Austin, NV is said to be one of the most isolated towns in America. The ride from Eureka was mostly flat, but of course a nice head wind made it become a challenge for all the groups. Knowing there would be two large climbs at the end, we tried to move fast through the day. I rode with Hubbie, so in anticipation of his ultimate climbing battle with Baby Bear (Henry) going into Tahoe in a few days, we made sure to pass his group, stay longer at the water stops, and then pass his group again. Effective demoralization of the opponent.
The two climbs were challenges, but nothing we hadn’t seen or conquered before. As we began to downhill, the town came up fast, since the entire town is built on the ridge. Austin was once a booming silver mining hotspot, but has since dwindled to a population of about 300 people. Donna White, our host at the Austin Baptist Church, has been touched very personally by cancer. Her son battled the disease for nearly 30 years, before dying of natural causes. She understood the power of our mission, and was a gracious host for our two nights in town.
There is only so much to do on a day off in such a small town. We spent the first night putting together a drive-in movie on the church yard, which required Taylor to climb onto the roof to hang a sheet for the screen. It was simply awesome. On the day off, most of the team ate upwards of 3 meals at the local diner, and some of us made it out to the local pool in a naturally heated pool (the sun is really hot out here). All in all, a great few days out in the Nevada desert.
-Dan
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