January 7, 2025 Climbing into the West Humboldt Range with Doug A I credit Jay Petervary with these two mantras of bikepacking. Do the work applies to the big picture as much as the immediate details. There are a million places to cut corners in a trip, a good example is a sloppy tent pitch, …
Continue reading Do the Work, Ride Forward – 2025 in review and looking ahead to 2026
June 2025, 4 years and 6,500 miles later. They say it's not the years it's the miles. It's not the miles it's the terrain. Great Basin's high desert is some terrain! Manzanita and Nuke Sunrise crush the challenge. My gravel bike is a Manzanita Cycles 650b/27.5x 55/2.2 custom frame and fork with 6 water bottle …
Continue reading Spring/Summer 2025’s Rides with Manzanita Cycle’s Nick Jensen
Thousands of feet above the tarmac layers of mountain ranges hide their dirt roads The idea of being able to seamlessly connect tarmac and dirt roads with a gravel bike is most appealing. I know for many gravel riding on 100% dirt roads is their goal and I support that sort of adventure as well. …
Jones Valley and Babbitt Peak I saw these areas to the east of Sardine Valley and saw posted turn-offs from County Rd S860 and Smithneck Rd. I thought they would be worth checking out. Brandon mentioned he saw them on posted rides and they looked like a way to increase the mileage and elevation of …
I went into Great Basin Bicycles to chat with Rich Staley asking what was hot in bikes for 2018. Gravel bikes were at the top of the list along with mountain hardtails and full suspension trail bikes. From other popularity reports I've gotten I think 2018 will be the year of the gravel bike. While …
Vernal wetlands, marshes, swamps, estuaries, and salt flats can appear (and smell) unappealing to the eye (and nose). But their value to the ecology, biodiversity, and therefore the wildlife biologist, public, and future generations is immeasurable. Wetlands of all types are the "tropical rain forests" of the temperate landscape. Unfortunately most of us do not …
Continue reading Ride Report; Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge and Stillwater Range
When storms hit northern California and western Nevada it is often a game of watching the storm tracks and making the best educated guess as where to ride. Just the day before Brandon Anderson and I rode out of Quincy, CA in a cold windy rainstorm. Chalk that up to adverse conditions training. For today's …
Continue reading Ride Report; Simpson Rd and Dead Camel Mtns
The forecast was for windy conditions increasing in severity by the afternoon. I wish the weather payed closer attention to the forecast! My original goal for this ride was to climb through the Seven Lakes Mountains to the west of Bedell Flat. While there are still roads into the Dogskin Mountains to be explored this …
Continue reading Ride Report; A Route Through the West Shoulder of Dogskin Mountain
I thought this ride might give some insight to a hundred miles on a gravel bike. I still can't comprehend how people are racing 100-250 miles on a such terrain. I let Brandon Anderson know I was interested in a longer ride and Jungo Road would provide a quality out-and-back ride with unlimited mileage (90 …
Continue reading First Third of Jungo Rd, Gerlach to Lava Beds Creek
I was looking for an "easier" ride, dirt roads, proximity, and views to share with Brandon Anderson when we were not up to driving out into the desert for a full day's ride. Fort Churchill Road from Dayton to Fort Churchill State Park seemed like a winner. I had been to this area on several …