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ride across nevada which road?

larrykelderman

New member
leaving denver the 12th to the rally in salem. first night utah then its a toss up, south to 50 across nevada or 80 to winnemucca, north 95 to 140 to lakeview oregon. anybody have any experience with these routes. gas, lodging, heat, etc. hopefully not as hot as last year, 105 across kansas to denver from the rally. thanks for any info!:D
 
There's a lot more services and civilization on 80. Hwy 50 is a very lonely road in spots and not very good accommodations between Ely and Reno for overnight stays, and make sure you are fueled up. 80 is more heavily traveled, more towns, gas stops and overnight stops, but lots of big rigs going like hell.
 
Us50:)

US50 is the premier m/c road most come West to ride on:). Its "America's Loneliest Hwy." and labeled such by Nevada. Towns are 60-75 miles apart, all have mom and pop motels and gas and some camping along US50. Ely and Fallon/Reno are the Neveda larger cities on either end. Delta, Utah to state line is 88 miles, gas at state line. Visit GBNP, our newest national park right there on US50 at Utah/Nevada line. Neat place. Camping too above 7000', cool. Alpine too! Don't here that word mentioned much in desert:). 80 is a slab runners delight, just only for those in a hurry to not see anything. The NW route into Oregon is nice, off of 80. LOTS of more desert. Weather, hope for rains, vs heat as the rains in the Summer, mid Nevada are a huge relief:). They get it frequently, crossing Nevada in Summer. No worries, the rain is almost never more than a few miles at a time and ever so welcome to cool off. Beware the winds as you approach the thunderheads dumping rain, because the wind usually blows right before you get there. Randy
 
Agree - US50 rocks! If it's not a holiday weekend and there's just one or two of you, you should be able to get a room easily in the towns along the way. It is an experience you will not forget.
 
highway

Definitely Hwy 50, rode it last year coming the other way. Plenty of places to stop for gas or motels every 60-70 miles.
 
Long time PNW resident, but grew up (well sort of..LOL) in Fallon, NV. Brother still lives in Fallon, so have ridden down there many times. This time of year even that upper Sonoran desert climate can get pretty darned hot, so recommend early starts if you're not really acclimated to high heat encountered in the afternoons. Stay hydrated...

Routes? 50 across the Silver State is far more interesting than I-80. Ely, Eureka, Austin, Fallon, Reno are not THAT far apart...even on an R1100S with limited fuel capacity like my little bike. :whistle. From Reno north on 395, and Alturas is in range without going into Susanville (there's a marked/signed shortcut route just past Honey Lake). Alturas and Lakeview are relatively equal in terms of lodging/food, with maybe just a bit better range of choices in Alturas. From Lakeview continue north on 395 a few miles until connecting with the road to Bend. That's a pretty open road and in my experience not a lot of Smokey's...LOL. Then Bend and Sisters enroute to Salem.

Alternate route from Reno is to Susanville, then past Eagle Lake on 140 to near Canby, and on to Klamath Falls and up 97 to Bend. My take? Done every possible route thru Salem to the Reno area...multiple times. Usually in a car/truck but many times by bike (Suzuki GS1000, Ducati 900SS, R1150R, R1100S). The Salem/Bend/Lakeview route is by far my fave on two wheels!

YMMV!

Have a good ride, see ya in Salem!
 
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