Nevada

[brtzero1]

I left Fairfield, Ca at 9 am on the March 27 in a light drizzle that quit about 15 minutes out of the house and headed south towards Los Vegas. About a hour out I stopped at a rest area to give the bike a quick check before getting to far from home. I met Father and Son from Canada who were heading to Mexico for a Dental appointment. (I thought Canada was supposed to have good health care) The Dad was on a older R 80 and the Son was on a 1980s KZ 400. The trip to Bolder City was uneventful and I got in about 5 PM. I found the Memorial, got the picture and headed to Hoover Dam. I got to Hoover Dam at 5:30 and as I pulled up to the Memorial I was told by security they I would have to park across the Dam and walk back to see the Memorial. I explained why I was there and that I would only be a few minutes. They let me park by their car and then one of them took the picture of me with the Memorial. I spent the night in Vegas at Circus Circus (cheap and secure parking and room $34.00 per night) I took off about 7:30 Monday morning headed for Tonopah. About 45 minutes out I was passed by 3 black unmarked Chevy Suburbans doing about 85mph. I followed these guys to Beatty at speeds well in excess of the posted limit I pulled off in Beatty to get some gifts for the trip goddess as a thank you for letting me go. I then headed to Tonopah . When I got there the museum was closed but the gate was open so I rode in , checked out the outside displays(pretty cool stuff) I took my picture and headed to the gas station back up the road. When I got there I found the 3 Suburbans getting gas. I asked the driver who they were with and he told me They were Homeland Security. As I left Tonopah 2 things caught my eye, 1st the old Air base which you can ride right into. They still have 3 old hangers standing and different building sites are marked with what they used to be ie; link trainer building , celestial nav building. The second and REALLY IMPORTANT thing was the NO gas for 167 miles sign. 167 miles of up and down hills 6000 ft plus alt and head winds. I saw only 4 or 5 cars in 167 miles. This IS the middle of nowhere! I have a 9.8 gal fuel cap on my R1100RT but my K75 would never have made it on it’s main tank. I arrived in Ely got my pic and headed to Wendover. The temp in Tonopah was 40 degrees by the time I got to Ely it was in the mid 30s and dropped to the low 30s on a couple of the higher passes (6999 ft and 7300 ft) Got a couple of snow flakes at the 7000 ft level. I was on the road between Ely And Wendover from 2 pm to 4pm I came across a herd of about 10 to 12 deer and 2 separate small herds (4 or 5) Pronghorns. WATCH OUT I took the required Wendover pic. Then I headed to the Enola Gay Hanger across from the hanger are the old Barracks, a must see! I headed for Elko. A short ways out of town there is a 7000 ft pass, the temp dropped to below 32 degrees with strong swirling winds, blowing snow and wet looking road surface. I cut my speed way down and rode carefully till I got to dry looking road. I got into Elko about 5:30 got my picture and found a room (Travelodge $47 per night, ok room ,hard mattress) When I left for Carson City it was Sunny, dry and 28 degrees(my heated vest and snow gloves were a lifesaver) In Carson City the Memorial was hard to spot, way in the far corner of the park. Took my picture and headed to Raleys to print my pictures then off to the Post Office to mail. I headed home on Hwy 50 thru Lake Tahoe, the signs warned of possible ice but the temp was in the 50s so all I had was wet roads over the summit. All in all it was a good ride, a little taxing because of the temperature and winds but a good time.

[DelB]

You just gotta love those busy highways in central and eastern Nevada.

[ton O fun]

Good job on the finish and enjoyed reading about it, thanks.

[brtzero1]

Here some pics from the ride

[100cccer]

Nice job, Roland. Got the photos today and everything looks in order so congratulations on picking up your 2nd trophy!

Thanks for posting the photos, BTW.

[brtzero1]

Today I went back to Nevada to visit a Memorial that was not on our list but maybe should be or at least as a bonus stop.It is about a 90 mile ride from Reno. That is the LD rider/ Iron Butt Memorial about 3 miles north of Garlach NV. at N40 40.904, W119 21.652

[100cccer]

Today I went back to Nevada to visit a Memorial that was not on our list but maybe should be or at least as a bonus stop.It is about a 90 mile ride from Reno. That is the LD rider/ Iron Butt Memorial about 3 miles north of Garlach NV. at N40 40.904, W119 21.652

Good suggestion. I'll check it out with the curators...

[MatthewHogan]

The IBA site was on my list of desired stops during my Nevada run. After all, I was really close, but alas, I was already on the road longer than I had wanted to be. I'll get there eventually.