[Ridgetop]

The weather was absolutely beautiful today, and by some miracle I actually remembered to pack my bike and bring it with me to work. During the summer this is a habit, but recently it has taken some effort to get back into weekday riding mode. But thanks to daylight savings and some temps in the 60's I was able to ride for two hours and take pics!! Whoo hoo! I chose to ride around Washoe Valley south of Reno and between Reno and Carson City. It's one of our more common bike playgrounds during the summer, but I don't actually ride all the way around too often due to having to cross four lanes of 70 mile per hour freeway traffic. Remember the game Frogger? That's me .

Anyway, there were a lot of clouds in the sky but the weather was actually just about perfect. The Valley is interesting in that the Western half is very wet due to Lake effect rain/snow from Lake Tahoe, but the Eastern side quickly rain shadows out and is more typical Nevada desert. In between the two zones is Little Washoe and Washoe Lakes. The whole area is a state park and two lane roads meander around the perimeter. If it wasn't for the freeway section it would be perfect.

The last pic in this post is me staring down the traffic on the Freeway. My head was getting sore whipping from side to side waiting for an opening. Then, all of a sudden, zero cars in either direction. Goooooo!

 

[Ridgetop]

Around the Dry Side

Continuing on I rode up the highway to East Lake Blvd where I headed east and around Little Washoe Lake. I dropped into the park for a few minutes to snap a shot. What a nice day. And then it was on and through New Washoe City (don't blink or you'll miss it) before descending back down into the park. I stopped for a couple of desert estate shots before visiting Washoe Lake at a very quiet campground. Not a soul to be seen. I didn't want to leave but my stomach was growling so back on the bike and to the car I went.

 

[thinkcooper]

Nice. Your area's on my short list of alternatives to Santa Cruz.

 

[llama31]

Looks like fun. I like pic #5 with the barn and big tree. So traffic is pretty light around the Reno area?

 

[treebound]

Nice report and pics. The Reno area is on my "maybe live there someday" list.

.... So traffic is pretty light around the Reno area?

I'm waiting to hear the answer to this one :wink5:

 

[fasteddy07]

Great shots. Love your photo reports.

Well done.

 

[MB1]

That is one sweet after work ride but what is this "car" thing you refer to?

 

[Ridgetop]

I don't have a huge problem with traffic except on the major arterials. Reno is plagued by having very few major highways for people to come in from the outlying areas on. But, if you avoid those roads it is pretty nice riding.

 

[Ridgetop]

It really isn't too bad. There are areas that I will avoid (such as the highway I had to ride on for a short distance yesterday), but even those aren't too bad compared to major cities. If you stick to the older roads around the outskirts or if you ride up into the Sierras it isn't too bad. Some of the posters on this board commute regularly within the Reno city limits and I did at one time and never found it that bad. I regularly do night riding from my house on the far south end of town up to the casino district and people always give me lots of room and the roads I chose are pretty quiet after about 6:00pm. Just depends on where you ride.

 

[Ridgetop]

Oh yeah, if you don't mind driving (yeah I know MB1 - yuck! ) an hour in any direction, you have pretty much unlimited miles of riding pleasure. What I like most about Reno is I can be in the Sac Valley riding within 2 hours, some of the best Sierra roads anywhere from 1/2 an hour to an hour, and hundreds of miles of desert roads about 1/2 hour east of town, and Tahoe can be ridden to from town. I love it when it's warm enough to take advantage of it.

 

[bigrider]

Nice stuff. I like the tree root picture and the bike by the lake.

 

[thebadger]

I second Llama's thoughts by really liking the big old tree with the barn. Looks like some good riding.

 

[rodar y rodar]

I love it when it's warm enough to take advantage of it.

It`s getting there. I see sunshime in some of your pics. I was up on Peavine on my mtb- wearing shorts, summer gloves, no jacket and no knitted watch cap. You didn`t have any problems with the wind out there even in the afternoon?

 

[Ridgetop]

It was suprisingly quiet. Just enough wind to stir up the lake a little, but not enough that I really noticed it. I expected a gale, but was very happy with the whisper.

 

[hclignett]

Looks like the snow is starting to melt too. We'll be making our Costco run soon so it's nice to know I could take my bike with me.

 

[Ridgetop]

How's the riding around Bishop? I imagine the high country is a mess but how are the lower valleys?

 

[hclignett]

It was windy for a while there. I had been riding my CX to work and back before the daylight savings time. But now I can only ride after work, which is still okay as long as the winds don't kick up.

 

[DrRoebuck]

Great RR report, Ridge. Beautiful shots and, man, thinkcooper's right. That looks like a great place to live. At least as far as riding's concerned.

 

[Cyclonoob]

Love the pics....i was looking at them and didn't read where you were. I said to myself..."looks familiar". My inlaws live right around that Franktown area. The wife and I bring bikes when we go out there.

Reno is a pretty cool area to ride. I am just getting back into riding myself. I am even trying commuting about 12 miles a day through downtown Reno. It isn't too bad at all. Just stay off a couple of the roads and you are golden. I ride about 25 miles a day after work for some cardio. I love that I can go any direction from my place in the middle of town and get a cool ride in.

 

[Ridgetop]

I like riding around Reno. After the rush hour dies down you can pretty much ride anywhere without too much of a problem I live in the far south of town so it's more of a run to get into the downtown areas. I usually cruise in on Lakeside and Plumas.