Day #100: Minden, Nevada to Hope Valley, California (19 miles)

Today's ride starts with 10 miles of flat, followed by 9 miles of climbing 2,300 feet over the Carson Pass in the Sierra Nevada range. The next day I'll climb an additional 1,500 feet and then it will be almost all downhill to the Pacific. The morning was bright and cool and the world looked beautiful...

Panoramas...

Along the flat part of the ride, I crossed into California... the 15th, and last, state on my trip. I thought it was nice of Nevada to plant flowers to echo the sign:

At the base of the climb, I downed a couple of Hostess cupcakes that were going to power me up the hill... Then, reinforcing all the stereotypes of coastal elites, 5 miles into California I came upon the cutest little cafe, selling all sorts of aiolis and pestos and jars of raw honey... I was in heaven, and then I found they made an absolutely delicious bagel and lox! Halleluja! Later, at the hotel, I ate a great aguachile (a Mexican variant of ceviche)... foodie paradise :-)

Videos:

The place I was staying was called Desolation Hotel, and I didn't quite know what to expect, but what I found was the most charming set of cabins...

Stats: 19 miles, started at 7am, ended at 11:30am, 4 hours of actual riding: