There's a saying, "It was real, and it was fun, but it wasn't real fun." which pretty much sums up the Pony Express ride. On August 5th and 6th of 1995, TGFT Productions' Curtis Fong put on the annual mountain bike ride that roughly follows the historical Pony Express and Overland Stage routes from Austin, NV, to Eureka, NV, some 85 miles distant (as the pony rides). Although the route was pretty easy by Reno mountain biking standards, the ride proved to be quite challenging for other reasons. Other than Gretchen and Tim, Glee Willis was the only other participating club member. Of the forty riders that attended, only 7 were from Nevada. We wondered, "How come?"

It's a bit difficult to give a detailed route description since no maps or trail guides were provided for the riders. The first day's ride covered about 35 miles with 800+ feet of climbing and made a loop to the north and east of Austin, crossing the Toiyabe Range and then traveling south to intersect Highway 50 and finish near Hickison Summit and the petroglyphs recreation area. The second day's ride was 50 miles with only a few hundred feet of climbing near the end of the ride; we stayed in the flat plains, once again heading north and east, skirting Roberts Creek Mountain and ending at State Route 278 about 25 miles north of Eureka.. The entire ride was conducted as a group tour; at designated points we would all regroup.

Even though the entire ride took place at 6000+ feet , one word can describe the weather: HOT. Temperatures hovered around and over 100 degrees by the afternoon. The scenery, on the other hand, was beautiful; in spite of the heat and the fact that most of the trail was in desert, there was still a lot of green in the landscape after the wet winter. A few of the hardier wildflowers were still hanging-on.

Friday, August 4: Getting to Austin

What can we say? There is a good reason that U.S. Highway 50 is often called "The Loneliest Road"; once we left Fallon behind, traffic was light or nonexistent. The first stop after arriving in Austin was the Court House for check-in, where we collected a lackluster t-shirt, a well-seasoned power bar, tourist brochures, and a water bottle - unfortunately a leftover from the Comstock Silver Century and not for this ride.

Saturday, August 5: Austin to Hickison Petroglyphs (35 miles)

After loading luggage, final preparation of the bikes, parking the car in its designated parking area, and a pep talk by Curtis, the group was off through Austin behind a sheriff's escort but not before 8:00 AM - apparently to take full advantage of the heat. We were soon off the highway and onto the dirt, climbing into the Toiyabe Range. It was at this point that Tim made a major discovery: riding at the back of the pack has its definite advantages. Granted that he ended-up there because of frequent stops to take pictures, but he soon figured out that he could avoid eating all the dust raised by the main pack of riders! The trails we followed, part of the Overland Stage route, were in good condition - a good thing since parts were fairly steep. The views from the hillside and at the top of the climb, slightly north of Mount Prometheus, were fantastic.

After a long wait at the top, a descent down the other side of the range put us in a valley and at a ranch near Willow Creek that contained a number of old stone structures, possibly some of the oldest buildings in the state. Another long wait and the pack was off along a narrower 4WD trail through Simpson Park Canyon which was lined with high sagebrush and willows. Riders had to exercise care not to scrape against the vegetation and get a bad case of brush rash! We had a somewhat meager rest stop at an old abandoned ranch and then continued the journey through a rocky creek bed and slimy green pond (probably the only technical riding on the entire trip). Another dirt section of road brought us out of the canyon and to Gretchen's favorite part of the Pony Express adventure: The Bog, where the Sewage Meets the Desert. This inviting stretch consisted of a blend of grass and black goo ending abruptly at an area of loose dust. The goo appeared to be a fragrant mixture of pond scum, dirt, decayed plant material, and pureed cowpies. Try not to breathe, don't even think about falling, and for God's sake don't suck someone's wheel! Fortunately the next stop was another ranch house where the owner (same guy who owned the one near Willow Creek) was kind enough to let people wash off and eat our rationed "lunch" on his lawn.

With little announcement or description of the upcoming route, we were off following a wide gravel road for several miles until it intersected with Highway 50 near Route 376. We then proceeded along the highway in the afternoon 100°+ heat for some 15 miles. When we finally arrived at the next turnoff near the top of Hickison Summit, people were hot and tired and out of water, so we waited and waited for the water to finally show up. While Gretchen waited for the support truck, Tim took off up the dirt road (old Highway 50) for the last few miles to the Hickison Petroglyph Recreation Area, the camp site for the evening. The recreation area boasted some interesting petroglyphs and gorgeous views of Big Smokey Valley.

Gretchen
Photo by T. L. Sullivan

We were warned that the camp site had no water, but promised that water would be transported for "cleaning up" and drinking. Most of that water never materialized, nor did a place for people to "clean up". Then there was "dinner". You had to hurry if you were hungry or save your appetite for the next meal; we were treated to badly overcooked spagetti (it was literally pasta mush!) with hot salsa for topping, insufficient green and fruit salad, rationed sodas, insufficient (although excellent tasting) roast beef and turkey, corn on the cob, what appeared to be leftovers from lunch, and NO DESSERT(!). We were both less-than-impressed, some people barely got anything for dinner at all, and vegetarians were out of luck. Maybe next year people will be warned to bring extra snacks and their own drinks?

Sunday, August 6: Hickison Petroglyphs to Eureka (50 miles)

Most people were up early on Sunday morning, but unfortunately breakfast was not, so the ride was once again late getting started. This seemed unwise since the stated plan was to be at the end of the dirt and loaded onto a bus to Eureka by 1:00 PM and the temperatures were once again going to be HOT. Stops were a lot shorter in duration today as we rode across the flat plains of Monitor Valley and Kobeh Valley, once again taking lots of pictures. We skirted the eastern edge of Eagle Butte, the Simpson Park Mountains, and The Point, stopping briefly for water refills and making a long stop at the remains of the Dry Creek Pony Express station. The ride eventually stopped at Grub's Well for "lunch". There is no trace of the original Pony Express station - only the crumbling remains of an old ranch. Once again "no food left" was the scenario for a lot of people, and even worse there were no cold drinks left. Our leader, Curtis, was at a loss to explain this, and he told us that he had carefully counted and placed the correct number of cans in the cooler last night - one for each person.

Tim
Photo by G. N. Cooper

After lunch it was a long hot ride to Robert's Creek Ranch on a straight and slightly rolling dirt road; easy riding, actually, and when we managed to ignore the heat, we were rewarded with some great vistas of Kobeh Valley and the Roberts Mountains. Upon leaving the ranch, we did the final climb of the ride up over Henderson Summit just to the west of Mount Hope. Once at the top it was a fast descent on a good dirt road into Garden Valley and the bus pickup at Route 278. This time there were cold drinks available from the support wagon. Since Tim was one of the first people at the finish, his bike was stored on the top of the wagon; Gretchen on the other hand watched in amazement/horror as her's and the rest of the bikes were crammed onto a flatbed trailer and roped together for the trip back to Austin. The truck with the trailer then proceeded to turn around and follow the dirt roads back instead of the smoother highway route! The original target of 1:00 PM was missed by a bit - we left for Eureka at close to 4:30.

The group was dropped at the Eureka public pool, a nice facility that had the added attraction of showers. No hot water, but at least it was possible to really wash off all the accumulated grime of the two days of riding. After cleaning up we walked over to the town park for the only decent meal provided during the entire trip (it was prepared by the same folks who do the Eureka school lunches): baked chicken, a variety of salads, fresh bread, fruit salad, iced tea or punch, and ice cream for dessert. Yum!

We boarded the bus again at 7:00 PM (only an hour late) for the ride back to Austin, arriving at the parking lot a bit after 8:00 PM. The flatbed trailer with the bikes on it was there, but there was no luggage. So, as people untied their badly scraped bicycles, we began yet another vigil, this time for our luggage. The support wagon arrived around 8:45 with my bicycle still on top, and some very angry people began complaining to Curtis about the damage to their very expensive mountain bikes: torn shock boots, scraped paint, dents, bent derailleurs, etc. The response was essentially, "Tough." Finally, close to 9:00 PM, we saw the luggage truck drive past, turn around, drive past the place again, turn around again, and finally pull into the parking lot. There was a flurry of unloading as people raced to pack up their gear and the remains of their bikes for very long trips back to Sacramento and the San Francisco area. Fortunately we "only" had to drive back to Reno.

The drive back was rather tiring and long, mainly due to fatigue and the hour that we were finally able to leave Austin. The good news is that Gretchen's Honda put a significant dent in the deer mouse ("Take that you Hanta Virus carrier!") population, hopefully reducing the risk for future mountain bikers contracting Hanta Virus when they travel in the area. We finally arrived in touwn around 1:00 AM Monday morning, with a long day at work ahead for both of us. Can you say, "Autopilot?"

Comments and Conclusions

While the scenery was beautiful, the historical sites interesting, and all the riders very congenial and personable, we certainly do not recommend this ride. One word describes the support on this tour: CHEAP. The ride entry fee was anthing but cheap, and although TGFT Productions cannot be blamed for the hot weather, the lame support on the ride is inexcuseable. At the waterless petroglyphs camp site, how difficult would it have been to set up some black plastic sheets and backpacking showers to give folks a little privacy to wash off the dust and remaining black goo? Running out of water during such a hot time of the year was not only dumb but dangerous. Time for a reality check on cold drinks as well: when it's nearly 100° out and there's little or no shade available, maybe Curtis should have splurged and considered as many as two per person. There was absolutely no excuse for running out of food and drinks at lunch stops and dinner. If the tour was going to be run during the hottest part of the year with long and frequent stops, riders should have been on their way early. Would it have been too difficult to print up some trail maps and route descriptions? We didn't see anyone taking notes about the historical sites we passed; who could have remembered it all? Finally, the treatment of people's bicycles was thoughtless. Tim was lucky that his got stuck on a bike rack, Gretchen's suffered many dings and scrapes and had to have some cable housings replaced.

Our advice to those who want to do some historical mountain biking and are considering the Austin-Eureka Pony Express Ride as a way to do it is, "Save your money!" Pick up some USGS maps, talk to the local Chambers of Commerce about where you can ride (there is a lot of private land back there!) and plan your own trip. Go in the early fall when it's cooler. Have a much better time!

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