US-50 Coast-to-Coast: Day 10

I stayed overnight at the Cooper Queen hotel in Ely. Interesting hotel, in that it is a casino, that also has a swimming pool inside the casino. I was on the road at 7:00 AM.  The temperature showed 55 degrees as I left and then went to 52 degrees once I was on the road. There were many clouds that looked like rain clouds in the distance. It felt really cold after riding for an hour.  I only saw about 10 cars the first hour.  After all, this is the loneliest road in America. 

After about an hour there was rain on the ground which looked about an hour old. The temperature stayed in the lower 50s, so I put on my rain gear in order to stay warm.  You could see rain falling in the distance, but it never rained on me.  I kept dancing between the storms as I have been for the length of the trip. 

There are a number of historical points you can stop at during the ride. Old forts or stage coach stops are some of the points. There are also a number of hot springs along the route, but I have never stopped since you need to ride on dirt roads. 

The road is great out of Ely. You ride at 7k feet through chaparral forests where the road twists and turns at 65 MPH. Once out of Fallon the temperatures started to increase and got to the low 80s. 

The road from Carson NV to Lake Tahoe was great.  A high speed road that initially twists up and down the mountain to the lake.   There were a billion people around Lake Tahoe. You would think that you were in downtown Las Vegas with the Casinos and all the people walking around. 

The road in California from Lake Tahoe to Sacramento was great fun, but the temperature got to 96 degrees as the road hit the base of the mountain. Further up the road, it once again twists as a two lane road through the forests. Further down the road turns into a 10 lane highway. It is ironic that the road in Ocean City, Maryland starts as a two lane road at the base of a bridge and at the other end in California, it ends as a 10 lane major highway in what is really a desert. 

I will reach the end of highway 50 in the morning. Then I will end up home the next day after riding from Sacramento to Orange County via Big Sur. 

What a crazy day with much variation. From the salt flats in Nevada to the forest of the Sierras.  From wet roads in the desert to dry air in the mountains.  There was an incredible 50 degree variance in temperature during the course of the day.  

I checked into my room at 4:30 PM, which makes a 9.5 hour ride.  Total distance today was 451 miles.