First, let me say that pictures have been added to the June 3 and 4 posting and the June 5 posting is now available.
Now....
After much thought and deliberation, I have decided to cut my trip short and come home early. The weather continues to be a major factor limiting my ability to see and do what I intended to do on the trip. I have been on the road 9 days and there has been at least some rain every day. For 7 of those days I had to where rain gear for all of most of the day. Below is my account of what happened this morning that helped me come to this decision.
First, it rained all night so when I got up this morning, the first thing I did was put on my rain gear and pack up my tent. Not a major deal; myself and my equipment were all dry (except for tent of course!). Because of the rain, I decided to eliminate more of the roads I wanted to ride and just start heading south towards Lake Tahoe. As I went up in elevation, the temperature started dropping and soon the rain had turned into snow and sleet. There was several inches of new snow and the snow plow was out clearing the slush from the roads. The temperature dropped to 32 degrees. I finally said enough is enough, it is not safe for me to continue to ride in this rain and snow weather every day. I had reached the end of my tolerance, my patience, my ability to cope with the weather. I had better stop before something bad happens.
So I decided to just start heading back east and heading home. Unfortunately, the ride towards home was also filled with it share of challenges. First it was the snow mentioned above. The snow was followed by 4 or 5 periods of heavy rain as I headed across the Nevada dessert (go figure). Twice I encountered hail; it didn't even hurt driving in the hail because I had enough layers of cloths on to stay warm! During one of the rain storms, there was a flash a lightening that must have struck something very close to me. I have never seen/heard lightening/thunder so close together ; it was just a bright flash and boooom! Where does one go for protection in the middle of a dessert? This was followed by several bouts of severe wind. I saw signs warning of 45+ and 55+ MPH winds at different locations. As if all of this wasn't enough, as I went by the salt flats in Utah, the visibility was severely limited by blowing salt. How is all that for 1 day of weather?
So I left California this morning and tonight I am in Green River Wyoming. I covered 787 miles today and still have over 1,000 miles to go before reaching home. If things go as planned (am I asking to much at this point?), I am likely to be home on Wednesday.
I will try to keep you posted on any other adventures on my return trip.
Now....
After much thought and deliberation, I have decided to cut my trip short and come home early. The weather continues to be a major factor limiting my ability to see and do what I intended to do on the trip. I have been on the road 9 days and there has been at least some rain every day. For 7 of those days I had to where rain gear for all of most of the day. Below is my account of what happened this morning that helped me come to this decision.
First, it rained all night so when I got up this morning, the first thing I did was put on my rain gear and pack up my tent. Not a major deal; myself and my equipment were all dry (except for tent of course!). Because of the rain, I decided to eliminate more of the roads I wanted to ride and just start heading south towards Lake Tahoe. As I went up in elevation, the temperature started dropping and soon the rain had turned into snow and sleet. There was several inches of new snow and the snow plow was out clearing the slush from the roads. The temperature dropped to 32 degrees. I finally said enough is enough, it is not safe for me to continue to ride in this rain and snow weather every day. I had reached the end of my tolerance, my patience, my ability to cope with the weather. I had better stop before something bad happens.
So I decided to just start heading back east and heading home. Unfortunately, the ride towards home was also filled with it share of challenges. First it was the snow mentioned above. The snow was followed by 4 or 5 periods of heavy rain as I headed across the Nevada dessert (go figure). Twice I encountered hail; it didn't even hurt driving in the hail because I had enough layers of cloths on to stay warm! During one of the rain storms, there was a flash a lightening that must have struck something very close to me. I have never seen/heard lightening/thunder so close together ; it was just a bright flash and boooom! Where does one go for protection in the middle of a dessert? This was followed by several bouts of severe wind. I saw signs warning of 45+ and 55+ MPH winds at different locations. As if all of this wasn't enough, as I went by the salt flats in Utah, the visibility was severely limited by blowing salt. How is all that for 1 day of weather?
So I left California this morning and tonight I am in Green River Wyoming. I covered 787 miles today and still have over 1,000 miles to go before reaching home. If things go as planned (am I asking to much at this point?), I am likely to be home on Wednesday.
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