we've made it to Reno. here's our account getting here for the last few days:
on friday abby awoke to the cottage alarm clock blasting Bon Jovi's "dead or alive". now we truly understand now the meaning of the words "i'm a cowboy on the steel horse i ride". first off, we played a show in the middle of the sticks outside Nevada city with mosquitos, bike enthusiasts and a crazy dancing boy named josh. kim and others made us home cooked food and it was hands down the best food we've had so far this tour: an amazing quiche with bell peppers and onions, polenta with eggplant, zuchinni, and tomato sauce, and kim's pizza: perfectly cooked eggplant, carmelized onion, goat cheese (from her own goat), and an amazing tart-like whole wheat crust - Amanda says it's the best tart of her life.
next day we got up and rode to wild plum camp zone. we rode the 49 along the yuba river and talked to two nice bike guys both named greg that gave us directions to Reno. thanks for the help guys! if you're ever in Downieville visit thier shops for a downhill mt. bike adventure.
here is a video from our long trip downhill along the Yuba Pass
Amanda spent the morning doing some math. she figured out that 20 miles out of 70 miles was somewhere between 1/3 and 1/4 of her trip. She also took a stab at solving the world's problems. She thinks she might have something:
1. give to others randomly and indiscriminately
2. be good company to yourself and others
3. feed yourself well with good quality food
4. ride or walk more often
the gang spent all day dodging butterflies on the road, two days before we were dodging caterpillars. Ian was in awe of the Yuba river and told Amanda that's what he came on the trip for. Amanda told him she thought he came along for the free Clif bars. Boo rode from Downieville to the camp site. 15 miles for Boo! later that night we heated up a can of amy's split pea soup over the campfire and made cheese, avocado on whole wheat bread open faced sandwiches. we rode 60 miles amongst beautiful pine trees and red dirt and went to sleep while Greg played Simon and Garfunkel tunes on the guitar.
abby documenting the trip
next day abby woke up and had the morning to herself so she cooked oatmeal with raisins and rice milk for ian and amanda. we rode 13 miles up Yuba pass 6,700 feet elevation. then greg and boo video taped our 7 mile descent into sierraville where we stopped for lunch at a mexican restaraunt. we ate whole pinto beans, side of guacamole, and corn tortillas and 2 baskets of corn chips. then we headed out to the sierraville hot springs curtosey of the gals from xtra-cycle who hooked it up for us.
what a great soak. 108 degree pools, warm pools, and cool pools. we finally got some sun on our naked asses. so long to our bike shorts tan. we rode a total of 60 miles to Chilcoot where we camped last night and Greg rode 6 or 7 miles with us.
way to go Greg! some really beautiful country up by Frenchman lake, high desert like regions. just incredibly beautiful. 
passed this road on the way
today we rode an easy 35 miles to Reno. Amanda's record speed was recorded at 37.8 mph.
abby and the cutest animals.
had a great lunch at Pneumatic cafe (where we plan to go for lunch tomorrow), and caught up on laundry and blogging.
we'll be in the nevada desert for 9-10 days starting tuesday, so it's unlikely we'll be able to update again till Salt Lake City. may the wind be at our backs and the temperatures below 90. drive and ride safely everyone.
amanda is back to modeling again
