Las Vegas - My Ride So Far

After updating on the first day I gave up trying to think of something witty while pretty well exhausted from full days of riding. Posted a few pictures on Facebook I had taken along the way. Jeannette joined me in Vegas for the weekend so I finally have  little time to update my ride.

Big picture, I rode my planned route with few exceptions. I left Washington last Sunday, made my south with stops in Medford, OR, Woodland, CA and Barstow, CA before turning more east. The last two days of riding were spectacular in Arizona, Utah and Nevada. I made it to Nevada on Friday late afternoon in the heat of the day. Here's the ride mileage so far:

Day 1: 650 miles - Home to Medford, OR with a lot of back and forth across the interstate for bonus stops. Can't really say there was a highlight this day - I have ridden these roads several times before.

Day 2: 537 miles (1187 miles total) - Medford to Woodland, CA with side trips to see a few dams in southwest Oregon and northwest California. Highlights included Trinity Dam and Shasta Dam stops. Lowlight included riding through central California rice paddies at sunset. The bugs were like rain. And they are still on my bike :(

Day 3: 564 miles (1753 miles total) - Woodland to Barstow, CA with a lot of riding along the Sacramento River, a trip out to the middle of nowhere, CA for a bonus and dinner at In N Out. The side trip was exciting because it was 25 miles of open range cows (and their associated droppings on the road). Once I arrived and snapped my picture I quickly realized the road led to nowhere and had to backtrack through the cows and poop. Needless to say, it was slow going. Turns out that cows have the same horrible survival instincts as deer and will run directly in to you path when spooked.

Day 4: 576 miles (2330 miles total) - Barstow to Lake Havasu City, AZ by way of Yuma. Finally the trip gets more interesting. I have ridden the area around the Salton Sea before so was ready to just get it out of the way. Knowing I had a long day ahead of me I was eager to get an efficient start but struggled to get any momentum. Seemed like every stop lasted twice as long as it should have and I got a bit discouraged. There is always a plan, however, and the early morning snafus resulted in my arrival at Lake Havasu at sunset for some spectacular sights! Always keep the faith.

Day 5: 482 miles (2812 miles total) - Lake Havasu City to Flagstaff, AZ. My shortest planned day had me start near sea level in Lake Havasu City and make my way to over 7,000 feet in Flagstaff for the night. Crazy, especially when you consider there was never really anything I would consider a "mountain pass" to make the elevation gain. Just a long steady climb up and up and up. The scenery was fantastic and I enjoyed the entire ride. Only one small mishap while I was putting on my rain pants and almost got robbed, but a State Trooper showed up at the right time. Story will be shared over a beer upon request.

Day 6: 662 miles (3473 miles total) - Flagstaff to Vegas. Highlight segment of the trip with planned stops in Monument Valley, Horseshoe Bend and along the outskirts of Zion and several other state and national parks. Unbelievable! Knowing i wanted to get to Vegas before dinner to meet up with Jeannette, and that this was my longest planned day, I left my hotel at 3:30am and headed north for Monument Valley. No traffic and i got the just after sunrise. The stop at Horseshoe Bend is a must-see if you are in the area. Relatively simple hike out and back, and a few people to contend with, but the vistas are so worth it. I made it before Jeannette, too :)

I'll write more about our Vegas adventure (it's not done, yet) when I get home. I have panned my return trip to make the shortest mileage, which has me going north through Nevada into Idaho and then west through Oregon back to Washington. I have a plan to complete my second IBA sanctioned endurance ride, but also have scoped out hotels along the way incase traffic or my aging body disagree. I'll still have the same Spotwalla page if you care to follow along. My plan is for a 4am start, but we'll see how I feel after our trip out to Zion today.

Instead of putting more copies of the same pictures in this blog entry, here's the link to the Flickr album I have been updating.

Tim's Big Ride Adventure!

That's it for now I think. More to come after I get home.