Day 1: Carson City to Reno via Virginia City

May 11, 2021

Today is Silver day.

The day started as a motorist. I drove to McDonalds, parked and ordered breakfast but had to eat outside because they don't allow indoor dining. Every place in Carson City is very strict about masks.

I returned the rental car at 8:30. The bike tour started at the Enterprise car rental office on the south side of Carson City. First I cut over east to Roop street which has a bike lane going north towards downtown. Then west on Telegraph street to go through downtown on Main street.

Original Nevada state capitol. The legislature now meets in a large modern office building next door.

In downtown Carson City my first stop was to walk around the verdant grounds of the old Capitol building. To the south is a much larger modern building that houses the Nevada legislature and senate chambers and offices.

Downtown Carson City looks very different now compared to during my 2010 Sacramento to Loveland bike tour. Then the road was wider, with no bike lanes, and the sidewalk was much narrower. The street was clogged with thru trucks because it was US 50 and US 395, both busy highways.

Now all the trucks are on the new I-580 bypass highway. Downtown Carson City has only local traffic. The 5 lane road was converted to 3 lanes plus bike lanes. The sidewalks were widened. It's a desirable business and entertainment district now.

Downtown Carson City is habitable now that thru trucks are on I-580 instead of clogging downtown streets.

My second stop in downtown Carson City was at the US Mint. It operated from 1870-1893, manufacturing $49,274,430.30 in coins. The mint was built in Carson City to be close to the source of the silver used in the coins.

Former US Mint in Carson City. Now part of the Nevada State Museum.

A few blocks north of the mint I turned east onto William Street. In 2010 it was US 50, a busy truck route. Now it's just a city street with local traffic. After a couple miles I crossed the I-580 expressway and pedaled on US 50 for 6 miles. It's a busy divided highway with a usable shoulder and very loud truck traffic.

US 50 goes mostly uphill to the unincorporated community of Mound House. It was founded as a railroad town but the main industry now is brothels. Several are owned by Dennis Hof, who promotes himself on billboards as a celebrity brothel magnate. Nevada was founded as the Silver state but a more accurate modern slogan would be the No Judgement state.

I finally escaped busy, noisy US 50 by turning left onto Nevada highway 241 which I will follow over the mountain to Reno. It was a relief to finally be on a low traffic road. Now most of the traffic is tourists instead of giant trucks.

I got to a junction after 3 miles of gentle climbing on NV 241. To the left I could take NV 242 which climbs steeply to Virginia city. I stayed on the older NV 241 which is longer but climbs more gently to Virginia City.

NV 241 climbing into the mining district.

The 1700 foot climb to Virginia City is long but NV 241 makes it relatively easy because the grade is only 4-5%. I appreciated that the terrain offers spectacular views to the southwest of the road below and the distant Sierra Nevada. No "view blockers" (tall trees) to obstruct the view.

Looking back (south) towards Carson City.

Coming into Virginia City NV 241 crosses over the track of the Virginia and Truckee (V&T) railroad. It operated from 1869 to 1950, mostly hauling ore. Part of the line now has a tourist excursion train. Another part has railbikes for rent.

Approaching Virginia City, about to cross over the V&T railroad.

I first learned about Virginia City in 2010 when I pedaled past the turnoff during my Sacramento to Loveland bike tour. That piqued my interest, so I visited Virginia City for the first time in 2016 while driving home from my Joshua Tree bike tour.

The road is spectacular on both sides of the mountain and the town of Virginia City is a historical treasure. I decided I want to experience it on a bicycle someday. Now I finally have the chance.

Fourth Ward public school, Virginia City.

I arrived in Virginia City at about 1 PM and spent an hour there. Ate lunch on the patio at the coffee shop. The sun was shining but the wind was strong and the temperature was only 60F. Virginia City is 6200 feet elevation.

At the coffee shop I spoke to two recreational cyclists who also pedaled from Carson City to Virginia City this morning. They will go back to Carson City today. I will continue to the summit and descend to Reno. They were the only cyclists I spoke to during the tour. I never saw any traveling cyclists during this tour.

Virginia City's population peaked at 25,000 in the 1870's.

Virginia City is a great mining town tourist attraction. It attracts visitors from the casinos in Reno and the resorts of Lake Tahoe. It seems authentic and well preserved.

Virginia City was built in this inconveniently high mountain location because it's right next to the Comstock Lode, a 2.5 mile long seam of extremely high quality silver ore that was first made public in 1859. It prompted a silver rush that rivaled the 1848 gold rush on the opposite side of the Sierra Nevada. The Comstock Lode was the richest silver deposit in the nation at the time.

Virginia City, Nevada is still very much a living city but now it survives as a tourist attraction. It's a great mining tourist town, similar to Tombstone and Oatman in Arizona.

In 2013 I visited another great historic mining town named Virginia City in the state of Montana. I'm not sure why Virginia City is a popular name for mining towns in the western US.

Virginia City has the usual combination of restaurants, bars, souvenir shops, and western art galleries. And of course ice cream shops and a fudge shop. I bought dark chocolate almond bark at Grandma's Fudge. Right now it's cool enough to haul on the bike.

Virginia City is not the summit. NV 241 is gradual uphill going through Virginia City. The grade steepens outside of town but is still only 6%. The summit is 600 feet higher than Virginia City.

Near the summit I saw a group of wild Mustangs. They ignored me as I approached, but ran away when I stopped. That always happens with both wild animals and livestock. I need to get better at taking photos while in motion.

Horses are not native to North America. Spanish conquistadors brought the first horses to North America in the 1500's. Some of the horses escaped and have been living in the wild ever since. The Bureau of Land Management estimates the US wild Mustang population to be 33,000 with half the population in the state of Nevada.

Near the summit. The Mustangs aren't afraid of me until I stop. Telephoto from the real camera.

Geiger summit is a desert summit east of the mighty Sierra Nevada range. But Geiger summit is slightly higher than 6701 foot Yuba pass where I cross the Sierra Nevada. South of here the Sierra Nevada range is very high, as shown in today's photos. North of here the Sierra Nevada is not so high.

2070 meters, highest elevation of the tour.

The first third of the descent has views to the west, towards the Sierra Nevada. Some areas even have trees.

NV 241 has great Sierra Nevada views during the first third of the descent to Reno.

The bottom 2/3 of the descent has gradually improving views of Reno to the northwest. But no more Sierra Nevada views.

First partial view of Reno to the northwest.

The descent to Reno has more traffic than the climb from Carson City. It's somewhat annoying but the road is so winding that the cars aren't much faster than me.

Good view of Reno from a vista point. Downtown is far in the distance, upper right.

The final descent to the Washoe valley is extremely meandering.

All of the roads in the lower half of the photo are part of the winding descent to Reno.

At the bottom of the descent I turned right onto busy Veterans Parkway. It has a wide shoulder that is signed as a bike route. It passes miles of large condominium and townhouse developments. After 4 miles the development abruptly ends and Veterans Parkway becomes a divided highway with a parallel bike trail. The bike trail goes north 5 miles in a flat arid valley to the Truckee river in the town of Sparks.

The trail crosses the Truckee river on the side of the highway bridge, then circles down to follow the north bank of the Truckee river 8 miles west to downtown Reno.

Bike trail crossing the Truckee river. 13 miles of bike trails from Sparks to downtown Reno.

The first several miles of the Truckee river trail is in the city of Sparks, with the river on the left and warehouses on the right.

Truckee river in Sparks, looking upstream towards Lake Tahoe. Telephoto from the real camera.

The character becomes more urban in Reno. East of downtown Reno I passed hundreds of tents along the river. Reno has a huge homeless population along the river. Homeless camps occupy many recreational facilities along the river.

The homeless population only disappears in downtown Reno itself, along the downtown riverwalk.

Truckee river in Reno looking upstream into the sun.

Truckee river in Reno looking downstream towards Pyramid Lake. NOT a typical scene in the state of Nevada.

At the west end of the downtown river walk I turned right onto streets and pedaled 5 blocks to tonight's home, the Sands Regency hotel, one of 3 hotel towers attached to the Sands casino. My 8th floor deluxe city-view room cost only $89.

My 8th floor city-view room at Sands Regency hotel in downtown Reno was one of the cheapest rooms of the trip.

I didn't find any other restaurants near the hotel, so I ate at Mel's Diner in the hotel. Surprisingly little food service was in the area considering how many people were around.

After sunset I walked around to look at the casino lights. It was fun. The casinos did not appear to be crowded. Sidewalks weren't crowded.

Virginia Street looking south towards the business district.

The Biggest Little City in the World lighted sign is perhaps the most famous thing in Reno. Some version of the sign has invited gamblers to Reno since 1926.

Virginia Street looking north at the casino district.

Neon-trimmed parking garages have a futuristic look.

Cal-Neva is the most old-fashioned looking casino. The original Cal-Neva casino (closed in 2013) straddled the California-Nevada state line at Lake Tahoe, with gambling only on the Nevada side.

The high rise building behind Cal-Neva is the former Harrah's casino which will be redeveloped into high tech office and conference space. Reno hopes to emulate Las Vegas' success attracting software companies to downtown.

Cal-Neva has the most old-school light bulbs.

El Dorado and Silver Legacy seem to be the biggest and most successful casinos. Silver Legacy has the tallest buildings in Reno.

The 3 biggest Virginia street casinos: El Dorado, Silver Legacy, and Circus Circus.

Circus Circus really does have circus acts.

Most of Reno's casinos are lined up on Virginia Street which is the "Main Street" of downtown Reno. My home the Sands casino is 3 blocks west with a view of the Virginia street casinos.

I didn't go inside any of the Virginia Street casinos but I went in the Sands casino many times because the hotel entrance is inside the casino.

Tonight's home is the Sands Regency hotel.

I was up late walking around Reno. It was fun. The temperature was very pleasant-about 60F. Reno is 4500 feet elevation, so the temperature can drop rapidly at night.

The high temperature was 75F/24C in Reno but most of the day was cooler in the mountains. It was a great day and a great bike touring route. Highly recommended as part of a bike tour or as a day ride during a vacation in the area.

Distance: 54.4 miles (87 km)
Ascent/Descent: +2969/-3065 feet (+905/-934 m)
Average Speed: 8.2 mph (13.1 km/h)

Today's ride: 54 miles (87 km)
Total: 54 miles (87 km)

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