Carson City to Fallon

Carson_City_to_Fallon_smallest, originally uploaded by alec_p.

Day 5

Carson City to Fallon

Distance: 61.09 miles
Total Time (wheels spinning): 3:38:58
Average Speed (wheels spinning): 16.74 mph
Start Time: 8:53
Finish Time: 12:53
Total Time (w/ breaks): 4:00
Average Speed (w/ breaks): 15.27 mph
Maximum Speed: 42.3 mph
Maximum Temperature: 91 F
Total Trip Distance: 308.27 miles

Saw cool spider "bug" and Bob's Root Beer

Genoa to Carson City

Genoa_to_Carson_City_smallest, originally uploaded by alec_p.

Day 4

Genoa to Carson City (Rest Day)

Distance: 15.24 miles
Total Time (wheels spinning): 1:05:50
Average Speed (wheels spinning): 13.89 mph
Start Time: 8:33
Finish Time: 10:45
Total Time (w/ breaks): 2:12
Average Speed (w/ breaks): 6.93 mph
Maximum Speed: 35.3mph
Maximum Temperature: 92 F
Total Trip Distance: 247.18 miles

Stopped for phone call, and breakfast at IHOP

Black Station CA to Genoa NV

Black_Station_CA_to_Genoa_NV_smallest, originally uploaded by alec_p.

Day3

Black Station to Genoa, NV

Distance: 73.19miles
Total Time (wheels spinning): 6:53:54
Average Speed (wheels spinning): 10.61 mph
Start Time: 7:32
Finish Time: 17:48
Total Time (w/ breaks): 10:16
Average Speed (w/ breaks): 7.13 mph
Maximum Speed: 48.0 mph
Maximum Temperature: 83 F
Total Trip Distance: 231.94 miles

I rode this leg with my cousin Kekoa, who drove up to meet me the night before. While we were riding up, a large bear bounded across the road about 100 yards ahead of us. We didn't see any baby bears, and figured we could turn and ride downhill if it came back (we were on a steep part and were travelling about 5 mph), so we decided to continue. We stopped at Kirkwood Inn for about 2 hours and stuffed ourselves with their huge, delicious fries. Man, the rest of the ride up to Carson Pass was tough because I was so full...

Lockeford to Black Station

Lockeford_to_Black_Station_smallest, originally uploaded by alec_p.

Day 2

Lockeford to Black Station

Distance: 51.00 miles
Total Time (wheels spinning): 5:04:59
Average Speed (wheels spinning): 10.03 mph
Start Time: 7:45
Finish Time: 15:03
Total Time (w/ breaks): 7:18
Average Speed (w/ breaks): 6.99 mph
Maximum Speed: 41.0 mph
Maximum Temperature: 95 F
Total Trip Distance: 158.75 miles

Today was tougher than I thought it was going to be. It was hot, and that made all the difference. It was about a 4000 foot gain from Lockeford to Black Station Inn, which is in the location of one of the old Pony Express stops.

In Jackson, I stopped at the surprisingly full function bike shop there, and bought a new pair of biking shorts to try and solve the chafing issue (which wasn't quite as bad today, but will definitely stop this trip if I don't get a handle on it).

Pleasanton to Lockeford

Pleasanton_to_Lockeford_smallest, originally uploaded by alec_p.

Day 1

Pleasanton to Lockeford

Distance: 74.07 miles
Total Time (wheels spinning): 5:26:03
Average Speed (wheels spinning): 13.63 mph
Start Time: 8:22
Finish Time: 15:13
Total Time (w/ breaks): 6:51
Average Speed (w/ breaks): 10.81 mph
Maximum Speed: 39.9 mph
Maximum Temperature: 90 F
Total Trip Distance: 107.75 miles

The day went well except for some chafing issues. Patterson Pass is a pretty cool ride. Steep up, fast down, amongst the windmills. It was really hot by the time I got to Lockeford. Richard and Lani Eklund, the proprietors of the Locke House (http://www.theinnatlockehouse.com/), a B&B that was the original building in Lockeford, had Lemonade ready for me, and I downed a whole pitcher. Richard is a aircraft homebuilder so I spent some time talking to him about homebuilding and flying

Mountain View to Pleasanton

Mountain_View_to_Pleasanton, originally uploaded by alec_p.

Day 0

Google to Pleasanton

Distance: 33.68 miles
Total Trip Distance: 33.68 miles
Total Time (wheels spinning): 2:18:29
Average Speed (wheels spinning): 14.59 mph
Start Time: 16:53
Finish Time: 19:32
Total Time (w/ breaks): 2:39
Average Speed (w/ breaks): 12.71 mph
Maximum Speed: 30.5 mph



I decided to get a jump start the day before the 'real' start of my trip so that I could avoid Bay Area traffic. So today is "Day 0".

I left late at almost 5:00 p.m. (had planned to leave by 2:00 p.m. to miss traffic).

The trip went smoothly, though the path was slightly different than plan (Decoto road is a fwy after the bridge, so I had to divert South, then North over Decoto, then joined Decoto several miles further East).

On the way, I rode through Niles, which used to be its own town, but is now part of Fremont. Downtown Niles is filled with Antique shops. This is something I noticed on my training ride the weekend before -- all the small towns' main business seems to be Antiques. It makes me wonder -- is there really that much old stuff? Or is there just some big factory somewhere where someone cranks out "old" stuff... Hmmm. :-)



Interesting side trivia note: Niles was the home of Charles Chaplin for 4 months in 1914 while he worked at Essanay studios, and he filmed his movie "The Tramp" there. The famous shot of him walking away down the road was filmed here. Could this be Niles Canyon Road itself?:




A Metro article about Chaplin in Niles:

http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/06.04.98/slices-9822.html

When I arrived in Pleasanton stayed with my friends the Jamaca's.

Alec's 2004 Bike Trip Route Map

Alec_2004_Bike_Trip_Route_smaller, originally uploaded by alec_p.

This is a map of my planned bike trip from California to Utah.

Why this trip? Just 'cause. I was hoping to do this trip last summer, but time flew and then it was too late. In the middle of this summer I realized the summer was going fast again and decided to go for it. I trained for 3.5 weeks, doing longish rides on the three weekends before the trip.

The last training weekend was a two day trip in the reverse direction over the Carson Pass, from Genoa Nevada to Manteca California. When I was able to do that, I knew the trip was feasible. (The East side is steeper than the West, so it is actually harder going East to West...)

The plan is to average 60 to 65 miles per day (some days have as many as 85 miles because there is just desert between the two closest towns). I'm leaving now (August 26th) because if I leave much later than this weekend or next, then it will start to get cold and may snow in many of the places in Nevada and Utah.

Alec's 2004 Bike Trip blog