the 88er

stealth camp success. 

we rode an easy 14 miles into Bridgeport, a town surrounded by pastureland, and those pastures surrounded by mountains on every side. so glad we didn't try and ride in the night before when it was dark!

met up with a pair of cyclists from Melbourne (Shawn and Malcolm) that we'd seen in the pass yesterday, and swapped stories over some Mexican food in Bridgeport (two days in a row eating out, by the way, mark is already rubbing off on me) before going our separate ways. 

first two climbs were tough. it wasn't until Conway Summit that my body was starting to get back into gear after dueling with Sonora yesterday. from then on out, however, we cruised through a most spectacular day of riding. 

watch how this goes down. remember how I mentioned earlier that Laura at Kennedy Meadows told us to get in touch with her sister in Lee Vining? she runs a motel there that Laura assured us we'd be able to stay in for free. 

just before we get there, we stop into a visitor center outside of Lee Vining (Mono Lake's, for those of you keeping track back at home). we get to talking with the staff there, asking about campgrounds in the area, and the first one they mention is Benton Springs, a posh B&B with campsites and mineral water springs hot tubs. chyah, ok, i said, that's a little out of our price range and definitely not what we'd been used to on the road thus far. 

out minds still set on the free motel, we head over to the place Laura's sister owns. turns out she's not in, and the motel looks wicked expensive. as we charge up phones and make a few social network updates, mark gives the Benton Springs place a call. 

here's the deal. Benton Springs is still 46 miles out from Lee Vining, and we'd already done 42 that day. our initial plan was to just find a site a little ways down the road, but that was starting to leave us with some extremely long days across Nevada. Benton had HOT TUBS,   though, and if we made it there, the next few days in Nevada would break down a lot easier. 

so Mark, being the awesome guy that he is, calls up Benton Springs. turns out the owners, Diane and Bill, are touring cyclists themselves, and would love to put us up for free. what the what?

we were loaded up and ready to go in an instant, and the next 3 1/2 hours were the most enjoyable ride of the trip so far ('ride' not 'experience', that title still belongs to sonora). 

we caught tailwinds right off the bat, had some amazing long downhill runs, rocked the climbs, and soared down into Benton Springs just as the sky was turning a deliciously pink and purple behind the hills. 

oh, and we broke 50mph. 

Diane and Bill treated us to an outstanding salmon, rice, macaroni & salad dinner RIGHT AT OUR CAMPSITE RIGHT NEAR OUR MINERAL SPRING HOT TUB. 

does this sound like bike touring to you? it isn't I don't know what we did to deserve it, but thanks be to God, who in His abundance of blessings, has poured down on us today like we could never imagine it even hope for. had we never talked to Laura, we would have never stopped in Lee Vining and heard about Benton Springs. had Laura's sister been at the hotel, we might have stayed there instead. had we felt tired, or hit extreme uphills, or hit a flat tire (or four), we would have never made it to Benton Springs in the time that we did. This is the day that The Lord has made. we will rejoice and be glad in it. 

I'm in the tub now, stars are out, the valley's quiet, and think I'll slip all the way back in to the hot, rejuvenating waters one more time before I call it a night. 

until next time,

may the road rise up to meet you

josh & mark

the lifecycle team