Anybody here done the Western Express?

[PeanutButterShammyCream]

I am planning on leaving from San Francisco on May 1. Do you guys have any advice on crossing through Nevada, Utah and Colorado during May and June??? I'm excited!!!!!!

[aggie]

There are several posts on the Western Express route.  Just do a search and you will find plenty of information.

[zzzz]

I don't have my maps in front of me so this is my 6 yo memory.

- Be prepared if you get hit with some weather. I did this ride in September but certainly in May you can get hit with some snow on the passes and it's really miserable to be wet and cold

- Definitely take the alternate routing thats on the map right after Middlegate. 60± miles and I was passed by 1 car

- make sure you're capable of doing 65-75 mile days w 2 or 3 1500-2000' (medium grade) climbs interspersed as thats the spacing in between towns on 50 thru out nevada and there is NOTHING in between

- Take the ride up Wheeler Peak near the Nevada/Utah border. You can get a room at one of the 2 hotels that are 5-10 miles further down 50 and drop your panniers off and go up w/o the extra weight, you'll be glad you did.

- Two months is a lot of time to do this route (=avg 30/day). If you've never been to Zion NP, you will be pretty close. Maybe you want to take a 3 or 5 day detour and do some hiking.

- Get off your bike and take a walk to see Cedar Breaks (stunning) at the top of the climb after Cedar City. The climb looks very tough on paper but it wasn't bad.

- Bryce Canyon is only a 10 mile detour. Do not miss it.

- The stretch between Hanksville and Blanding is the toughest of the trip. Hites Landing was closed when I came thru & I think it's typically open in the spring but from the looks of things, it's a pretty desolate stop even when its open.

- The climb up Lizard Head pass will likely be the easiest and most enjoyable big climb you've ever taken. Right along the lovely Delores River all the way to the top and a predominant tail wind almost every day of the year.

- The ride along the Arkansas River was very scenic but felt kind of dicey with the traffic and general lack of much of a shoulder.

Thats what I got but Aggie is right, lots of other info out there. I loved this route, you're in for a treat.

pm

[PeanutButterShammyCream]

I don't have my maps in front of me so this is my 6 yo memory.

- Be prepared if you get hit with some weather. I did this ride in September but certainly in May you can get hit with some snow on the passes and it's really miserable to be wet and cold

- Definitely take the alternate routing thats on the map right after Middlegate. 60± miles and I was passed by 1 car

- make sure you're capable of doing 65-75 mile days w 2 or 3 1500-2000' (medium grade) climbs interspersed as thats the spacing in between towns on 50 thru out nevada and there is NOTHING in between

- Take the ride up Wheeler Peak near the Nevada/Utah border. You can get a room at one of the 2 hotels that are 5-10 miles further down 50 and drop your panniers off and go up w/o the extra weight, you'll be glad you did.

- Two months is a lot of time to do this route (=avg 30/day). If you've never been to Zion NP, you will be pretty close. Maybe you want to take a 3 or 5 day detour and do some hiking.

- Get off your bike and take a walk to see Cedar Breaks (stunning) at the top of the climb after Cedar City. The climb looks very tough on paper but it wasn't bad.

- Bryce Canyon is only a 10 mile detour. Do not miss it.

- The stretch between Hanksville and Blanding is the toughest of the trip. Hites Landing was closed when I came thru & I think it's typically open in the spring but from the looks of things, it's a pretty desolate stop even when its open.

- The climb up Lizard Head pass will likely be the easiest and most enjoyable big climb you've ever taken. Right along the lovely Delores River all the way to the top and a predominant tail wind almost every day of the year.

- The ride along the Arkansas River was very scenic but felt kind of dicey with the traffic and general lack of much of a shoulder.

Thats what I got but Aggie is right, lots of other info out there. I loved this route, you're in for a treat.

pm

Thanks for all the great info! I have a couple of question in regards to your response:

1. Is there a possibility of hitting some really HOT weather in Nevada, during May?

2. During the 65-75 mile stretches of NOTHING, are there places where I could stealth camp? Or is it all just open desert?

3. Are there fresh water sources that run along highway 50 in Nevada, in case I need to purify some water?

[zzzz]

Questions:

1) There are sites where you can look up historical weather data and you can see all the time high's for say Ely, or Eureka, but the length of 50 has a baseline of around 5000' of elevation so you are probably not going to run into extreme heat. And if you do, just start out at dawn and wrap up your day early.

2) Never having been to Nevada before that tour I couldn't have imagined what I saw. Not a house, not a fence for miles and miles. There is a periodic pull off you'll see and you could camp there but you will not be sheltered from view so you won't be very stealthy but I don't know that its illegal to camp alongside the road. Maybe someone else can clarify. I stayed in hotels.

3) In September there was no, and I mean zero surface water, but there may very well be some snow at the higher elevations when you go thru in May. Having said that, there's definitely an ethic in the rural west that if someone is in trouble you stop and help them out. If you ran out of water or had some other emergency you can flag down a car and someone will stop.

I'm making this sound pretty grim but the miles on 50 east of Fallon to the border w Utah were some of my favorite miles of any of the 6 long tours I've taken. There is something mesmerizing about that place, like you are riding thru another world.

[rabbitoh]

I have cycled half of the W.E (Cedar City to San Francisco) so know a little bit about Nevada.

I carried extra water on the longer days and never looked like running out. I was in Nevada late May (22nd to 29th) and had cold to mild weather, although I did get snow in Austin NV. Whilst US 50 through NV is remote, there is enough traffic passing by to assist should you strike trouble. The longest stretch without any services through NV is 83 miles, which although challenging, is not exactly unmanageable.

There is no where to stealth camp through NV. I stayed in motels although it might be a good idea to make a reservation from one town to the next to ensure you don't miss getting a room.

Try to avoid the section around Sand Mountain on either the week-end or a Public Holiday. I struck very heavy traffic which was departing from an event at Sand Mountain, along this stretch on a holiday Monday.

I hope you enjoy your ride.

[PeanutButterShammyCream]

Thank you all for your replies. Were there boulders or anything like that, so I could hide out and stealth camp? Or is it there literally NOTHING to hide out behind?

[John Nettles]

Just go to Google Maps, do Streetview by dragging the little yellow man in the lower right corner and drag him to the street you want to view.  You can decide for yourself if it is doable.  Some are more comfortable with less "stealth" than others.

Looks pretty "sage brushy" to me with little to no boulders.  Remember, you can always ride down a dirt road for a mile and then only true locals may see you if you are totally exposed.

Best, John

[zzzz]

Once again I'm relying on my memory but when I said nothing, I literally meant nothing. There is a very low lying scrubby brush that I think had thorns but I'm not sure. And of course, there's the scorpions. There may be some shelter to be had on the passes where you could camp but I can't remember. You will not see a single tree. If you take the bi-pass I recommended earlier out of Middlegate you could stealth camp along stretches of that but (and I don't mean to be alarmist) there's no place I've ridden that has ever felt more like mountain lion country.

The hotels were pretty reasonable in price, the advice to get reservations was wise. It was also good advice to avoid Sand Mountain on the weekend or holidays. I don't think its marked on the maps but it's between Fallon and Middlegate. It is considered 4-wheeler nirvana and attracts a pretty rough crowd although they were all pleasant enough to me.

[aggie]

I've ridden the Nevada portion 8 times.  In most of the passes there are some small pinion pines and other evergreen trees.  Some of the land is private and fenced while other parts are BLM.  You can camp at Middlegate and there is a BLM campground at Hickison summit (no water) and Bob Scott Summit (both after Austin).  In the basins the vegetation is sage brush and various other low growing plants.  There is absolutely nothing to hide a tent behind. 

[PeanutButterShammyCream]

Thanks for all of your replies. Do you guys recall if any of the towns in Nevada and Utah have City Parks where I can camp? Baseball fields etc.....

[zzzz]

PBSC:

Have you bought the maps yet? If you haven't then buy them now. If you were thinking you'll get by with the digital download alone and save the $40 and the 1/2 a pound on the paper maps, change your mind.

The paper maps have a lot of information on them and thru the included addendum they are kept up to date between the refresh additions. They will answer your questions about camping locations, both private & public, as well as places like churches that will put you up and the occasional "cyclists only" camping and include contact phone #'s.

And that is only a fraction of the useful info on them. When I am on a ACA route I consider them invaluable.

pm