Truckee, October 11-12

45 miles to Truckee.  We left our nice spot on the river at around 8:30 and, running out of water, asked a guy walking his dog of he knew of any places down the road to get water.  "I can give you water," he said, and invited us to come by his house.  I'm sorry to say that I cannot remember his name now, but he and his wife Victoria could not have been nicer.  He had hiked the PCT a few years back, all the way from Mexico to Canada, and was familiar with long distance, self-powered travel.  They gave us water and some fruit, and we enjoyed trading stories and laughing with them.

We expected a hilly day, and the road did not disappoint.  The first summit was pretty easy, and we made the next one easier by stopping for lunch halfway up.  Then down, then back up again.  Even going into Truckee, the hills were what easterners might call mountains.

Beautiful clouds and perfect weather brightened the tough riding.

Around 3, we rolled up to Tam's friend Spencer's house, chatted for a few minutes with Spencer and friends, and dropped off our stuff.  Errands are always easier with an unloaded bike.  They're also mundane, so I won't go into detail.  Enchiladas of the finest kind, made by Tam and Spencer's friend Wilson, were ready when we got back. Yum!  

The next morning we made tons and tons of pancakes, a veggie pizza, and some other awesome food.  We hung around the house, taking an actual rest day while researching gear and figuring out logistics for the next part of the trip.