We have assigned a reporter to Don Loomis who calls in every day on the
cell phone he is using. It takes its power from the solar panel he has
rigged up on the back of of his trailer. And as such Faye Saunders has
volunteered to call him back from her land line which has unlimited
dialing so she can capture his adventure as per the words below. If any
of U want to really learn what it's like out there on the road, get
byline credit and sharpen your skills as a writer, we'd like to be able
to assign reporters to our other riders. Here, he or she can call you
from a pay phone which you can call them back on for the story. Our
awesome unicyclist, who can barely lift a pen at the end of a day, needs
such a writer, as does Skot Paschal who is riding Boise to Salt Lake
right NOW!! And soon our east coast riders.
Perhaps if you are one of our riders, you might like to recruit a friend
who can cover your ride and then have them send the stories to us here??
We really want your help in this ASAP!!
Here's Don Loomis:
========================================
Don Loomis Lovin' Hwy 50
by Faye Saunders
http://www.nationalbicyclegreenway.com/Events/Mayors_Ride/bios/Faye_Saund
ers.php
6/18 9:00 pm
As hot as it was cycling in Davis, CA, when Don was going up into the
Sierras he saw snow on the side of the road. He was tempted to get off
his bike and roll around in it, but it was dirty so he refrained. After
a couple of days of not showering and wearing the same clothes, he was
very pleased with the campground he found in Carson City. It has a
pool, showers and even a laundry facility. He said it felt really good
to get his clothes washed and to take a shower.
He has gotten rid of a few things in an attempt to lighten his load. He
even wanted to get rid of the quarters left over from doing his laundry
being very aware of the weight of his load after climbing the mountains.
Because it is so windy there, they gave him a campground next to the
fence so he could burn his campfire. He was on his way to have dinner
at what looked like a nice restaurant across the street from the
campground. He was sure he would sleep well tonight.
6/19 3:00 pm
After a very nice dinner of chicken and vegies, Don hit the road at 5:30
this morning, despite having gotten up at 4:00. He thinks he needs more
practice at packing up camp faster. He is now about 8 miles from
Fallon, NV on Hwy 50. He figures to be in Salt Lake City on time, he
will need to ride 100 miles/day. Right now he is traveling on flat land
with the wind behind him, so that seems easy. It feels like it might
even be a very slight downhill ride, as he can go almost 10 mph without
even pedaling. There are mountains visible up ahead and so he is not so
sure about that.
A waitress at the restaurant this morning knew someone who bought a
ghost town and turned it into a resort. That sounded like a place he
would like to visit sometime. The breakfast restaurant was in Sorensen,
a town he and his ex-wife had stayed at 4 years ago. It brought back
some memories. He also met a man at a bikeshop who was planning a cross
country trip with his wife next year and was thinking of doing his ride
on an Easy Racer Gold Rush. That got Don thinking about the bike he is
riding and whether a long wheel base recumbent might have been a better
choice. But he is quite happy with what he has for now.
Since places to eat have been sparse, he has been eating canned tuna and
salmon, peanuts and almonds, and dried fruits. And drinking lots of
water.
As he was riding along this morning, he came upon a group of 57
fraternity bicyclists riding cross country to raise funds for people
with disabilities. One of the cyclists had taken a very bad fall and
was being taken away by ambulance. The name of the group is
pushamerica.org. Shortly after running into this group, he came upon a
2 x 4 broken in half in the bike lane. Wanting to help out any cyclists
behind him, he stopped to remove the pieces of wood. As he was pulling
the second piece, it hit him in the head. How ironic it was that he
hurt himself while trying to help someone else avoid injury.
From Carson City to Silver Springs the "bike lane" had a rumble strip
right in the middle of it. He had to ride in the road to avoid having
his teeth loosened. From Silver Springs to Fallon has been heaven,
though -- an 8 foot wide smooth lane to ride in. And Hwy 50 is really
beautiful. Even though the thermometer says it is 95 degrees, he feels
very comfortable in his white 30 SPF outfit. He is not hot at all.
There are some elderly friends in Colorado he'd like to find time to
visit with. Also a sister-in-law whose daughter is #1 in archery who
live in Cheyenne.
The plan for the rest of the day is to get about 50 miles past Fallon,
kick a rattlesnake out of the way, and set up camp before it gets too
dark.
"I may not want to go back to work after this. This is great! This is
nice. I could do this for a living."