Fantasminha

Hello all.

My husband and I have just moved back to the US (lived almost 3 years in Dublin) but we ended up in Reno, NV rather than Dallas, Tx. So we are looking for route recommendations. We tend to like 40-60 mile circles but any recommendations are welcome! Thanks!

Samantha

rodar y rodar

Hi, Samanta. It must be quite a shock moving directly from Emerald Green to dusty gray, so I hope you folks are getting along with the climate alright! 40 to 60 mile circles sounds like road riding to me. You mean all paved, or do you do gravel too? Cimby or flat? How tolerant are you of traffic? What corner of town, and are you willing to throw your bikes in the car and drive a little to a starting point? I can help you out with most any of it, but ya may as well dial it in a little so I can give you something useful without writing for hours. I`m in Lemmon Valley, about half way between downtown Reno and the CA line going north, so my thinking is a bit north-centric, but I`m at least familiar with some of the south stuff too. Happy pedalling and ride safe!

VegasTriker

Try Googling on "Reno NV bicycle clubs" and you will come up with at least one local shop that does organized rides. It's usually the easiest way to find out if there are any clubs in your area and how to contact them.

rodar y rodar

It looks like we scared her off, Triker. Ya think she ran for the trees and escaped into OR or NorCal?

Fantasminha

Ha! No, didn't scare me off. Just that a move of this magnitude means I'm a little slow seeing my email

Yes, road riding is my preference though both my hubby and I have cycle-cross bikes that are currently set up for commuting in Dublin. I can't imagine that we will need those here in Reno with the way the roads are all so great, so I think we will put them back to being "light offroad" bikes. That said, we accidentally found ourselves on a gravel road with our road bikes and that's a stress I wouldn't like to repeat! (My husband was on a CF roadbike and complained the whole way!) Driving to the starting point is fine too since we have now received our container with the bike rack.

The area we moved from was "slightly mountainous" so we would be used to some climbs. We have been riding from our house close to Meadowood mall up Mt Rose hwy until the shoulder ends (about Galena Park area) and back but I don't really like that route because of the crossings. Personally I prefer to ride right on the road than to be relegated to a bike lane where I have to stop at every intersection. We lived 3 years car free in Dublin, so some city riding is ok, we are used to traffic. We also did some bike touring in Ireland so longer or overnight routes wouldn't be unwelcome.

I guess what I'm saying is... everything except mountain bike trails works for us! LOL

rodar y rodar

Yay!

About the Mount Rose Hwy: Yeah, there`s a lot of busy traffic getting away from the Meadowood area. If you liked it other than the first couple miles, don`t give up hope for it. Providing you get an early start on a weekend morning, so that you can make the summit before traffic picks up, you can stretch that one out into a serious climbing ride without many intersections. The Incline Village side has a nice shoulder, so if you ride down the other side you won`t have to worry about traffic on the way back to the top. And going down either side, you`re moving fast enough to take the lane the whole way as long as you pull off from time to time to let the cars by.

For some really nice cruising, have you tried Washoe Valley? Other than a few nasty intersections where freeway exits dump out, it really isn`t too bad on 395, then from Bowers Mansion all the way into (or even beyond) Carson City is beautiful, tranquil pedalling through ranch land and a few ritzy housing developments. If you want to skip 395 entirely, Bowers Mansion and Davis Creek Park are convenient places to park and ride. The "normal" route for driving or riding to that side of Washoe Valley is blocked for construction, but you can still get through on the Parker Ranch Road bypass- pretty easy to figure out if you look at the map first, just that P. R. Rd isn`t shown, but following the signs will be obvious once you find yourself there. There`s a little bit of climbing between Steamboat Springs and Washoe Valley, Old 395 is pretty flat, and Franktown Road is rolly. You can make a loop by riding south on that side, then come back up on Eastlake Blvd, though personally I don`t like riding Eastlake- people driving at all different speeds, narrow, and invariably has gusty crosswinds that make me nervous around the motorized traffic. Some people like it though, so maybe that`s just me. If you want to ride over into Carson, follow Old 395 all the way to the end and into the Lakeview subdivision. You`ll see bike route signs directing you up and over without having to take the main highway. It`s a bit of a climb from Washoe Valley through that subdivision, more-so comming back.

Going beyond Carson City, the roads between 395 and the mountains are all really nice cycling. Jacks Valley Rd (1st or 2nd light after US 50) is the first turnoff for that stuff, and there`s parking at a number of big shopping centers. The northern part is kind of climby, similar to the bottom of the Mt Rose Highway, but with less traffic. After maybe ten miles, it`s fairly flat all the way past Minden, then starts into big time climbing roughly at Woodfords, CA. For a long ride around that area, Genoa or Minden offer options for lunch.

I haven`t ridden much of the "Death Ride" roads south of Minden, so can`t vouch for them. I do like the Sierra, though. One of my favorites is the Gold Lake Highway. Basic loop here:
https://www.mapmyride.com/s/routes/vi...aville/1560649
Options for that one include a stop at Frasier Falls, A23 and Hwy 70 through Portola instead of 89, and a stop at The Village Baker in Blairsden for killer pastries. Frasier Falls is abouttwo miles of gravel from Gold Lake via Frasier Creek Rd (it shows up on Google Maps), then one lane rough pavement until it ties in with G.L.H. again near the bottom. The bakery in Blairsden is very easy to find, since Blairsden consists of only one street- if you want the goodies, it`s best to get there early because they often sell out by noon. Other services include a good burger joint next to that bakery, a roadhouse at Bassets and a few restaurants in Sierraville, Portola, and Graeagle. No services left in Calpine or Sattley.

Hey, did I hear mention of overnighters?
I love weekend tours! Plumas County is right at our back door, and I just can`t get enough of it. The paved riding there is just groovy, and your cross bikes will open up almost infintite possibilities.

Here are a some of my Plumas rides:
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/featherriver
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/9456
https://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t...ide/?start=all

Fantasminha

Thanks Rodar y rodar! I thoroughly enjoyed your blog and photos and I will definately set aside some time to go through your routes and map them on ridewithgps.

Last Saturday while we were climbing up Mt Rose hwy some goons in a small SUV threw a cup of ice out the window at us. I can't forgive myself for not having found the battery charger for my helmet cam yet. :/ We are highly motivated to find good routes with less traffic so I'm excited about all the options you've given!

We aren't doing as much cycling these last several days as we would like because of the unpacking. It seems to consume every minute of our time! I will be back as soon as we take the first of your recommended routes!

rodar y rodar

I`m very sorry to hear of the Mt Rose Hwy incedent, Samantha . I read about that kind of thing happening on forums and blogs, but the only cases I`ve personally had of people DELIBERATELY doing things that could be dangerous are the much milder screaming/yelling/horn blowing while passing right next to me variety. I thought maybe this area was devoid of such A-holes, but it looks like I`ve just been lucky. I sure hope that was a one and only for you guys.

For lighter traffic, the Gold Lakes highway, Old 395 and Franktown Rd, Carson Valley (Genoa/Minden) are very nice. Also the county roads in Sierra Valley (Google Maps for Loyalton, CA and look for Herriot Ln and others across the valley bottom) let you ride right up the middle of the road in la-la land without having to pay attention to anything. They`re flat as a pancake and not particularly exciting, but very pretty. For closer to Reno, I like Redrock Rd:
https://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/88817611
I ride it a lot because it`s right in my back yard, but not far from the south end of town either. The highway part has traffic, though very wide and clean shoulders. or you can do out and back on the non-highway part. My favorite section of that loop is from where it starts climbing on the south side, up over the top, and down the canyon towards Rancho Haven.

Oh, and I almost forgot the Bizz Johnson rail trail out of Susanville! Google will show you the details, but it`s a little shy of 30 miles each way in total. The best part of that one (according to both my wife and to me) is the first section leaving Susanville from the start until it crosses under the highway at about mile 7. That section follows the river with about a half dozen tressles, two tunnels, and like the rest of the trail, zero motorized vehicles.

I don`t know what kind of schedule you folks have, Mondays are my usual play days, so that`s when I do most of my longer day rides- give a holler if you want some company or "guide service".

DXchulo

If you live close to Meadowood Mall you're close to a little bit of everything.

Red Rock is a good suggestion and here's how I'd get there: https://g.co/maps/wewfj
-395 isn't that bad (plenty of shoulder) past the border, so you can head towards Susanville from there or ride on CA-70, which is mostly flat.

You can also head to Verdi, which is a popular thing to do. Here's how I'd do that: https://g.co/maps/5dbbn
-If you do a street view on B you'll see the bike path. From there you can do this: https://g.co/maps/5djsh

Pyramid Lake is a nice, flat ride to do. The part between Sparks and Spanish Springs is a little heavy on the traffic and the bike lane disappears on you, but as long as you're not going during rush hour it's not terrible. Here's how I would do that: https://g.co/maps/4c473

If you want to climb you can head the other way at the Mt. Rose junction and do Geiger Grade. There's been construction there recently, though, so try not to get stuck in that. https://g.co/maps/3kusf

You can also head towards Washoe Valley on 395. Like rodar y rodar was saying, you have a few different options there- Eastlake or Old 395. Jacks Valley/Foothill is a great suggestion and here's how I'd do that: https://g.co/maps/p5y3v
-You can take that all the way to Kingsbury if you want to get a nice climb in.

If you want to ride around Lake Tahoe the NE section (https://g.co/maps/7uvqp) is the most bike-friendly, IMO. Just take Mt. Rose Hwy all the way up or take 50 from Carson City, which is a busy car route but has a wide shoulder all the way up.

There are a ton more routes, but that's the basic stuff.

Fantasminha

Hmm! A little ride to a spa... I like it! Looks like we will be grounded at least one day this weekend for weather. Such a bummer! We just finished my new touring bike (a Surly) and I can't wait to get back out there.

Last weekend we took the CF bikes up that road towards Virginia City. By the time we got to the top of the climb, between the heat, the sun, and exertion, I was as red as a beet! LOL! But honestly I can't wait to take my new Surly up there or for a good 60+ ride around Tahoe. (If you can believe it we are still unpacking.)

Keep posting your favorite routes... I've got a map here that I'm highlighting for the day we can stop thinking about boxes!

Thanks!

Fantasminha

The weather was great today so we took the new touring bike for a pedal out to Verdi and back via the north side doing the whole McCarren loop (RT @ 65 miles). Thanks for the tip: it was (a bit hilly but) great!!