This morning we packed up early and were ready to roll out before 8:00 a.m. We couldn't help but get a chuckle out of a license plate frame on a car beside our bikes. If there are witches in this part of the world, Washington State would not be a surprising place to find them.
This morning the temperature was high quite early. Fortunately, today's ride was the shortest of the whole trip at 166 miles (270 kilometres) and all of it was on I-80 which, except for a short distance has a speed limit of 80 mph (130 kph) At that speed the miles pass quickly and we covered the distance in under three hours.
As we rode, I saw an antelope that had been hit on the highway. I also saw a buzzard sitting on a power pole but with those exceptions we saw no wildlife. All in all the ride, except for the 80 mph speed was quite uneventful.
At bout 70 miles from Winnemucca we were approaching the town of Lovelock. To the left was a series of low grey buildings. Further on we came across a 'Prison Area - hitchhiking is Illegal. It turns out that this was the prison where O.J. Simpson spent his jail time several years ago.
There was still a smoky haze in the distance but it was not nearly as bad as yesterday. However, it was very hot again by the time we reached Reno, NV. Our first stop was at Reno H-D to check out the store and to kill time because we were far too early to check into our room at the Circus Circus Hotel. We met a group from Winnemucca who were getting their bikes serviced. They gave us information on good ridding roads in the areas in Idaho and Oregon. Some of them we have already ridden. They were a friendly group and it was a pleasant way to spend some time.
Reno Harley-Davidson
We checked in to the hotel slightly early and it was really pleasant to park our bikes, get our gear into the room and get changed. After the heat of the day, being in an air conditioned room was a real pleasure. We are on the 21st floor and have a good view of parts of Reno and surrounding area.
Garry took the time to do his laundry while I stayed in the room, I was watching CNN cover the presumptive Republican nominee for the presidency speaking at a rally. As he was speaking the crack of several shots was heard and he dropped to the ground, covered by Secret Service agents. He was removed quickly and shortly it was reported that a shooter had hit him in the ear. There is now a news feeding frenzy about the event and I expect that we will be hearing about it for several days.
It was time for dinner and we went to a casino restaurant. For the first time in many years I had a prime rib. And what a prime rib it was. It was spectacular. And it was very good. I don't ever post pictures of food, but I suspect it will be a long time before I have another like that one. It was so large that Garry wasn't able to finish it, bit I manned up because I wasn't going to submit to a piece of beef, so I manfully finished the whole thing. ;-)
My prime rib dinner
This place is one designed to catch the attention of people and some of them are quite garish. I don't really have much more than that in terms of comments, but here are some of them.
Captain Morgan?
Pit head structure
Lights and noise
Faux Italian style fountain
Circus Circus elephant
This is the end of the line for this trip. We have gone as far as we will go and now it is time to head home. Our plans have changed and we no longer plan to ride the Pacific Coast Highway. We plan on heading north to Bend, OR on Monday with plans to cross the border perhaps at Osoyoos and then head back to Vancouver Island through Canada. It has been a good trip, but the heat has been oppressive and it will time for a rest when we get home.
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