...roads and towns; why you should ride Nevada [mostly photographs]

[Daniel Kalal]

[lucydad]

Daniel.

Thank you, these are beautiful roads and scenery.  I have crossed NV a few times, mostly on my way from CO to CA.  I-80 is a small sampling of this amazing geological and cultural province.  North of Las Vegas is some world class outcrop of what are called duplex thrust fault systems, forming interesting mountain ranges.  Then there are the ubiquitous basin and range valleys and faults and small mountains/hogbacks.  I have always wanted to have a couple weeks just to roam Nevada, and I would love to get back to the Tahoe region and mining districts.

[MariusD]

Great, shorts sir! I am very much looking forward to making my way through the state.

[pehayes]

One of my most favorite states.  I like rocks and open sky.  That fourth picture down is Baker, right near the Utah border.  We held a small, annual Guzzi gathering there at the Lectrolux Cafe for many years.  Headquarters for Big Basin National Park.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[Daleroso]

It is beautifull! Just don't be in a hurry. In the Appalachians, see a mountain & you're on top in a realatively few minutes. In Nv, it's probably 50-70 miles & an hour. I've learned since being in Nv that it takes 2-3 days minimum to get in the amount of stimulation gained from getting to any twisty, tree lined roads that spoils anyone having ridden in the network of Appalachian roads. Butler maps said it when releasing their So.Appalachian map a few yrs ago; "probably the best riding we've ever done." There ARE GREAT, WONDERFULL roads elsewhere, just not the extensive multi-state network of them.

[Arizona Wayne]

This last August had a great ride up thru Nevada from Las Vegas to Carson City for the Guzzi State rally.  1 of my favorite bike roads is just north of Death Valley.........from Hwy 395(Ca.) to 266E to Hwy 95(Nev.)  It's an old stagecoach road in good condition and hardly used.     Elevation changes and curves galore.  On my Aug. trip I mostly rode up 95 to alt.95, etc.

Hwy 50 is a good ride too as long as you don't get struck by lightning like my wife Judy did. 

There's an old casino in downtown Ely that is biker friendly and let's you park your bike right in front of the entrance. 

[PJPR01]

Any of those are Highway 50...the Loneliest Highway in the U.S.  Some shots look familiar to a trip I took a few years ago...love the remoteness and isolation out there.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Winnemucca area about a week ago (taken by my brother, through the windshield of his Sprinter):

[Waltr]

  Fantastic!

[Muzz]

I just wish I had your eye Daniel.

Lovely shots as per usual. Many thanks.

[Bill N]

Once again, thanks for the pictures. I too love open vistas, rocks tec.
Bill

[Arizona Wayne]

If you love unbelievable multi-colored rocks then southern Utah and northern Arizona is where you will blow your mind !!!   

[Daniel Kalal]

If you love unbelievable multi-colored rocks then southern Utah and northern Arizona is where you will blow your mind !

Of course you are right, Wayne.  But, that's the precise point of this post (and the other one about Nebraska).  Plenty of people--perhaps all touring motorcyclists--know about Utah and Arizona and plan extensive vacations to those places years in advance.  I've met a number of riders in Europe who dream of "one day riding to the Grand Canyon, to Bryce and Zion Canyons..."

Things is; that's not the case for Nevada (or Nebraska or Kansas or Oklahoma).  Too many riders plan their trips so they can avoid riding in those states, and some even go so far as to use a trailer so they don't have to suffer the agony of the thing.

Nevada can be a wonderful place to ride--perhaps just not on I-80 or even US-50.  Get off those two primary cross-state routes and avoid the two big cities and you'll be amazed what's out there.

Perhaps next I need a post for the joys of riding Eastern Colorado...

[Gliderjohn]

Quote from Daniel:

Perhaps next I need a post for the joys of riding Eastern Colorado...

That would be helpful! To me Eastern CO. helps take away some of the Kansas inferiority complex.
GliderJohn

[oldbike54]

Quote from Daniel:
That would be helpful! To me Eastern CO. helps take away some of the Kansas inferiority complex.
GliderJohn

 Really , Kansas , Nebraska , and Oklahoma (the Western flat part) offer many pleasures for the touring rider . Yeah , most of the roads are not all that interesting , but the small towns and the folks that inhabit that part of the country are wonderful . I will put Abilene KS , or Dodge City up against any small town in America .

  Dusty

[Gliderjohn]

Quote from oldbike54:

I will put Abilene KS , or Dodge City up against any small town in America .

Small town? Those are cities by Kansas standards. Now Johnson City and Coolidge are small KS towns.
GliderJohn

[oldbike54]

Quote from oldbike54:
Small town? Those are cities by Kansas standards. Now Johnson City and Coolidge are small KS towns.
GliderJohn

  That's true John . At least they aren't highlighted in yellow on paper maps . I have always followed Peter Egan's advice on avoiding any town that shows up in yellow on maps 

  Dusty

[beetle]

For one horrible moment I thought the thread was called "Why you should ride a Nevada". 


Great shots as always, Daniel. 

[Arizona Wayne]

I didn't know 'small towns' was the ticket to ride hundreds of miles on a MC.  They are everywhere, especially in the South. I ride for scenery and challenging roads or specific destinations.   Small towns are along the way.  Unlike you I don't stop and take so many pics.   I'm more interested in getting more miles under my tires each day.                               .

[oldbike54]

 

  Dusty

[Moto]

Very nice! I recognize the eighth one from the top as Ely, and the casino on the left as one I visited, many years ago.

It's remarkable how fresh the memories of trips through places like that remain. I rode a few times the diagonal length of the state between Los Angeles and Idaho Falls. Usually spending the night in Ely. Those mountain vistas of yours bring it all back.

It's about my favorite place to ride.

Moto

[Jose Mendez]

[/quote]

Another reason why I should carry a Bottle of Gas, just in case.

Great pics guys. I'll be in Nevada this June/July.

[Vagrant]

Another reason why I should carry a Bottle of Gas, just in case.

Great pics guys. I'll be in Nevada this June/July.

every gas tank designer from all mfg's. should be forced to ride this road. worse yet is when you get the 179 miles and find out the only station is closed or out of gas and there is no motel.

[Moto]

every gas tank designer from all mfg's. should be forced to ride this road. worse yet is when you get the 179 miles and find out the only station is closed or out of gas and there is no motel.

Yes! That happened to me on the road between Ely and Tonopah once. There was only a closed gas station. I was lucky to get some gas from a rancher and kept going. People tend to help each other in the remoter areas, I think.

[drlapo]

I was on route95 in Nevada in May
I was on a Tiger800 doing85
I figured that was a safe speed ie won't get me arrested
I was passed by a FedEx delivery truck
Now I want to move there
I went to the grand canyon and death valley too

[unclepete]

The small highways of Nevada are truly a pleasure . Some say it's empty out there , and need to be reminded that half of the scenery is sky , and is always changing .
Most small towns are speed traps , and it is a good idea to behave well and comply with posted limits even though they start way early and continue way beyond the small towns they protect . Away from town a few miles you can explore your bike's limits ; very little traffic . At about 12miles big items disappear from sight because of earth's curvature ; too far for radar even if someone bothered .
The photo of the AileInn in Rachel on the " Extraterrestrial Highway " reminds me of a time I stopped there for a cup of coffee .
I walked into the restaurant , and one person sitting at the counter was huddled with the guy behind the counter ; very close and hush-hush . No one else there . Neither person acknowledged me when I walked in , so to respect their privacy I took a tour around the room looking at all the photos of flying saucers and lights in the sky , books and souvenirs , plastic alien heads , souvenir cups etc. ; got all the way around the room and looked at everything and when I left those two were still huddled ; glad I didn't need gas .
Speaking of gas , you really do have to plan , and have plenty to spare . A windy day can cut your range almost in half if you're really hammering .
 

[Daniel Kalal]

The photo of the AileInn in Rachel on the " Extraterrestrial Highway" reminds me of a time I stopped there for a cup of coffee.

Last time I was there I stopped for breakfast.  You'll recognize these:

[Arizona Wayne]

Unless you spent the night there you musta had a late breakfast.  If you spent the night there was it in a RV trailer?  I've stopped for a short time, but that is all.  Talk about out in the boonies! 

Yes, if you ride out in the open spaces of the West you best carry some extra fuel. 

[johnr]

Didn't see a hell of a lot of flowing water about in those pics Daniel. Is it as dry as it looks?

[Daniel Kalal]

Didn't see a hell of a lot of flowing water about in those pics Daniel. Is it as dry as it looks?

Pretty much; ignoring the part of Nevada that includes the Sierra Nevada and half of Lake Tahoe.  How distressing must it have been for the earliest pioneers following the course of the Humboldt River to see it get smaller and smaller and then disappear into a sink--the opposite of any other river they'd seen.  Even the Truckee River (the drain of Lake Tahoe) runs into the desert and gives up.