Help - Tahoe to Fremont, CA

[slowrider]

I'm traveling cross country in a couple weeks, but I was looking for some local wisdom.

For this leg of my journey, I was wondering if there was a particular pass I should take through the mountains? Originally, I was going to go south of Tahoe and across Rt 50 through Eldorado National Forest? There is probably something better though?

Also - I assume Reno is crap hole - is there a town near there that is ok to stay. Tahoe looks ok, but if there was some cool alternate I'd be up for that.

[brentw1]

south lake taho to 88,
or carson to 88
or 4
depends on what kind of place you want to stay.

[brentw1]

or of corse 120 through yosemite

[signit98]

Camping or hotelling?
395 up to Topaz Lake (or just before) then turn left on the 89, go through Markleeville and then up the Carson River.
Or, if you are coming from the north, reverse it. Reno isn't pretty but does better in the pricing category than Tahoe. Mo' money for gas.

[SeabeckS]

A little more detail would help. How are you arriving in that part of Nevada? 80 or 50 across the Silver State, or...? I lived in the region for many, many moons and would have a few suggestions.

[slowrider]

I was thinking 50, unless that's a terrible idea.

the waypoint prior to this is coming from Moab, Ut.

Just hotels for ease of packing. I will be down your away eventually, Ralf.
Rented a house in La Jolla for a week. My family is going to fly out and meet me.

[signit98]

You know where to find me.

[SeabeckS]

Originally Posted by slowrider

I was thinking 50, unless that's a terrible idea.

the waypoint prior to this is coming from Moab, Ut.

Just hotels for ease of packing. I will be down your away eventually, Ralf.
Rented a house in La Jolla for a week. My family is going to fly out and meet me.

Everyone should travel "The Loneliest Highway" 50 at least once!

You're right to avoid Reno, from Fallon (one of my hometowns..lol) follow 50 to Carson City. At this time of year I'd tend to avoid Tahoe and 50 to Sacramento. As suggested above, 88 (Carson Pass) or 4 (Ebbetts Pass) would be a more scenic routing. And rather than 120 through Yosemite, I'd strongly consider 108 (Sonora Pass). 4 and 108 are in places sort of narrow/tight kind of like the original wagon trails over the Sierras, not fast, but really scenic if you're not in a tearing hurry to get to Fremont. 88 has a bit more traffic, and is also a bit more "modern".

Both 4 and 88 can be accessed by traveling south on 395 to a point a couple miles south of Topaz Lake and turning left on 89. Monitor Pass goes up pretty quickly, one of my favorite little rides in the region. It connects directly to 4, or you can backtrack a couple of miles through Markleeville to get to 88. If you're going to use 88, I'd still suggest this little detour, Monitor Pass isn't real long, but it is an excellent moto route.

108 is reached several miles down 395 past Topaz. This pass is even higher than the others (generally the passes increase in elevation as you go south in the Sierra...go figure), but in days of yore had much less traffic. This one would be my pick if I had th time....

For overnighting in western Nevada, there are a lot of possibilities in Carson City, or even 15 miles south in Minden/Gardnerville. If you stay in M/G I highly recommend trying one of the Basque dinner places in G'ville. An interesting experience to be sure!

Man, now I want to ride along with you!!!

Cheers!

PS. If you go to a Basque place, an enjoy a drink before dinner, try a Picon Punch.

Have a safe journey!

[brentw1]

if you are in carson city for breakfast or lunch eat at my friends place, the cracker box
on 50 a block off of 395,
if you have time you can ride back and forth on the passes and 49 and 395
you can do 2 or 3 of them in a day. lots of fun.
also there are several basque restaurants for dinner in gardnerville or soaring in mindenville
lake tahoe is pretty if you haven't ridden by it. watch out for deer and prius

[slowrider]

Thanks for the feedback - that's exactly what I was after. I'll update the thread as I get closer in case anyone wants to join me for a few miles.

[Chris Canning]

Originally Posted by slowrider

Rented a house in La Jolla for a week. My family is going to fly out and meet me.

Pheww nice part of the world dude we had a great night last year in Eddie V's

[SeabeckS]

Originally Posted by slowrider

Thanks for the feedback - that's exactly what I was after. I'll update the thread as I get closer in case anyone wants to join me for a few miles.

You are most welcome...

If you try a Basque dinner place in Gardnerville, the "J-T" is the more popular, but I prefer the "French", FWIW.

Have a fantastic ride!

Cheers!

[DCooper]

Another vote for Sonora/108 - one of my favorites run East to West.
Better yet as mentioned make a day of it - go across 88, back across 4 and then do 108 - makes for a great day of riding.

- corrected to run north to south

[SeabeckS]

Originally Posted by DCooper

Another vote for Sonora/108 - one of my favorites run East to West.
Better yet as mentioned make a day of it - go across 4, back across 88 and then do 108 - makes for a great day of riding.

Amen to that suggestion!

[slowrider]

One more question, will there be any issues finding fuel as I cross Nevada or that part of California? Or don't worry about it?

Its just nothing I really consider in the Northeast. It's rare to be more than 20 miles from a gas station at any point.

[brentw1]

yes you must plan your fuel
and rural stations don't stay open late
but you won't have any problems
mostly across 50

[SeabeckS]

Hwy 50 across Nevada no problem...

In the Sierras, I'd recommend topping off before you leave a good sized town. Depending on which particular pass you decide to take fuel options can be limited, especially at night. But some of those backwoods gas stations are "spendy".

All that being said, riding during the day light hours on a Ducati 900 SS/SP in the Sierras I never had a problem. My favorite ride was spent with my bro in law, started at Lassen and looped our way back an forth across the Sierras with the last run ending in Yosemite. What a blast that was...him on a VFR, me on the Duc.

Cheers!

[SeabeckS]

As an aside...it's fire season in the Sierras now, big 18,000 acre burn going on near Markleeville now. Reports say it's 45% contained, but that means it's not fully controlled. Good idea when you've arrived in Western Nevada to watch the fire reports, some of the highways can be closed off now and then depending on activity.

I spent 18 years fighting fires in the region, so I'd not be worried, just aware...

[SergioK]

There is an unattended pump in Markleeville... at least it was there a couple years ago.

[Martin Glasser]

Go Kevin! I appreciated all the Pelican bros in CA AndI am incidentally in New England this week finishing up some RI business.