26TH ANNUAL OATBRAN
26th ANNUAL OATBRAN
SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2017
“NOTES FROM THE MOCHILA”
A Mochila (Spanish, pronounced [mo-chee-lah], for “knapsack”, “pack”, “pouch”) is a removable lightweight leather cover put over a horse’s saddle. In the nineteenth century, it was used as a mail bag by the Pony Express. The eighth-of-an-inch leather cover draped over the saddle on a horse. There were slits cut into the leather which allowed the saddle horn and cantle to protrude through.
Riders of the Pony Express made quick exchanges to new fresh horses, usually within a few minutes at each remount station on their route across the United States. The mochila was removed from the exhausted horse and swiftly placed over the saddle of the new fresh waiting horse that the relay station had for him.
SEPT. 24: MONTBLEU CASINO, STATELINE: EVENT CHECK IN / DINNER / ORIENTATION / INTRODUCTIONS:
Oatbran – Bike the West Team set up event registration & check in by 1:30pm and continued to prep all the vehicles for the tour…
Participants started checking in early and all riders check in before 6:oopm, with exception of Rose (No Show) and Steve, who had emergency medical surgery issues with his wife. The remaining 27 participants will start tomorrow and Skip will join us in Austin, NV.
Dinner was great food provided by Montbleu in the Convention Center Meeting room and the Chili Rellenos were to die for… Plenty of food including Tamales and Fajitas… and desert choices…
Orientation went well with all participants listening attentively… 9 Multi-Bran Riders and 19 new riders…
Introductions were read from their profiles followed by drawings and prize giveaways…
Crew meeting to follow with assigning rest stop locations for the SAG Vehicle Teams.
Reggie Peterson, Phil Alvarado, Kanan Miller, Arnold Harding, Michael Chapman & Trevor Brown… New Team members this year include James Styles, Corey Bolton & Di Bolton…
The Crew headed to the HQ Bar for a cocktail and to discuss assignments.
SEPT. 25: RIDE DAY #1: “A TASTE OF NEVADA” LAKE TAHOE TO FALLON
Reggie Peterson set up Signage on Hwy 50 for the start and I along with Larry Burton shot photos of the group in front of the big blue bike in the Valet parking area of the Montbleu Casino…
All riders got on the roadway safely… on route to Spooner Summit…
Phil & Kanan at First Rest Stop at top of Spooner Summit
“So, Came in to the Tour with GOUT! Woke up this morning I didn’t know whether or not was going to be able to ride due to the intense pain on my toe. Started pedaling… it felt better… What a day to ride a Bike!” (#15 Rene’ Linares)
The Descent down Spooner to Carson City, NV
Rest Stop at Red Hut in Carson City: Manned by Arnold & Michael
Carson City to Dayton State Park:
Wild Horses at the entrance to Dayton State Park Rest Stop:
Dayton to Silver Springs:
“Very lonesome road, except for Trucks, and terrific headwind! Historical names like Stagecoach remind us of street names – Fortune and Enterprise… I wonder if anyone struck it rich?” (#2 Richard Aslin)
Lunch Stop in Silver Springs: Di, Randy & Myself Set Up with Support of all the Sag Teams.
“The Highlight was Curtis doing battle with the Tricolored – Three-piercing Girl at the Gas Station. A windy afternoon! Cool Temp was nice though. Felt strong. Hope it lasts.” (#30 Mark Wood)
Silver Springs to Fallon: On Hwy 50 along Lake Lahontan:
Rest Stop at Leetville Junction: Phil & Kanan doing double duty this day:
All riders checked in to Motel Six and after ride snacks were set up and the community Ice Chest… Di & I headed to Lattin Farms to pick up the last of the Heart of Gold Cantaloupes and dinner was provided by the Churchill County Cyclists with Beef & Chicken choices and promoting their No Hill Hundred ride coming up on October 7. Most everyone purchased raffle tickets to win a Specialized bike.
After dinner, team went to store to purchase supplies.
SEPT. 26: RIDE DAY #2: “THE LONGEST DAY” FALLON TO AUSTIN
Breakfast came early… with start time 6:15am to 6:445am… Must get out of town before the Sun Rises…
We took care of making the donation to the Churchill County Cyclists group that provide our dinner and this morning’s breakfast and was offered to take their home ranch hard-boiled eggs along with us…
Another beautiful day on tap, with blue skies… As riders crossed the desert towards Sand Mountain… Phil & Kanan were on site with the rest stop set up and we were informed that NDOT Crews were ahead Oiling the Fresh Chip Seal and that was a Traffic Delay across the Bombing Range… 
Sand Mountain to Middlegate: Over Sand Spring Pass :
Oiling Fresh Chip Seal delayed the group with a traffic stop over Sand Springs Summit in the Bombing Range and up the climb to Dixie Valley Road… The road construction crew allowed riders to ride this section, but one-way traffic in each direction. A Wide-Load came up at the traffic stop and the pilot truck was not very friendly when I let him know that we had several bicyclists ahead riding on the section and to give them some room… He said, “Oh they will get off of the road when I honk at them or they will get run over”
Then over Drumm Summit:
“Some trouble with Chip Seal and some delays by Nevada DOT, but NO Outlaws!! The Mail must get through”. (#10 Ned Higgins)
When released from the traffic stop, I was ahead of the Pilot truck and wide load and attempted to slow down and warn our riders to stop and move off the road for the wide load… The Pilot truck decided to speed up and pass me to honk at the rider and yell at them to Get Off the Road! Extremely Rude and unprofessional…
We all got to Old Middlegate Station safely…
The SHOE TREE:
Day 2 Middlegate to Austin:
Several riders opted to take the Alternative route over Hwy 722 (Old Hwy 50) and Arnold & Michael were assigned to SAG this group and the deadline was set for them to start as a group.
722 Riders coming thru East Gate:
722 Riders starting the climb up Carroll Summit:
Carroll Summit Lunch Stop:
Then there was the downhill from Carroll Summit into Smith Creek Valley/Playa and up and over Railroad Pass:
For the Rest of the Riders who continued on Hwy 50….
We moved ahead to Cold Springs Station to set up the Lunch and there was definitely a Head Wind that riders had to contend with… Cold Springs Station, in the past few years had always been closed on Tuesdays, but from our pre-drive the week before, met with them and they were open and had recently turned hands with a new owner coming in at end of October… The original Cold Springs Station, that was open 26 years ago, and had always been our lunch stop, burned to the ground about 12 years ago or longer and was rebuilt to this much larger facility and they added solar panels, motel rooms & RV spaces, etc…
Most riders made it to Lunch and some decided to Sag Forward to the New Pass Summit and others continued to ride…
We stopped at New Pass Summit to check in with Sag Team, Phil & Kanan, who worked double duty this day. While there, a Van stopped with a family who asked what was going on… they were from Switzerland and were on Holiday… They had flown to Las Vegas and purchased this van to tour around the west and had just come from riding The Flume Trail at Lake Tahoe and were on their way to meet up with friends in Park City Utah to eventually get to Moab, Ut to ride a 100 mile trail along the Colorado River… They were using electric assist mountain bikes… Small world again as I found out he ran a ski school in small village in Switzerland a few kilometers from Champeray & the Ports Du Solie, where I have skied and they also ran restaurant. We exchanged cards and looked forward to seeing each other in the future…
We moved forward, and met up with Arnold & Michael at the Hwy 50/722 Junction and waited for riders from both directions to check in before the final climb up into Austin… We were getting close to cut off time, and called ahead to delay the dinner by half hour, giving enough time for final riders to get into town, check in and attend the dinner.
“Let’s just start by stating that when I took the mochila I did not expect it to be so heavy. I am convinced that the extra 2 oz. of weight are responsible for how slow I rode during such a presumably “easy” ride”.
“As for the ride itself, where to begin? I believe that what one may assume is the center line of The Lincoln Highway is, in actuality, the salt of my tears. Of course that might be true if I had any moisture left in my body to produce tears. As it were, I managed to suffer along the grand vistas and sweeping beauty that is central Nevada, taking in the snow capped mountains and the sometimes rolling, sometimes expansively barren, valleys. All of which gave momentary respite to the relentless headwind that felt as if it was carving cracks and fissures into my face not unlike the ones that rip across the desert floor. There were, of course, the occasional road kill that evoked in me a kinship that I had not previously pondered, and I found myself thinking “we’re not so unalike Mr. Rabbit/Coyote/Fox, I too feel like I’ve been run over.”
“But to be honest the ride was really exceptional, for all the pain and suffering, the scenery, company, and support couldn’t be beat”…
“And then I hit the three-mile climb into Austin”.
“After a brief gathering of resolve, I mustered up the will to take it on with steely determination. And for a mile I did. Then, fittingly, I got to the grave-yard and again my thoughts took a morbid turn. Or rather an envious one… but alas, I pedaled on, at four miles an hour, for two more miles. After a quick calculation, you may realize at that speed you will cover two miles in a not so quick half an hour”.
“28 minutes later I arrived to the open arms of a glorious cup of chocolate milk and the luxury of a much needed and hopefully well-deserved nights sleep”.
“And so the mochila passes to the next carrier and a new day.” (Tim Aslin: 9/26/17)
The Austin Chamber of Commerce hosted our dinner with their famous “Cow in a Can” slow smoked Tri-Trip roast and it was received well…
The Crew & Some riders ended up at the Bar in the International and Vic was at his best… I bought a round for everyone and we all celebrated the longest day into Austin. As we were walking out, Skip Morgan, made it to Austin to check in, so I went back into the International Bar and got him a beer, after his long drive with vehicles issues from Salina, Ut…
SEPT. 27: RIDE DAY #3: AUSTIN TO EUREKA “A RE(DIS)COVERY DAY”
5:30am came early, but the re-con drive over Austin Summit with no coffee in me, set the day as a beautiful sunrise reflected rose tinted hues on the Toiyabe Range overlooking Big Smokey Valley… I drove 10 miles south on Hwy 376, to my house in Gillman Springs and picked up the propane tank that I leave there with my outdoor grill, and drove back to junction and measured the wind direction. And, although the wind was swirling in different direction on Austin Summit, the wind at 376 junction was a light tail wind…
I drove back up and over and met photographer, Larry Burton at the top of Austin Summit and had him follow me to show him a great angle shooting rides with Austin and Reece River Valley in back ground…
I stopped at the Toiyabe Café to catch up with the crew and riders having breakfast. The Toiyabe Café is one of two restaurants serving Austin visitors and Jenny Williams and her staff were working hard to get everyone’s breakfast out… I would be back to pay the breakfast bill, but had to take care of business in Austin.
I stopped by the Cozy Mountain Motel and met Sara, the new owner, who also knew Ron Lee (small world) and took care of our lodging bill… then, walked down to the Pony Canyon Motel and did the same… Paid the lodging bill at the Lincoln Motel and went up the street to Union House B&B to meet with Dee Helming to take care of the Lodging bill and to pay the Austin Chamber for the dinner… Also arranged for Skip to leave his vehicle parked at their location for the duration of the tour for him to pick up on our return trip.
Everyone got on the road that morning with a couple of departing from the Lincoln at that time as the Gear Truck was loaded and ready to roll and I stopped back at the Toiyabe Café to take care of our breakfasts…
Roger Rabbit, the Aspen Grove up Austin Summit had not turned fall colors by this date as it had in many years past… The Grind Up Austin Summit was a fast warm up and the Sun came up over the top to light the Austin and Reece River Valley below.
I got down to the Hwy 376 Junction, to check in with Phil & Kanan, at the Rest Stop… Unfortunately, they did not contact me to hold riders and had released the first riders, 30 minutes before I got there… Reggie & Corey had passed them earlier in route to set up Hickison Summit Rest Stop and they thought that would be okay… the only issue was that first riders were 20+ miles (over an hour) ahead of those that were just leaving Austin.
HWY 767 – Big Smokey Valley Rest Stop
We sped ahead to Hickison to catch up with Reggie & Corey… First Rider was already on the climb up Hickison about 4 miles from the top… They were finishing setting signs and the rest stop when I arrived and informed them to hold riders until half the field got there, and then moved forward to set up the Lunch Stop…
“The Great OATBRAN Ride!”
FIRST SEGMENT OUT OF AUSTIN on 27 Sept, 2017:
“CYLING: Leaving Austin early on a cool quiet and clear morning… Continuing up the mountain we began the day before. The ride up was 3-1/4 Miles on a winding roadt at 5% to 7% grade. Then, down about 2-1/4 Miles and up again for 1-1/2 Miles at 4% to 6% the down 5 Miles”…
“SIGHTS: Gorgeous views overlooking Austin, the canyon and basin we road across the day before – VERY IMPRESSIVE!! The quick downhill with an immediate uphill was unique to the tour and quite beautiful, as was the last downhill!!” (#20 Roger Olpin).
Day 3: Big Smokey Valley Rest Stop to Lunch:
“Thx Trent & Rene for the pull… it was a slow slog up the hill from Austin but the legs responded well. Like the descent! Thanks for Soup! @ Lunch”. (#30 Mark Wood)
We set up lunch at the Wheat Grass Field road stop between Austin and Eureka… There was a traveler at the picnic table from Oregon who was heading to West to check out Mt. Lassen then head back north to Oregon…
We got the communications that Rene wanted Soup and we prepared to fire up the stove and warm up water to provide this… The Sag team got creative and put together “Egg Flower Soup” for Rene, using all natural flora & fauna, including rocks and a hard boiled egg with Chop sticks, and awaited his arrival…
One after the other, the riders arrived at the lunch stop, as well as all the Sag Teams… Rene made it in and everyone was excited to present our “Sting” Work of Art, Egg Flower Soup… To Which he was not impressed nor thankful for our efforts and proceeded to throw it away… So, from there on out, “NO SOUP FOR YOU”!
Day 3: After Lunch: Wheat Grass to Roberts Creek
“There was a beautiful road, with a polite breeze, smooth road and respectful traffic. Trucks were particularly careful. And the rabbit brush began to give way to green (maybe a stretch) valley and cattle and wild horse. It baffles me that there are farms in these valleys. It must require more hardships then I have”. ( Anonymous ).
We served the last riders and started to clean up the lunch stop… Great team this year with everyone pitching in to collect highway signs and load awnings, chairs in vehicles and down the road… We checked in with the Sag Stop at Robert’s Creek and headed into Eureka to check in at the Eureka Gold Country Inn…
The Gear Truck was on site, unloading and setting up the after ride hospitality snacks and community cooler to await the riders… Some rooms were not ready, but were almost ready for check in. I checked in with the front desk and they needed to enter my credit card against all reserved rooms, before anyone could check in and so I left it with her to complete the reservation process so she could start checking riders in…
We did a reload of supplies and Reggie took some riders up the newly rebuilt Raine’s Market for a beverage run and Ron Lee opted to bring a bag of delicious Fried Chicken back from their deli… And, yes it was delicious!
I took a walk thru Eureka to see if anyone else was wondering about checking out the Eureka Opera House or getting snacks at the Owl Club… Mary Jo was checking out the historic buildings and enjoying the gem of a town in Central Nevada… I headed to the Senior Center to check in with the Eureka High School Cheerleader Mom’s who were preparing our dinner and confirmed the time for dinner…
On way back, ran into other riders walking the streets and headed to a new bar, “Urban Cowboys” Mexican Restaurant and had a soft drink with Matt before heading back to dinner…
The Cheerleaders served our dinner and the Italian Chicken was delicious with a variety of salads, ice cream & cookies…
The Cheerleaders performed several “Oatbran” Cheers and the riders got it to this… Rene & Corey were selected to participate in Cheer and the experience was priceless as they turned around and wiggled their behinds…
After Dinner, we finished reloading the remaining vehicles and headed to the Owl Club to let down for the evening… All in All a great day on the road for both the riders and the crew…
SEPT. 28: RIDE DAY #4: EUREKA TO ELY: “ROLLING BEAUTY” IS THIS NEVADA?
Early Morning ReCon went well as I headed up and over Pinto Summit to check out the Wind Gauge at the top and then down to the Newwark/Long Valley… the wind was calm in this beautiful basin and the sunrise was spectacular… A few whispy clouds off over the horizon… this is one of my most favorite views on the Loneliest Road…
As I made my way back to Eureka there were several riders on the road and stopped at the Senior Center to check in with riders and the crew. The Eureka Senior Center is one of the longest term groups that have served our breakfast since the early years of Oatbran and we continue to have breakfast there, year after year…
As riders were leaving, I headed back to the motel to check in with the Gear Truck and make sure remaining riders were on the road or ready to hit the road… They were just finishing up loading and the last riders were departing the motel… Some still heading to breakfast…
We planned to have a poker run this day and didn’t get the deck of cards out to the first Rest Stop, but managed to get decks to all others with the option to pick from Two decks at the finish…
We headed up Pinto Summit to check in the Sag Team (Phil & Kanan) and had them move the rest stop table a little further back from the road and to hold riders for a few minutes, to tighten the group, since riders were still going to breakfast… We then headed out to meet up with Reggie & Corey who were to set up Pancake Summit… As we arrived, two previous 2013 Oatbran riders, Calvin & Patty Shank were up top conversing with Randy, who let me know in advance, they were planning to meet us on this day to surprise friends Ron, Tony & Ellen… This was kind of fun! Big surprise for them as they arrived at Pancake and Calvin rode with them forward this day…
Day #4, Leg 2:
Pancake Summit 6517’ to Hamilton Historic Marker via Little Antelope Summit 7244’. Nice weather and perfect conditions – beautiful scenery up to the summit… IT’S A GREAT DAY FOR A RIDE… More to come! Love it. (#7 Linc)
We moved forward on the Loneliest road to set up the lunch in new, much wider and safer location on right side of the downhill off Little Antelope. This area was paved and you could erect a Circus Tent within this footprint… Much nicer and deeper back from the highway as our traditional Illipah/Hamilton Marker 1-1/2 mile further on the left… We renamed this rest stop Hamiliton…
Di decided that we needed to make Egg Salad with the hard boiled eggs that we had been carrying since leaving Fallon and so with a little magic and some onions, etc from her garden, she made a batch of Egg Salad as an option for sandwich making.
This Egg Salad went over big time while it lasted…
Randy also fired up the stove as this is the day that we traditional offer soup for lunch as well…
Oatbran Riders came in one after another and in groups and you could not miss this rest / lunch stop off the highway… All the Sag Teams made it in and sweep was coming in to let us know how far back the last riders were…
We had plenty of space to stage not only the lunch with awnings & bike racks, but also all the Sag Vehicles and Gear Truck all spread out…
Sag Team, Arnold & Michael headed up the roadway to set up Robinson Pass Rest Stop and were advised to look for an open area before the summit that might be safer as well to be further off the road way… We also sent the Gear Truck ahead to set up at the JailHouse Motel & Casino in Ely and to cone off our spots and set our signs up…
After last riders departed, we torn down the lunch set up and big thanks to Randy & Di for repacking supplies, as now we definitely had our system together, as to where everything should go when repacked and able to access when we needed to reload…
We departed Hamilton and checked in with Arnold & Michael at Robinson Pass and they did find a much safer area, although with loose gravel, to set up the rest stop and this worked well… A gust of wind blew over the Porti-Pot Tent, right after Ellen visited it and had to stage a photo of this as everyone got a good laugh at this…
As we arrived at the Jailhouse Motel, there was an issue with the front desk as to how our riders were to check in… but, soon after the reservations manager, Kim came down and informed the check in staff how we were reserved in their system and they were ready to check everyone in.
By 4:00pm, we rallied our Team to meet and discuss Awards for our riders and headed to the Economy Drug Store for a quick treat a their Old Fashion Ice Cream & Soda Fountain and start our Awards shopping… While there, several riders headed over too, and enjoyed milk shakes, ice and root beer floats and Big Thanks to George for buying our crew treats…
We also headed to the Dollar Store for more Awards shopping but had to cut it short to get to dinner.
Our traditional Thanksgiving Dinner has been prepared by the same ladies group in Ely for the past 26 years and is the longest continuous group serving Oatbran riders since year one… Home cooked oven roasted turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes with gravy, salad, corn & cookies was well received…
Mary Jo won the poker hand and was awarded a 2017 Oatbran Windbreaker and we took reservations for the Lehman Cave Tour at Great Basin National Park for the final ride day…
The Team gathered for our meeting to set assignments and logistics for the final day of riding as a lot of factors and timing had to be resolved to coordinate the finish with proper vehicles on site for unloading and loading, etc…
After this, Di & Arnold accompanied me as we continued to shop for our Special Awards and didn’t get back to the Jail house until after 10pm. But, a great day on road… can’t believe that tomorrow is the final ride day…
SEPT. 29: RIDE DAY #5: ELY TO THE UTAH BORDER: THE “AWE” IN AWESOME
Slept in to 5:45am and ready to hit the road at 6:00am when I was side tracked by a rider this morning as I opened my truck before heading out and forgot to pull the cone and turn arrow to mark the right turn at the Great Basin Highway… continuation of Hwy 50 east… I attempted to contact other Sag Teams by radio and text, and finally called to have some one else set the right turn cone top arrow…
Phil & Kanan took care of this…
My early morning recon, up and over Conner Pass to Major’s Junction and Spring Valley was a beautiful drive with blue skies again this day with a slight tail wind… Sunrise over the back-side of Wheeler Peak was spectacular and it appeared to be a great final day of riding for the 26th Oatbran.
I drove back over Conner Pass heading back to Ely when a NHP SUV Came roaring up behind me… my tables were not secured with the straps in back bed of the truck and negotiating the winding downhill off Conner with the NHP on my tail was a little concerning as I attempted to go the speed the limit with the tables banging back and forth in the back… finally at the bottom and coming into the Steptoe Valley, he passed me and all was good…
Entering Ely, there were a few riders already on the road, so I hurried back to the Jailhouse to catch up with the Team and riders at breakfast… Riders were leaving, the gear truck was finishing up loading, most of the Sag Teams were out, except for Arnold & Michael who was to transport Gary, as he was suffering from a reoccurring case of pneumonia… So, we hit the road to catch up…
Riders worked their way south on the Great Basin Highway past Commin’s Lake and the roadway to the Ward Charcoal Ovens… past the turn off to the prison and to the base of the Conner Pass Climb, where Phil & Kanan were set up… we managed to beat the first riders to this rest stop, but one by one, they came in… Phil & Kanan had special Chocolate treats for the riders on this final day and next to the last climb.
We headed over Conner Pass and down to Spring Valley, the Propeller Farm and to the Osceola Junction. Coming across Spring Valley to this area gives the impression that the climb is straight up from there… But, as the riders approach the rest stop, they can see that the roadway turns lefts… We are sure that new riders viewing this for the first time must have had seconds thought about the Climb up Sacramento Pass…
Jim Giles was the first rider to make it to this rest stop… As riders started arriving, we headed up the roadway to set up the Lunch Stop on the downhill side of Sacramento Pass…
In recent years, this road side stop area has improved it’s rest rooms, built a small lake with interpretive trails, has several picnic table areas and has an incredible view of the north side of Wheeler Peak.
We set up lunch… Randy set the signs and bike racks, Sag Teams and Gear Truck arrived and riders arrived at this final rest stop for the day…
We sent the Gear Truck and Phil & Kanan (Sag Van) ahead to the Border Inn at the Utah Border to start staging the unload and loading of bikes. I followed shortly behind, with instructions to send Arnold & Michael ahead, after their lunch with the other Van, leaving Di & Randy, Reggie & Corey to tear down lunch and meet us at the Border Inn…
At the Border Inn, Trevor & James unloaded what we would need for the Awards dinner and as all the Sag Vehicles arrived, unloaded them as well to sort and repack everything into the Gear Truck… They set up the Finish Line Banners and road signs and the after ride hospitality table & drinks and we continuously worked to get organized.
Riders started finishing, taking photos at the Finish Line and we started racking bikes on the Sag Van… When Arnold arrived with the second Van, we continued to rack bikes… Riders were taking showers and enjoying the bar and slot machines in the Border Inn and some were getting ready for the Lehman Cave Tour…
At 2:30pm we loaded up the Cave Tour people and set them off to Great Basin National Park for this ending experience that has always been a feature of our final day’s ride…
The remaining Crew continued to juggle the logistics of unloading all the vehicles of their rest stop goods to make seats available and reorganizing all the goods and repacking the Gear Truck and at the same time, I set up the Awards in the dinning hall…
It had been a long, but fast 5 days on the road and the riders and teams were starting to let down having fun and conversing with each other… At about 4:30pm, I had to motivate the team to get back on track and complete what was necessary before the Cave Tour people returned and we needed everything packed ready to go by 5:30pm, our set dinner time. Yes, I can be a slave driver… but, our teams responded and we got ‘er done!
Baker EMT / Border Inn put together a delicious Banquet of Melt in your Mouth Roast Beef (pot roast) with mashed potatoes & gravy, salad, corn on the cob, buttered biscuits and no one went away hungry… Awesome Dinner!
I was asked about the history of the Border Inn… So, I introduced Denise Coyle & her son, Gary Peron, owners of the Border Inn to give a brief history of the establishment and I learned something new on this tour, as this was never requested in past tours…
And then there were the OATBRAN Awards! It is our tradition to recognize every participant with a special award that relates to their experience during the ride and we have fun as a team, to determine appropriate awards from comments, actions, antidotes and interaction with other riders and team members…
Asian Blan Award
Batteries
Dr. Kit
Old Fashion Oatbran Award
Old Fashion Oatbran Award
Mini Erase A Mate
Oats & More Award
Steel Cut Oats Award & Mini Ice Cream Scoopers
Real Oatbran, Chunky Chicken & Dumplings Soup & 440 colored Stars for his badge
Old Fashion Oatbran Award
Happy Birthday Candles and Banner
Training Wheels
Wonder Woman Award / Crew Signed Mochila / Oatbran Jacket (poker run winner)
Princess Award with Wings
Oatbran Flake Award
Unicorn Slippers bike booty Award
Blended Oats Award
Old Fashion Oatbran Award
Quaker Old Fashion Oatbran Award & Super Wide Gel Saddle Award
Three Musketeer’s Award & FRIENDS Award
The Spirit of Oatbran Award
Final Group Departure Photo
Other Comments and emails from 2017 OATBRAN Participants:
“Impressed with Nevada because of this Route – I’ve added Nevada to my list of Favorite states along with AZ & UT”. (#4 B0b Clark)
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Dear Curtis,
I just wanted to send along a personal note about OATBRAN. It is an amazing experience. I treasure the time I spent with my son Tim as we rarely see each other (being 3000 miles apart). But more than that, we shared the pain and pleasure of doing something EPIC. That is the spirit of Oatbran which you have created by your organizational skills and your vision for what a bike tour should be about: making new friends, sharing time together, and seeing beautiful countryside along the way.
Thanks for all you do to make each Oatbran a precious experience. I’m 68 and realize that being physically able to do a multi-day ride at altitude will not last much longer. But keeping in shape and having a goal like Oatbran keeps me young.
Best,
Dick (#2 Dick Aslin)
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Well it’s been over a week since my inaugural One Awesome Tour Bike Ride Across Nevada “OATBRAN”.
I can’t seem to stop thinking and talking about the great time I had. Never have I participated in a ride that had so much support from a friendly staff that felt like friends and family by the end of the ride.
During the Sunday night pre-ride dinner Curtis Fong, AKA “The Guy from Tahoe” and the Director of the ride stated that we will have a great time and meet a lot of friends. The social part started a little slow for me, however as the week went on I believe I rode, talked or ate with pretty much every rider and staff.
All of the rest stops were well stocked with the types of food, gels and snacks that riders love. The daily breakfast, lunch and dinners were above and beyond what I had expected. Curtis spares no expense in putting on this ride.
The route, Hwy 50 was nice and became nicer each day. The distances each day varied, however it’s set up in a way that really makes you enjoy the ride.
The awards dinner at the end of the ride was exceptional and the presentation was special and unique to all. What a great way to end it.
It’s a ride like this with a great route, staff, friendly towns and riders that cause me to want to do this ride again.
Thank you, Curtis, the staff and all of the riders for making this a great ride and vacation.
Linc #7 (Lincoln Feller)