San Francisco area to WFO

[Waaane]

Soon it will be time to sign up for vacation time for WFO. I will be riding from The San Francisco east bay and am thinking that as hot as the desert can be that time of year I will allow 2 days each way so I can get off of the bike in the afternoon.

What I am contemplating is a very early start Wednesday morning (about 3:00) and riding straight up I 80 to Reno arriving there around 6:00 AM. From Reno I want to drop down to Highway 50 and blast off across the desert to Ely where the days ride will end. Reno to Ely looks to be about 350 miles and I am figuring 5 hours with gas stops. That puts me into Ely around noon. Total days ride is approximately 550 miles.

A 6:00 AM start on Thursday should get me into the Park City area in the early afternoon even allowing for some sightseeing. Day 2 mileage looks like 300 / 350.

The return route might be the reverse, leaving Park City around mid morning Sunday and arriving back in the East Bay Monday afternoon but is subject to change for any number of reasons.

I have a few questions about the route:

• What is the best way to get from Reno to Highway 50? I don’t want to go Highway 395 south.

• For a good time where should I get off Highway 50 and head north toward Park City?

• Is there a better place to stop for the day then Ely?

• Is anybody else interested in doing this or something like it?

If any of you have any comments or advice please fire away. One thing I am pretty sure of is that I won’t be the only FJR on Highway 50 so see you there.

 

[Ignacio]

Here's three ideas:

• I'd stick on I-80 until Fernely and then drown on Alt 50. Be careful at Fallon for PoPo.
• Once past Ely, consider turning off 50 at Delta dn trying 6 up through Eureka. 68 on the West side of Utah Lake is kind of fun. Backtrack a little down I-15 and take I-189 up Utah Canyon to Park City.
• Ely's a good midpoint and several hotels. The Four Sevens is a No Tell Motel that some LD riders stay at. Get a good steak at the casino a block away. I think there was a place in Eureka, but can't remember for sure. Delta is a sleepy little Utah community.

For a possible side trip....Wheeler Peak past Ely and out of Baker. An area I wish I could have spent extra time.

 

[Fairlaner]

• For a good time where should I get off Highway 50 and head north toward Park City?

Never been to Ely but I am sure there plenty of "good times" to be had around that area.

**** I may join you.

Richard

 

[painman]

Waaane, I'll be going 50 on Wednesday. Maybe as time gets closer there will be more who want to join up to do this route as well and Iggy's ideas sound good to connect up to 50. I was possiblly considering going up 93 out of Ely to Wendover as this could shave off 1 to 2 hours vs the route to Delta Ut. though the scenery might be better going that way. Just a thought. The salt flats are pretty cool though. PM. <><

 

[James Burleigh]

Hi, Waaane. How was the cruise? My ride's been re-scheduled for next Saturday, BTW.

I'm a candidate for your ride to WFO, but also looking at this option. Cutting the work week in half just doesn't make a lot of sense; I might as well take it all off.

Pretty soon I have to put in for the time off. So I've got to figure it out soon! :blink:

 

[Waaane]

Thanks Iggy, That looks good getting to 50. I have about a week to put in paperwork for vaca time. I would love to do the trip apprat is talking about on the other thread but its a long shot for me. Hey PM, I am thinking we might want to gain altitude as fast as possible out of ELY to get out of the heat. Does that option get it up? We can work something out I am sure. Fairlaner...The only thing I will be riding out in the desert is my bike . My wife does checkout the forum now and then ya know, ever since she looked over my shoulder one evening and saw Rad in his Tiarra. But yer sure as hell welcome to your choice of mounts :lol: Come on down. Hey James. We had a great vacation. Didn't do **** for a week except swim eat read and goof off. I recomend Royal Carribean Cruise line heartily. Am not sure about the Shiney Hiney ride. I may be out of town that weekend.

Keep it coming all

 

[beerme]

Just past Middlegate (junction of US50 and SR361) and the infamous shoe tree, you'll find the turnoff for SR722. The west end of this little detour is a real treat, going up & over the pass. Once you get down into the flat, that'll give you a chance to really blow the carbon out, if ya know what I mean. Just watch out for bovine critters on or near the road. Oh yeah, and if the crickets are out by then be careful of those too, especially if it happens to be raining. Wet cricket guts are pretty slickery.... like riding on snot. 722 adds virtually no distance to the trip, and the ride over the pass is something everyone should do once before they die. It will be a good lead-up to the ride over Austin Summit, just east of Austin. We're talking extreme twisty here! Short, but extreme. Looking forward to hearing how you liked it. See ya there.