Just saw this on the SF Chronicle website. Has anyone in the group done this ride?
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sfgate.comarticle.cgiOpen ↗
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Pedaling the lonesome road
Dan Giesin, Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, August 14, 2003
They call the stretch of U.S. Highway 50 that traverses the state of Nevada "the loneliest road"
in America.
For much of its 420 miles, the mostly two-lane blacktop passes through some mighty desolate and
uninhabited terrain -- only three towns interrupt the passage of the eastern 330 miles of the route
-- whose numerous Great Basin ranges and high valleys are filled with pinon pine, juniper, aspen
and hectares of sage brush. The big dome of blue stretching from horizon to horizon makes this
truly big-sky country with only the roar of the occasional passing RV or pickup truck to disturb
the solitude.
In other words, Highway 50 is nothing but miles and miles of miles and miles.
What a perfect place to pedal a bicycle.
"It's almost a secret ride," Marin attorney Joan Bennett said. "Every time I ride across Highway 50,
I feel as if I am one of only a handful of people to travel this strip of highway. . . . There are
very few places in the Bay Area where this is even remotely possible."
Added Greg Boyden, a retired UPS driver from Pacifica: "It's the ultimate cycling experience for
scenery and road riding to your heart's content. . . . It's the Nirvana ride."
Every late September for the past dozen years, people such as Bennett and Boyden have gathered in
South Lake Tahoe for the five-day trek across the Silver State via Highway 50 known as OATBRAN (One
Awesome Tour Bike Ride Across Nevada). And though there are many other official, organized cross-
state junkets around the nation, this ride differs in one huge degree: There are rarely more than 60
riders involved (compare that with the 10,000 or so who regularly cycle across Iowa in the annual
RAGBRAI event), giving OATBRAN an intimacy that dovetails nicely with the ride's solitude.
"In some other (cross-state) rides, you just get on a bike and go out and ride every day, and there
are so many riders that you're just a number," said Curtis Fong, OATBRAN founder, director and chief
cook and bottle washer. "By limiting the amount of people to between 50 and 60 riders, we can get to
know them individually and respond to their needs."
A few years ago, the ride grew to 75 cyclists, and Fong, a gregarious sort who loves to mingle and
interact with the riders, found himself in a bind. "I got so busy keeping up with that many riders,
I didn't have time to talk to people and really meet them," he said.
The intimacy of OATBRAN works in other ways, too. One year, a couple of cyclists from opposite ends
of the country -- she was from Washington,
D.C., he was from Southern California -- met on the ride and found themselves to be kindred spirits.
The following year, they got married at Lake Tahoe the day before OATBRAN kicked off and spent
the first part of their honeymoon on a tandem pedaling down Highway 50.
"It's things like that that keep me and the ride going," Fong said.
Of course, not everything is downhill and downwind on OATBRAN. Fong has had his share of headaches
-- like the one year a rider decided he wanted to hit every tavern and bar along the route, and
eventually had to be persuaded for his (and Fong's) sake to abandon the ride after the second day --
and you sometimes even hear the riders grousing.
"I can do without the leg between Carson City and Fallon," said Bennett, who nonetheless will be
riding that stretch of Highway 50 for the fourth time next month. "It's like the Bay Area: strip
malls, tract houses, high rises, fast-food chains, billboards and and commute-hour traffic."
There are also a couple of mind- (and butt-) numbing flat sections (from Fallon to Sand Mountain and
through the Anderson Valley west of Eureka) that stretch for 20 miles and more, and seriously test
your patience and/or commitment: No matter how many pedal revolutions you put in, the mountains on
the horizon never seem to get any closer.
But as the philosopher says, it's not the destination, it's the journey, and OATBRAN's few
detractions rarely put a damper on riders' enthusiasm.
"In a strange way, you have to push through those kind of days for the real experience,"
Boyden said.
As for the high points, there are many, including the 13 distinct summits the riders crest en route
(OATBRAN has nearly 17,000 feet of climbing over its 420 miles). In fact, it's the mountainous
terrain -- much of the ride is at 6, 000 feet or above -- that gives OATBRAN its singular feel.
"Most people think of Nevada as a flat desert with nothing to see," said Fong, who has lived in the
Carson Valley area south of Carson City for much of the past 20 years. "But it's really a mix of
high desert and mountain ranges."
Because of the ride's altitude and the time of year it is conducted, weather conditions on OATBRAN
are ideal, with daytime temperatures rarely exceeding the mid-70s and winds typically -- but not
always -- out of the west and southwest (i.e., generally at your back).
The mellow climatic conditions and relatively short cycling legs (daily mileage ranges from 70 to
113 miles) makes the ride manageable for most relatively fit cyclists who have a modicum of
experience.
"You should be able to complete a (one-day) century (100 miles) ride to ride in OATBRAN," said Fong,
who adds that OATBRAN riders, 75 percent of whom are men whose average age is mid-40s, come in all
sizes and shapes. As do their means of conveyance: Though most OATBRAN'ers straddle garden-variety
road bikes, some have made the trek on mountain bikes, tandems, recumbents and other exotic modes of
two-wheel transport.
OATBRAN isn't all about fitness, frame geometry and mileage. Highway 50 roughly parallels the Pony
Express route of the mid-19th century, and riders can get a small taste of that particular Wild West
phenomenon at the Middlegate Station and Cold Springs rest stops on Day 2.
Other must-see roadside attractions include the 600-foot-high Sand Mountain 20-plus miles east of
Fallon, the Shoe Tree just east of Middlegate Station, the ghost-town-in-the-making hamlet of
Austin, the Native American petroglyphs just beyond Hickison Summit on Day 3 and the Lehman Caves
tour at Great Basin National Park, which is at the eastern terminus of OATBRAN.
"I don't think I could tire of this ride," said Boyden, a three-time OATBRAN'er. "Each time you do
it -- whether it's from the endorphins kicking in or just being in such beautiful surroundings -- it
becomes a high. . . . Following that lonesome highway is awesome." Box o'OATBRAN
Route description: OATBRAN is a five-day, 420-mile bike ride across Nevada via Highway 50, with
overnight stops in Fallon, Austin, Eureka and Ely (two nights). Daily mileage is 91 miles from South
Lake Tahoe to Fallon, 113 miles from Fallon to Austin, 70 miles from Austin to Eureka, 79 miles from
Eureka to Ely and 75 miles from Ely to Nevada-Utah border. This year's ride begins Monday, Sept. 22,
and concludes Friday, Sept. 26, with Saturday, Sept. 27, reserved for van transport back to South
Lake Tahoe.
Sheets and eats: OATBRAN is a fully supported ride with well-stocked rest stops (food, water, moral
support) generally every 20 miles. Generous meals are supplied by community services (4H, chambers
of commerce, senior centers, women's groups, etc.) in each town. Most riders opt to camp out in
Fallon (county fairgrounds), Austin (town park) and Eureka (school playing field) and spend two
nights in an Ely motel (motels also are options in Fallon, Austin and Eureka). Clothing and personal
effects will be transported from town to town.
Cost: $695 before Aug. 22 ($750 thereafter), includes a welcome dinner and overnight lodging in
South Lake Tahoe on Sunday, Sept. 21.
Information: BikeTheWest.com or (775) 588-9658