Day 5: Carson City to Fallon

May 3, 2010

Today we pedal in the basin of the Carson river from Carson City (4800 feet elevation) to Fallon (3900 feet elevation). Mostly flat with a downhill trend, a tailwind, and only a few hills. Easy miles. The scenery isn't spectacular, but all morning I could see the Sierra Nevada in my rear view mirror.

The Carson City Mint operated from 1870 to 1893 during the peak of the Nevada silver boom. Now the building is part of the Nevada State Museum.

Downtown Carson City. Wide road, narrow sidewalks.

Nevada is called "The Silver State". A few miles east of Carson City we pass the turnoff for Virginia City which was the mining boom town for the Comstock Lode, the richest silver mine in American history.

Bil had a flat tire caused by a separated tread in his Specialized Armadillo tire. A closed gas station provided a shady place to make the repair (he had a spare tire).

Fixing a flat and replacing a tire in the shade at a closed gas station.

A big wind gust blew tumbleweeds on my bike and sent my helmet flying across the pavement.

Looking ahead at the Carson river basin.

During the morning we could look back and still see the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Lunch stop at the only place serving food in Silver Springs.

We followed the Carson River downstream. There was very little irrigation until after Lahontan reservoir. The temperature rose to 80F. Warmest day of the tour so far.

Near Fallon we passed a lot of irrigation infrastructure such as this canal and pipe.

Irrigated field behind budding cottonwoods.

We camped at a nice RV park 3 miles west of Fallon. $25. Good facilities, store, grass, shade. At the campground we finally met another touring cyclist. Dirk is from South Africa but he has been living in Beijing for the last 18 months. He's a novice bike tourer, planning to bike coast to coast. He started in San Francisco and is on a tight schedule to get back home to South Africa in time for World Cup.

The evening was warm and windy. Our laundry dried VERY quickly.

A decent place to camp at the RV park in Fallon.

Distance: 61.4 mi. (98 km)

Climbing: 1203 ft. (365 m)

Average Speed: 14.3 mph (22.9 km/h)

Maximum Speed: 38 mph (61 km/h)

Today's ride: 61 miles (98 km)
Total: 247 miles (398 km)

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