Day 6 Convict lake - highway 395

Stats

Daily mileage 73

Ride time 6hr 22min

Avg speed 11.37mph

Total mileage 247 MAX SPEED!!! 48.11mph

This was my first night in my one man tent and I forgot how small it is. As soon as I moved the condensation dripped onto my face so I decided to get up and out quickly. I removed the outer tent and placed it in the path of the rising sun. I was trying to make as much noise as possible so it would wake up my lovely neighbours in the hope they would offer me some coffee!

It was so cold I couldn’t feel my fingers. I went over to the rotate the tent and found the water droplets had actually turned into ice crystals. I knew it was cold but didn’t realise it was that bad. What was frustrating was that in Greeley Hill I decided to send back some of my winter cycling clothes because I didn’t think it was going to be that bad!! Wrong move!

I left without breakfast and hit the road. For the first 15 miles the views were stunning and I kept stopping to take photos. From one view point you could see the reverse of half dome mountain.

The riding began to get tough and the air was extremely fresh. I naturally developed a sweat on the uphill but when I went down, the wind was ice cold on my chest. I kept looking up to see if I was getting any closer to the top and I was starting to wonder whether this hill would ever end and sure enough it did. I was so happy when I saw the 9945ft Tioga Pass sign. What made it even more magical was the sign stating 12 mile down hill.

On the descent the wind was incredibly strong and very unpredictable. One moment there was nothing and the next I was being blown to the edge. Without even really trying, I hit my top speed ever at an impressive 48 mph. I got to the bottom and decided to head out of my way to Lee Vinning for some coffee and food. I went into the tourist information and over heard the clerk talking about St Michaels Mount and Eden Project in Cornwall, England. I found that rather bizarre and had to step in when he began making things up. The clerk was surprised when I told him I live there.

I retraced my steps and continued south on highway 395. It was considerably warmer at the lower elevation and I thoroughly enjoyed the riding until the wind picked up and my gears started slipping. I soldiered on and decided to call it a day at Lake Convict. The winds here reached 70mph last night. I am in a lot of trouble if that happens tonight because I could not get my pegs into the hard ground properly! I have a short day planned tomorrow as I will be staying with a http://www.warmshower.org/ host.