Day 6 – Sparks NV to Lovelock, NV via the 40 Mile Desert on the California Trail, 6 Jun 2014

Map and Pics:  Click Here for Map and Pics.

Miles 334 to 426, 92 miles, 3,250 feet of climb, max speed: 30 mph, avg speed 15 mph

The sign at the rest area at Mile Marker 83 was rather grim. The section we had just ridden through was the most feared section for of all the ‘49ers that took the California Cutoff of the Humbolt/Oregon Trail in search their fortune in staking out a gold mine. The Lahontan Valley has no usable water to include the scalding hot springs in the midst of it. The 1850 Survey of the valley counted 1061 mules, 5,000 horses, 3,750 cattle that perished along with 953 graves and tons of abandoned belongings. It remained the death knell for travelers until the railroad was completed in 1869. And our staff said two bottles of water will be just fine. Yes, two bottles filled up about ten times each.

Those who have a passion for railroads loved riding with us today. The Union Pacific railroad has a very active transcontinental route that winds through the Truckee River Valley for about 30 miles. There are many river crossings and the mountain backdrops were awe inspiring. It is a different type of awe that we experience yesterday. It is unfair to compare the beauty of Lake Tahoe to anything else.

We sure had a laugh about what happened yesterday just a quarter mile left to go to the 8,900 foot Mount Rose Summit. We were all speculating that we should had been there already but the road certainly did not cooperate with our estimate – it keep faithful to the 7% grade warning. One of more feisty old guys had something spicy to say about my leadership and then another started to cut up a bit. We all started to laugh, but none of us could get enough air in our lungs to get the laughs out of our chests. We looked like goony birds chocking on our words – and the feisty one kept cutting up. We were truly disabled for a good five minutes before we regained our composure.

The head wind today made the day very difficult. My feet overheated from all the pushing instead of the normal spinning. I probably burned just as many calories today as in previous days. 60 of the 92 miles (plus 5 bonus miles when I got lost in the desert off course) was riding the shoulder of I-80, the old Lincoln Highway.

Bottom Line: If you like desert scenery, today was a WOW day. If you like trains, double WOW.