If so what do you think of the riding there? Lots of desert trails?

Chris

fer god's sake chris, why would you want to go to elko? well, i guess they have stores and a brewpub and a few other things they don't have down here in ely..... :mad:

seriously, i'll email or pm you the address of a friend of mine who lives there (grew up there too). she rides pedal bikes and rock climbs and stuff but doesn't do any proper (motorized) cycling yet.

mw

My sister and brother in law live there and they ride but it looks to me like most of it close to Elko is just rolling brown quad tracks..... but there is some riding near by in the Ruby Mountains and over by Pequop summit towards Oasis.

fer god's sake chris, why would you want to go to elko? well, i guess they have stores and a brewpub and a few other things they don't have down here in ely..... :mad:

seriously, i'll email or pm you the address of a friend of mine who lives there (grew up there too). she rides pedal bikes and rock climbs and stuff but doesn't do any proper (motorized) cycling yet.

mw

keep telling me to go to elko. Then again they also tried to sell me a used shovel from some jarbridge mountain shovel brigade for like $50.

There must be some hidden secrets in northern nevada so I figured I would start with elko, in my search for northern nevada singletrack!

You guys do have it rought down there in ely, I hope you at least have a good pizza joint. Elko must be a pretty fancy place to have a brew pub.

Thanks for the contact!
Chris

keep telling me to go to elko. Then again they also tried to sell me a used shovel from some jarbridge mountain shovel brigade for like $50.

There must be some hidden secrets in northern nevada so I figured I would start with elko, in my search for northern nevada singletrack!

You guys do have it rought down there in ely, I hope you at least have a good pizza joint. Elko must be a pretty fancy place to have a brew pub.

Thanks for the contact!
Chris

Gee, guess I should stop hanging around in the CO lounge and look a little closer to home...

Elko is getting to be a pretty fancy place. We unfortunately don't have a brewpub (although we have a great bar that serves microbrews on tap). We do have a nifty little microbrewery that has live music on occasion and whose owners like to show up at local events trailing kegs.

I've not done a lot of riding around here, but there are a few Elko-area realities...

Our side of the Ruby Mountains has some access issues that limits riding to specific areas. There are a whole lot of fun, rocky roads that turn into sketchy cow-beaten single track heading up into the mountains, but unfortunately if you don't know the property owner at the mouth of the canyon access can be dicey. There are access points into the Rubies at Lamoille Canyon, Harrison Pass, Soldier Canyon and Secret Pass. There's also a great road up Long Canyon, but some yo-yo has parked his trailer in the middle of it and you can no longer get around. The best riding for my money is off of Harrison Pass, although I've not tried Secret Pass yet and it looks fairly promising. There's also a jeep road that goes up to the Pearl Peak area that appears to be worth giving a shot, and I would bet Overland Pass (further south along the range) would offer decent riding, too.

There are two short single-track options at the top of Lamoille Canyon. One 3-mile option leads to Liberty Pass, where you then crash head-long into the wilderness boundary. It's a good climb with some technical stuff that has me walking regularly - I'm not a great rider, though, so you would probably have better luck. There's also a 2-mile trail that goes up to Island Lake which, again, is steep and fairly technical. Those interested in a longer ride often park at the turnoff to the canyon and start pedaling the 11 miles to the end of the pavement. These trails are extremely popular in the summer, and I would opt for a weekday ride if that's your destination.

There is almost endless riding for the motorized crowd. A lot of local mountain bikers (including me later today) take off after work and noodle around on Elko Mountain, which is a line of hills just to the south of town. Again, the trails there were developed by moto-folk so they're not optimal for folks like me, but there's plenty of fun to be had out there.

Nothing, but nothing is marked out here, so every trip out is a voyage of exploration. There are a whole lot of options when you start looking at a National Forest map - check out the Mountain City area as well as the Independence Range and (as Krob suggested) the Pequops.

Have fun!

Long ago I spent a couple of summers in Eureka with plenty of side trips to Elko & Ely. I rode lots around Eureka (on a rigid steel Schwinn High Sierra - that dates me doesn't it?) but never around Ely or Elko. I did spend a fair amount of time in the backcountry around there though.

Of course the wilderness areas are off limits and the vast majority of adjacent public land has been scoured for gold & silver for over 100 years. As a result there's just not that much single track. However there is good potential for all day double track epics that go on forever and can, with some good map reading skills and planning, lead you into some wild and remote areas. It can even be quite adventurous in that if you have a mechnical you are a long long way from reliable help and possibly potable water.

That being said, take a look at a large scale map of eastern Nevada and key in on the following ranges: White Pine, Egan, northern Snake, southern Ruby, Pancake, northern Diamond. The Jarbridge Wilderness is pretty remote but there are lots of double tracks in adjacent land. Also check out the ranges in west-central Utah like the House range as well as the ranges in central Nevada like the Toyabie and Sonoma.

Overall the Neveda Basin & Range is significantly more jeep tracked up than the Owyhees but it's not without charm and adventure and certainly lacks many mountain bike riders.

As a result there's just not that much single track. .

True. Nothing to see here. Just move along.

True. Nothing to see here. Just move along.
I sure wouldn't want SmileyCook riding on trails that weren't built specifically for mountain biking. It'd be a shame if he got his brand new shiney Titus dirty. Maybe if he brought his shovel and pulaski and trail building ethos with him...

Synopsis: Endless twin track. Many mining roads and jeep roads go up into the hills. For hard XC people I recommend the Grass Valley loop, NE of Austin. It's about 110 miles of dirt road/twin track with virtually no vehicular traffic. I start at the old mining town of Cortez and take my light kit. You'll likely see pronghorns, eagles and feral horses on this ride.


I am slowly linking up parts of the Pony Express trail, which is obscure, often brushy and in parts, horribly sandy. Usually I scope out trails on my Yamaha 4-stroke before I take out the "push bike".

Highly recommended: good tool, tubes, :cool: shades, plenty of water, map/compass and skills to use 'em and a snakebite kit. Cell phones are often useless in this desolate country.

Optional equipment: GPS, more water and food, and I often use a cowl to cover my neck, prevent from being a total redneck (arguable...). I'll say it again... cell phones are often useless in this desolate country . Come and enjoy, but think safety first, this ain't no Flume Trail.

In fall you might want to wear bright orange (huntin' season).

PM me if you want more info...I posted the Malpais Loop recently and am usually up for riding weekends if I'm not climbing... :rolleyes: