Western Express Day #16 Baker, NV to Ely, NV
Western Express Day #16
June 16 2021
Baker, NV to Ely, NV - 63 Miles
Start 6:17AM, Finish 1:18PM
Ride Time: 6:25
Ascent: 4430'
Descent: 3033'
Tour Total Miles: 1054
I slept great last night in the back corner of the Whispering Elms RV Park in Baker. David and Eileen were camped not far away, and it was great to see three bicycles lined up together against a fence. Last night I showered and shaved, and returned myself to level one. I woke up with the morning light, and because it was Pacific time, noticed that it was still before 5AM. I tried to roll over and get some more sleep. That said, I needed to beat the sun and the wind out on the road.
After packing up, I headed out on State Highway 487 west. I was surrounded by an expansive open valley with a large mountain range far to the west. I could see pockets of snow up on the ridge. I passed sage brush, grass, scraggly bushes, dirt, and rocks. Today there were utility poles running down both sides of the highway. I was wearing my cycling shorts and short-sleeve jersey, and had reattached my helmet brim. I began to get warm early in the ride. Pedaling down a long flat section I realized there was no wind. The highway travelled in a perfectly straight line.
Dave and Eileen had said that it was would be hot and windy again today. Ostensibly the heat would subside tomorrow. I had a shorter ride planned today with two large passes and, fingers crossed, a service stop at the midpoint. I had eaten three meals yesterday, which meant that I could pass on breakfast this morning. After five miles I came to an intersection and was rejoined with my old friend US Highway 50, which I had split away from in Montrose, CO. I took a left heading northwest. I had heard that the motor traffic on US50 in Nevada wasn’t so bad. This section was known as the loneliest Road in America. I saw a sign for Ely, today’s destination, which was 56 miles ahead. Carson City was 375 miles away.
I was at currently at 5640’ elevation, and would be climbing up to the top of 7154’ Sacramento Pass. Two cars were approaching from my rear. They passed me right as an elk jumped out onto the road ahead, and was narrowly missed. It was scary. I crossed over a ditch where a creek would run if there were any water. I passed a sign that read, 'When flashing chain or snow tires required'. It, of course, wasn’t flashing. Melissa and Phillip had seen snow in Nevada just a couple of weeks ago, and even had to cancel a day of riding because of it.
On my way up the pass my odometer hit the thousand mile mark. It was technically about five miles short because of problems I’d been having with the smoke magnet. There were definitely more bushes and scraggly trees up on the ridge than down in the valley. In the distance I could see higher ridges with snow on top. I finally reached the top of the pass. I took a quick photo and then the downhill began. I passed a sign that read, '6% grade next 5 miles'.
I sped down into another ginormous valley with a huge impressive mountain range on the far end. I saw cattle in the distance, and then I came around a curve and noticed a huge wind farm. It took almost an hour to cycle around the turbine matrix. I counted them and came up with a total of 67. I noticed that one wasn’t working and that a repair crew was on site.
I ran into eastbound cyclists Megan and Christie, who were doing the Western Express and then the Trans Am. These girls had some nice tunes jamming! Megan was from Denver and Christie was from Santa Cruz. They were primarily camping, and they told me about the small western towns where I was headed. I passed the Rattlesnake Knoll to the left.
The climb for Connors Pass began a few miles before Majors Junction. Once again, I passed a sign about chains or snow tires being required when the lights were flashing. I ran into eastbound cyclist Dave from Fairfield California. He was riding all the way across with a detour to Arkansas to see his brother. He found the emptiness and vastness here to be sublime.
The store at Major Junction didn’t open until 12PM. A motorist in a pick up truck offered me a ride to Ely but I couldn’t accept. I sat on the front porch in the shade for a few minutes, and then applied sunscreen and got back on the road. The steeper grades began immediately. I entered Humboldt National Forest. I was getting hot on the ascent, so I pulled over into a shady spot against the rock cut, and drink some water. I was now down to half a bottle.
I continued up the pass and noticed that a lot of westbound cattle trucks had been passing me today. I reached the top of 7722’ Connors Pass a little after 11AM, and then the downhill began. I entered Steptoe Valley and was riding west towards Ely. I was starting to feel a crosswind from the south. Rumble strips were grooved into the entire width of the shoulder and I had to ride to the left of the white line. The air was hazy today, and it was 90°F.
Outside of Ely, I stopped at Comins Lake to soak my feet in the cool water. It brought down my body temperature a little bit. My remaining half water bottle was hot, and I only had five more miles to my destinations. I was fantasizing about a large Coke with crushed ice. I passed the KOA campground on the edge of town, where Megan and Christie had stayed. I had made up my mind to stay downtown at the Historic Nevada Hotel, where David and Eileen had gone. I stopped at a Chevron station and there wasn’t a soda fountain, so I purchased a red Gatorade.
Ely, pronounced ‘eelee’, had a population of 4255 and it’s elevation was 6435’. I passed numerous beautiful old cars coming into town. Then I ran into eastbound cyclist Greg, from Seattle, who was doing the Western Express. He had broken up the stretch from Eureka to Ely and had camped in the desert. He was planning to stay at the KOA tonight.
I rode over to the historic six-story Hotel Nevada. Opened in 1929, it was the tallest building in Nevada until 1931. Stars embedded in the sidewalk out front depicted the names of Gary Cooper, President Lyndon B Johnson, Jimmy Stewart, and others. There was a large gambling hall located on the ground floor. Check-in wasn’t until 3PM, so I went across the street to Economy Drug and Soda Fountain. Stepping way back in time, I sat at an old fashioned lunch counter and relished several large cokes on ice, while I enjoyed a ham sandwich and potato chips. Ely was founded as a stagecoach station along the Pony Express and Central Overland Route. It’s mining boom came later, with the discovery of copper in 1906. The town had commissioned murals that paid homage to it’s history.
I checked into the Hotel Nevada, showered, and did laundry. I worked on this report, and then went to the Club Rio for a couple of beers. The bartender had me roll the dice for ‘shake a shift’ and I didn’t win. I went next door to Racks where I enjoyed a pulled pork sandwich and a Stella. Afterwards I returned to the hotel, and used my complimentary drink tickets to get margaritas at the bar.
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