Over Sierras to Nevada and Back To Bay Area in Two Days

[ksandvik]

And this is the view of Hwy 89 towards Sierras, close to the Hwy 4 intersection.

[ksandvik]

Hwy 4. The beginning part over Sierras is twisty, fun, but bicyclists, tourists doing sudden stops, gravel in corners, better be alert all the time... If I could do this again I would drive and stop even more along this road, but it was getting late and I had to get down to the Bay Area before sunset.

[ksandvik]

Some of the nice small mountain lakes you encounter along Hwy 4. After Ebbett's Pass it is mostly downhill, the road gets wider and it's mostly cruzing down in tourist caravans down to Angel's Camp and then over the plains back home.

[ksandvik]

The rest of the trip is then to get down via the plains, the beginning part is rolly hills but then you end up on the plains with winds and otherwise not that much to see between all the orchards and fields. I tend to take all kinds of smaller roads and guess my way back to Tracy or a similar point just to avoid the boring Hwy 5/580 and similar big roads with lots of cars, wind and otherwise slab.

Now afterwards, as I mentioned, two days was aggressive. My mistake was to get to Tonopah pretty quickly. So I assumed that the trip back home would be as speedy as I even got up earlier on Sunday morning. However, twisty roads and lots of stops add time. And at some point in the late afternoon you start to worry about getting home before dark and then it's mostly driving, driving, driving with as few coffee breaks as possible.

I forgot to start my trip meter about 30 miles into the journey but this trip was roughly 905 miles or so.

Anyway, it's doable in case someone else wants to do a similar trip.

[ksandvik]

The other thing you maybe noticed on my bike photos is that I don't take with me a lot of stuff for a two or even three-day trip. A backpack with some spare clothes and smaller things is all I need. I prefer to sleep in a nice bed after long hours of driving instead of camping. And less gear means that the bike is more responsive, takes less fuel and otherwise you have less to think about.

[JCZ]

Outstanding ride report! Thanks a bunch for posting.

[envyforrx7]

Wow epic ride, I will ride here soon on the plan now. But just staying in California and not crossing over.

[needles]

Really Nice photo!

Originally Posted by ksandvik

Typical scenery along Hwy 108 when you climb upwards over the Sierras.

[ksandvik]

Thx, the weather gods were with me that weekend -- actually half of my reason to do the two day trip that specific weekend when the temperatures dropped, as driving post 100+ degrees in Nevada is not fun.