Indecision August 17th

The day began with a case of "flat tire syndrome" on the first ascent. To elaborate this ailment affects you when you find yourself moving painfully slow, to the extent that you reason a flat has occurred or something is rubbing on your tire. In reality your legs are simply poisoned by lactic acid and are not behaving properly. Luckily we had something to distract us from this. Last night we had met a fellow cyclist (Chris) who explained a shortcut across Utah, we initially ignored the suggestion preferring to stick to our ACA maps. Yet I awoke to my body begging me to consider the 300 mile shortcut, at first Joe was resilient to the temptation but as the day wore on we switched stances with myself favoring the longer route and him the shorter. In the end we opted for the longer more scenic route as the scenery is supposed to be the best of the ride and the shortcut is a dull path that actually follows interstate 70 for a time and thus would be busier and more dangerous. In our minds and hearts we know we made the right choice but I now have to ignore my screaming legs. Since the moment of decision our position has been reaffirmed by people describing the wonders of the days ahead.
After this crux of a moment the day improved as we headed towards our second climb, I should point out that distance is no longer the favored barometer of progress but rather we judge the day based on climbs. We rested near the top and enjoyed an amazing lunch of peanut butter, Nutella, and banana sandwiches on whole wheat bread. After lunch we finished the climb and descended into town.
Feel free to call me spoiled but lately the repetitive nature of the Nevada landscape has become a little irksome, luckily this valley began to reveal some changes. The mountains have become far more abrupt and sheer, as well there is more contrast in the land with foreboding slabs of quartzite jutting through the limestone. This eye candy has improved our mood, also our early arrival in town (3pm) has allowed us some free time. We are now posted at a counter top overlooking the old pony express watching as a car passes through every half hour. Next up on the itinerary is joining Joe to imbibe on a Ruby Mountain Porter. Also the restaurant owner has promised us free camping with the purchase of a meal. In other news the 63 miles we covered today puts our total distance at 724 miles! -Lucas