I woke up Monday morning feeling a little stiff and sore but otherwise not too bad for having been bouncing off large rocks, logs, and tree branches the day before. I packed up my stuff and left Chico around 2:00 PM. I decided to take highway 70 to Reno. It was a very scenic ride and I took my time and stopped often. I stopped for the night in Sparks, NV just to the east of Reno. After checking into the hotel, I walked over to the Alamo Casino next door and ordered a beer. While sitting at the bar, I started a conversation with a trucker from Colorado who was on his way to Sacramento. We talked about motorcycles, traveling, and a number of other topics. After a few hours, I called it a night and went back to the room.
Reno to Jackpot
I woke up Tuesday morning at 7:30 and loaded up the bike, had a quick breakfast and hit the road. Tuesday was pretty uneventful. It was just a hard driving day on Interstate 80 eastbound. I didn’t stop much and drove all the way to Jackpot, NV located on the Idaho border. The only thing that was exciting about the drive was while I was on a stretch of Interstate 80 that was under construction. The road was down to one lane and I was behind a long line of vehicles doing about 55 MPH. I decided to take a drink of water from the camelback I had on my back. As I was drinking, I hit a rather large bump in the road that I didn’t see coming. It tossed me about 4 inches out of my seat which caused me to choke on the water I was drinking, which in turn caused me to spew the rest of the water that was in my mouth out my nose and mouth and all over the inside of my face shield on my helmet, so now I am coughing and can hardly see through my watering eyes and the water running down the inside of my helmet. I franticly lifted my face shield and tried wipe my watering eyes and wipe the water off the inside of my face shield. I finally got the situation under control and managed not to run into any of the traffic barrels on my right or into the back of anyone in front of me.
It was around 6:00 PM when I stopped at the 4 jacks Hotel and Casino in Jackpot, NV. I checked in, went over to the little café located in the casino and had the Chicken Pot Pie and a Dos Equis beer. After dinner, I decided to drive down the road about half a mile to a larger casino and play a little black jack. I lost $50.00 but managed to make it last for a couple of hours and had a good time playing and talking to the dealer and the others at the table.
I have been on the road now for 26 days and I have been asked the numerous times if am I getting tired of being on the road and the motorcycle yet and if I am ready to get back home. My answer is, hell no. I love being out on the road and on the bike. I seriously believe that I could do this for a year and not get tired of it. In fact, I can’t believe that I am already over half way through my trip.
As for the unforeseeable, well, it was out there waiting for me. I headed straight into the setting sun and rode west at an easy pace. There was a long road ahead of me and no reason to hurry. ~ Line from the movie Appaloosa.
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