# Fallon Century: No Hills 100 - Very Late Report



## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

Well, I'm only a month late on getting these pictures up. I was out of town for most of the past month and took these pics before heading off with my wife to Hawaii (sorry, Hawaii came before the post). The Churchill County (Fallon) No-Hill 100 is was a century my wife and I had never done and were talked into it by some friends that wanted to ride it as a group. Fallon is a little desert town about 60 miles due east from Reno, Nevada. It survives off a mixture of the Fallon N.A.S. Top Gun School, tourists, and farming (would dry up completely without a significant canal system). I like to visit the town but would definitely pass on living there. Anyway. . .wish I could make the pics more exciting, but this is all there was.

The Century was on October 1st. My wife and I signed up for the 100 and knew we would have to be done in under six hours in order to get back to Reno to catch our plane. Well, we didn't make the full 100. Due to my liking to talk to people at the stops, the cross winds, and the rough roads we cut out around 70 miles into it. The weather was perfect for the first half of the ride - about 65 degrees and sunny - but the winds started roaring up around five hours into the ride. Just enough to slow you down and blow some dust, but enough to prevent us from finishing on time. 

About the ride. The course was laid out to meander through and around the town of Fallon. The roads started out as new and smooth pavement but rapidly shifted to jagged bits of little rock sticking out of bad pavement and tar. Lots of cracks also. I should have put on 25c tires and lowered my pressure cuz it was like riding on a vibrating sander against my tail for most of the ride. The course itself was very well marked and we didn't even need the cue sheets. The rest stops were minimal but enough to keep us going. Lunch wasn't half bad and the bar-b-que afterward was worth it (they didn't skimp on our beer necessities). All, in all, the ride wasn't terrific, but for being in a rural desert town I guess I can't complain too much. We did have fun but were pretty worn out from the rough roads. Anyway, enjoy the pics and sorry if a bit boring. . .that's another part of this ride. Better like dairies.

Pic 1: Nice morning to start out but high wind bearing clouds are visible.
Pic 2: Up Highway 95 into the little town of Fallon.
Pic 3: Gorgeous Fallon and the tourist trap set up.
Pic 4: Boy, if it's this nice we're in for a treat. What a perfect road, nice and flat, no wind, gorgeous day. I think we're going to really enjoy it.
Pic 5: These canals are the life line for this town. They transfer water all over the place.
Pic 6: Yep, a gorgeous day. Nothing can ruin this. We think anyway.
Pic 7: Wait a minute, road's getting rougher. Still nice ride though.
Pic 8: What the heck? The rocks are trying to escape the pavement. Must resist vibration.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

*Off into the desert*

I was enjoying the lack of any real hills but the roads keep you awake. Traffic was pretty much nonexistent and the few cars that came by were plenty friendly. No thrown beer cans or anything. I know one thing though, only a few miles into the ride I was wishing I had a carbon ride like my wife's or something. My teeth were chattering in the worst sections. 

Pic 1: My wife on her Roubaix. Nice carbon but she still said she was getting numb hands.
Pic2: The road was really rough in some sections. I think the high alkaline soil and summer temps really does a job on them. 
Pic 3: Wow, a hill! Well, they labeled it "Not a Hill" before it started. New pavement here was a nice break for a while.
Pic 4: A Fallon Custom Home.
Pic 5: She must have been stung by a bee or something. Michelin Man's Wife? 
Pic 6: The route was well marked with green arrows. Made it easy to figure out where to go.
Pic 7: Typical desert scenery. This guy kept drafting my wife no matter if she slowed down or sped up. She thought he was being lazy. I was wondering if he liked the view.
Pic 8: Ah yes. Fallon's smell generating facilities. Two things I will always remember about this ride. The smell of cows and the smell of burning manure. Yum.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

*Churchill County did good with what they had to work with*

I still think that overall Churchill County did a fine job with the local bike groups to put this together. Not a lot to work with out there and except for the roads and lack of great scenery it was still fun. Heck, I have fun everytime I get on a bike anyway. 

Pic 1: Another typical Nevada desert home. Better like wind and sand.
Pic2: Snack time - my favorite part except for the ride itself. Wish they had had cookies though.
Pic3: One of the more important things along the route after drinking way too much watered down gatorade.
Pic 4: Oh no, not a wind storm! Never mind. Just burning manure drifting across the road. Tastes great, less filling.
Pic 5: My little group heading back into Fallon along Highway 50 - not so lonely out here.
Pic 6: Pretty waterfall in the desert.
Pic 7: Gorgeous new pavement but not a lot of shoulder. It was fun when the hay trucks ripped by.
Pic 8: Why stop with the new pavement when you can have newly grooved pavement!


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

*Almost to the end*

Lunch wasn't too bad. All the ladies didn't want to finish theirs so I ate a lot. Probably too much but oh well. The lunch stop was near an old fashioned corn maze complete with wild animals. At least little pygmy goats that could head butt and acted more like little puppies than anything else.

Pic 1: Lunch
Pic 2: Attack goat - all of about a foot high.
Pic 3: Lots of things like this along the roads. Cool to look at anyway.
Pic 4: Fallon's other life line. . .also mine in this case. Very good barbque at the end. Enjoyed this a lot. 
Pic 5: OK, with all the shots of my wife that get randomly stuck in my posts I thought I should post a pic of both of us together. Only fair that I show up once in a while.

Anyway, again the ride wasn't too bad. If you're looking for perfect scenery or roads this one isn't for you. If you like to ride through a whole variety of roads, farms, and desert it was actually kind of cool.


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## spot (Feb 16, 2005)

Looked like a good time. I would of had to stop at Jack in The Box. We don't have them here in Illinois any more.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*I'm liking the killer attack pygmy goats.*

We have ridden through Fallon several times-not much there but we did enjoy the fly-bys from the airbase and their practice bombing runs. Never saw the goats though.


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