Day 33

On Day 33 I woke up plenty early in the Walmart parking lot even though I didn't arrive there until about 4am. It's pretty hard to continue to sleep when the sun is blaring in your face. Even though I didn't plan on getting an early start it was good for me to wake up a little early because I had a few things to take care of before setting out. First of all, I needed to find a local bike shop to buy some extra brake pads because I wasn't sure if the downhill portions of the Sierras were going to eat up my brakes or not. Also, I needed to allow time for me to reassemble my bike since it was in pieces in the trunk of the rental car.

I'm so glad that I opted to find brake pads because I was on the fence as to which route to take to get to South Lake Tahoe. Fortunately, the people working at the shop told me that the alternate route to Highway 50 may not be the best because there were points that the shoulder disappeared and at the time there was some construction going on which didn't make it any safer. Therefore, I opted to follow Highway 50 to get to Tahoe.

I also asked them about good diners in the area but there was nothing convenient. However, I remember seeing an In-n-Out in the same shopping complex and it was late enough in the day that it would be open. It was the first In-n-Out Burger that I had seen on the trip so eating there that morning was a must.

Once I was fueled up and everything was taken care of I was on my way. I was very excited for this next stretch since it was my first challenge of getting through a mountain range and it was likely to be a very beautiful ride. Don't get me wrong it was a pretty tough climb, especially with the altitude, but I had built it up so big in my mind that when I reached the pass I couldn't believe I had already made it. Let me tell you, the next 5 miles were incredible! I was flying! It was the longest downhill glide that I had come across yet and it made every bit of the climb worth it. Not to mention the fact that when I got toward the bottom I was greeted with some amazing views of Lake Tahoe.

It was a pretty weird experience staying in Lake Tahoe that night because it was the first familiar place that I had stayed in since the start of this trip. I knew which hotels were the cheap ones, I already knew where the good food was, and I knew my way around. It got me very excited because it kept reminding me of how close I was to home. I tried my luck on a slot machine and won enough to pay for my room for the night, dinner, and had just over ten bucks left over. What did I do with the extra money? I definitely bought a chocolate milk and went to the arcade! I just had an urge to get in touch with the child inside me. Haha.

I had a great time in Tahoe but I was definitely looking forward to the concluding days of my journey.