Spring fever, biker style

[NevadaWolf]

So this weekend had no plans and when I saw the weather report was for sunny and 50, I had to get my girl out for some long distance riding.

Found a nifty planner on www.wunderground.com where you can map out your route and it would give you the weather for when you'll arrive at the various stops along the way. The planner showed my route would be in the 50's until about 3pm when it would start to drop into the low 40's.

Started at 10, topped up the tank at $3.28/gallon, and headed south along highway 95 towards Hawthorne. Got a lot of use out of my cruise control as I just locked it in at 70 and rode. For those that haven't been into the central parts of this wide desert, think long straight and flat roads.

The cruise along Walker Lake was beautiful with the snow covered mountains, crisp blue sky, and still water reflecting the surrounding land. I filmed the ride along the lake, though it didn't come out as well as I thought it would. Once I got into Hawthorne I was really tempted to go cruise through the streets of the once-town of Babbit, where the streets are the only thing left of the neighborhood. But time reminded me I still had a long way to go.

I wasn't entirely sure if the lone gas station would be open in Gabbs, so topped off again at $3.89 (averaged 45.6 mpg), and headed east this time towards Luning. Had plenty of traffic on my tail but once I turned off the main highway to Vegas, I had the road to myself. Found a slightly squiggly section going over Calavada Summit and passed the one minivan on the road as I sailed on towards Gabbs. I find Gabbs to be an interesting little town, one store, one gas station, one bar, and one cafe. Quiet and friendly and I do enjoy stopping there. Thankfully the station was open serving up the petrol at $1.80 (though you have to double the price at the pump since its an old station). I did average around 47.5 mpg according to my little app. Since my girl was now fed, I also took the time to sit down, enjoy the sunshine and silence, and ate my lunch.

The bluebird sky was still free of clouds, so I carried on with my original route. North towards the old Pony Express/Overland station of Middlegate and then further east through Eastgate and up towards Carroll Summit, a decidedly little known twisty section out here. There is one amazing S-turn right in the middle and the sweeping curves are a blast. However, my camera data card was full so no record of it. I also found that as I leaned my bike into the corners, the tires felt a little squirrly. Not sure if there was ultra fine sand on the road or if it is really something up with my tires, but I backed off trying to have twisty fun and just rode up the canyon smoothly. No cows this time and only one 'Vette was encountered. Over the pass and onward out towards Austin.

Thankfully, Austin gas wasn't too bad ($3.59, averaged 53.6 mpg) but the sun was starting to go down and I knew the storm clouds would be rolling in soon. Funny thing was I realized I was 110 miles away from my September Odometer Photo Challenge so I checked the mileage back to Fallon... 111 miles! I couldn't have planned that if I tried. The ride back was uneventful though I did stop in Dixie Valley for a photo op and to admire the layer of fog that had settled further north in the valley, giving it a lake effect. The sun set just as I was passing Sand Mountain and was full dark when I rolled back into town. Got the required pic of my odometer before pulling into the garage.

All in all a great little ride that added 340 miles to my bike and had me spending 7 hours out on the open road.

[cuong-nutz]

Whereabouts Nevada are you located? Have you ever ventured south to Las Vegas? You should check out Red Canyon Rd. EPIC scenery and roads Then again. Nevada is covered with hills and mountains. lol

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by cuong-nutz

Whereabouts Nevada are you located? Have you ever ventured south to Las Vegas? You should check out Red Canyon Rd. EPIC scenery and roads Then again. Nevada is covered with hills and mountains. lol

I'm up north in Fallon. Been to Vegas several times, though not on my bike in over ten years. Only ride through that area took me through Valley of Fire to admire the petroglyphs. I keep seeing tweets on Red Rock but haven't been there myself.

And yeah, we have TONS of mountains, But very few paved highways. Both 80 and 50 go out of their way to avoid the mountains. I like riding long the border with California, Lots of twisties through the Sierras.