Appeal adventurers trudge on

Fatigue and lack of oxygen are beginning to hit the four Nevada Appeal adventurers who have biked and hiked 123 miles of the Tahoe Rim Trail in three days.

"You can't get a full sentence out of anybody," said photographer Rick Gunn.

But they said the worst of it is over -- the worst being Tuesday's 57 miles of walking and riding over rough terrain with steep inclines followed by drastic declines.

"I don't think there's any way a day could get harder than yesterday," said sportswriter Jeremy Evans. "Everybody's got some bumps and bruises and we're overall tired, but no one's going to drop out because of it."

After the Tuesday's grueling day, Wednesday's 34 miles of biking gave the group a chance to relax a little.

"It was my favorite day so far because we had the best view of Tahoe I've ever seen," said Las Vegas Review-Journal photographer K.M. Cannon. "It was almost a religious experience. It was so beautiful, I felt like crying."

Cannon was temporarily set back Tuesday when the front shocks on his bike broke. But Appeal reporter Geoff Dornan loaned Cannon his bike to get through the rest of the Tahoe Rim and Flume trails.

The Bike Smith, a bicycle shop in Carson City, repaired the bike free of charge.

The outdoor adventurers biked to the top of Kingsbury and stayed Wednesday night in the home of Evans and copy editor Karl Horeis, a welcome relief after spending two nights in a recreation vehicle.

"I plan to hose off and rinse all this mud off," Horeis said.

He said the group of newspapermen are working well together to complete the 10 challenges outlined by the Nevada Commission on Tourism in 10 days.

"We all have our strong points and our weak points," Horeis explained. "We work out the differences and we're a pretty good team all together."

They plan to complete the Rim Trail today and spend Friday sand boarding down Sand Mountain and mountain boarding across the Black Rock Desert.

Quote of the day -- "Hi, newsroom. This is outdoors," Appeal outdoors editor Don Quilici, who is piloting the RV for the adventure, as Day 3 began at 9:17 a.m. Wednesday.