Days 91 and 92: Carson City to Gardnerville

Two days ago, after visiting the library, I rode my bike to an Iranian restaurant called Saffron to meet with Lior and Jenny for lunch. The food was good and I was glad we had the chance to chat again. Lior is from Israel and Jenny is from Jordan. It was nice to see a married couple that’s Jewish and Arab. Religion doesn’t have to divide people and love always wins.

Lior and Jenny, my Warmshowers hosts in Carson City

After lunch, I decided to pay my dues to Nevada by playing at a poker machine in the Carson City Nugget casino. I lost 50 cents and that was enough for me.

The house always wins

The temperature was hot that I decided not go to the railroad museum in the southern end of the city. I went back to the library instead and stayed there until about 5 PM. Lior wanted to show me something at Red’s Old 395 Grill, so I went there. I waited for 45 minutes but Lior didn’t show up.

As I rode back to his house on the north side of the town Lior called me and said he was stuck at work and he’s coming to meet me. After we met up, we went to Grocery Outlet to buy some food. I bought some frozen dinners and a chocolate bar.

At home, I microwaved the frozen dinners and ate the chocolate bar for dessert. Lior needed my help to build a fence on his yard, so I helped him dig some holes for the stakes. Around 9:15, I was tired and went to bed.

The next morning, I was the first one up. Once Lior and Jenny awoke I said my goodbyes. I rode my bike to Villa Basque Cafe and had a plate of paella for breakfast. It was an unusual dish for breakfast, but the waitress recommended it to me. Around 9:15 AM, I started my ride toward Gardnerville.

Paella for breakfast

After I turned onto Jacks Valley Road just south of Carson City, I had one of the most scenic rides of my trip, with the mountains to my right and a valley to my left. I saw some bicyclists coming from the other direction, but they were just riding for the day. I cruised down to the town of Genoa, which was the first settlement in Nevada, and had a soda in a convenience store. I talked with a few people about my trip after they saw my bike. They were impressed by the journey since I came all the way from Philadelphia.

On my way to Genoa

Around 11 AM, I started my last leg of the ride for the day, going to David’s house in Gardnerville. David’s place is not far off the route. When I arrived at his house he wasn’t home, but his young worker, Josh, was there, I talked with him for a bit until David arrived.

Inside the house, David and I had lunch. I cooked a bag of ramen since I won’t be needing four bags of ramen from now until the end of my trip. After lunch, David drove the both of us to Stateline on the southern end of Lake Tahoe where we walked on the edge of the lake. I bought smoothies for us because it was getting hot. David received a phone call about a shipment coming in for his business, so we left Stateline and drove back to Gardnerville.

The beach at Lake Tahoe

On the way down the pass, back to Gardnerville

We arrived at David’s workplace and waited for the delivery truck to come. After the shipment arrived, I helped David unpack the freight. David has a business in selling and repairing ski equipment and is one of few people in the United States that specializes in this. After we were done, we came back home and I took a shower.

David’s wife, Judy, came back home soon after I finished showering. David and Judy then made some salad, cooked a steak and some salmon, and cooked corn and potatoes for dinner. We chatted a bit after dinner and I did my laundry before going to bed.

This morning, after waking up, I took a walk around the neighborhood with David and Judy, then I had cereal for breakfast. Today, I will buy a pair of swim trunks since I have a feeling I will need it. In the afternoon, I will help David with some errands and set up some social media accounts for his business. Tomorrow, I will be riding and walking up a hill that’s over 4000 feet in incline in about 30 miles. That’ll be the last major hill before San Francisco.