Day 9 - Fool me once....

The stars last night were AMAZING! I have never seen anything like it except maybe one night in the boonies of New Hampshire. But here the campsite was 10,000+ ft high in altitude and there weren't city lights within hundreds of miles. WOW! In the morning I packed up from this beautiful spot on the earth (easily my favorite so far) and headed west on Hwy 50, "The loneliest road in America". A few hours later I found myself in Eureka NV where I stopped and had lunch at Michele Wu, her Father and her brother's Cafe. Since the sign on the window said "Chinese and American" Cafe I naturally ordered pot stickers and a cheese burger. Yum! Thank you Michelle! After lunch I gassed up, got some cold water and got back on the Hwy 50. And let me tell you - this highway is indeed lonely. You can drive for half an hour or more and not see another soul for miles. After awhile I found myself thirsty for some of that water but I couldn't find a good place to pull over. Finally I saw an intersection with a gravel parking lot next to it so I pulled in. But the gravel area was deep and quickly getting deeper. I tried to stop but the ABS brakes wouldn't let me. Sure as shit my bike got stuck in 6" deep gravel. Accelerating just spun the wheels and made it worse. I pushed and pulled but it was pointless. Then it happened - as I pushed and pulled in frustration I lost my balance and my bike went down on its side again. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!! Not again!!! I may or may not have let out a few expletives! Pumping with adrenaline again I tried to lift the bike momentarily but the pain in my right arm quickly reminded me that this was a bad move. Fool me once, I lose a tendon. Fool me twice,.... no. I have played and replayed the scene when my bike went down the first time in my head so many times and I always ask myself "Why didn't I just flag someone down to help me? My arm would still be fine!" So this time instead of losing another tendon I ran to the road prepared to flag my arms like a mad man. BUT I AM ON THE FRIGGIN' LONELIEST ROAD IN AMERICA!! - the vultures will have me before a car comes by and actually stops and can help me. There are no cars anywhere in sight for miles on end. I go back to the carcass of my bike and wonder "what if I use my legs to lift it - yeah right!" Then I look around to see what's around here that I could use as leverage. Then I think about my satellite phone - will AAA come help me in the middle of the Nevada desert? And if they do, will I still be alive when they get here? As I am debating all these things in my head I see two cars in the distance heading my way. I run to the street and begin flagging like a fool. The first car is full of what appears to be High School girls and the sight of me in my biker gear waving like a banshee makes them actually speed up! Good for you girls. But in the next car 2 angels from heaven appear. It turns out Richard and Dewetta were driving behind me and saw me pulling into the gravel and appeared to be getting stuck. After debating for a bit they decided to turn around just to see if I needed help. Sure as hell they drove right up to me in their truck, helped me get my bike upright, helped pull me out of the deep gravel, got me back on solid ground and then, when it was all over, they handed me an ice cold bottle of water from their cooler. Ladies and Gentlemen, I kid you not - the 2 folks standing in front of the white truck in the picture below are truly Angels. The shining light in their windshield may be a sign of some sort. In the heat of the moment I did not get their last names or their addresses but I am so grateful I got their first names and this picture. Right now I am in my air conditioned hotel room in Fallon NV thinking about how lucky I am that Richard and Dewetta were near me. No telling where I'd be otherwise - probably fighting off vultures.
ODO: 2109 - 2596