excruciating, but mercifully brief.

At about mile 100 we topped another climb, and below we saw the small city of Wendover, which sits on the Nevada side of the Utah border, and beyond the famous salt flats, as far as the eye can see.  I'd never seen them before and it's quite a sight - as lunar a moonscape as you'll see on earth.  We'll be covering 118 miles through the salt flats tomorrow.