A plan in the making The name of this blog might need to change to reflect the riding I have done this winter. I have ventured too far south. It started by visiting Spicer Ranch just outside of Beatty, NV and learning about the plans of rancher/conservationist/trail builder, David Spicer. My plan was to camp …
Without this blog I would be riding about the desert just as I have been for the last three years but this outlet has made it all the richer. Looking back a year ago I was reflecting on the crisis of loosing our public lands, especially the protection of our wilderness. So one goal of …
Continue reading 2017 Freewheeling to the End, 2018 Shifting Gears!
A friend of mine proposed a route that included a section of the Pah Rah Range from Mullen Pass, near the Pyramid Lake overlook, off NV 445, to Palomino Valley reconnecting to NV 445 off Whiskey Springs Rd. I rode this area when visiting Virginia Peak, but not on this exact route. As a result …
This ride was originally inspired by Bike Your Park Day promoted by the Adventure Cycling Association. As a result this was my third trip into the area completing the 15 miles of gravel road on Fort Churchill Rd along the Carson River. For this ride I invited Raymond Eliot, of our Smoke Creek Desert adventures …
This ride was a reunion of sorts. My friend Pete Rissler had just bought a Trek cyclocross bike with the idea that with two sets of wheels, one set up with cyclocross tires and the other set up with fatter "gravel road" tires, he could participate in both backroad adventures and the great sport of …
The Pah Rah mountain range is a C-shaped range running north south from Pyramid Lake to Interstate 80, approximately 30 miles in length. It is a prominent feature on the east side of Sparks, east side of Pyramid Way, and the west side of NV 447 from Wadsworth to Nixon. The three highest peaks are …
"Why do we enjoy this?" Dean asked me. "I don't think you do. I think you forget between rides what I talk you into doing time after time," I replied jokingly. We just had a winter storm in the Sierras that dropped a few inches below 7,000' and over a foot in the higher elevations. …
I laugh every time I think of the road we were on is called County Highway 293. I would not think twice if it was called a county road, to me that encompasses any path through the county with any official designation. But I think a highway needs to be some form of uniform surface, …
I first heard of this ride moving to Reno in early 2000. It was considered a popular training ride by cross country racers but I never knew exactly where the route began. It wasn't until years later that I noticed the trailhead signs off Eastlake Blvd. in Washoe City pointing out Jumbo Grade. Eureka, I …
Petroglyphs above Sparks, NV I first heard about riding in this area from a dated guide book to mountain biking the Reno/ Carson City trails when I moved to Reno in 1999. It took 15 years and an interest in the section of single track called "The Zipper" to spend some time in this area. …