Gordie Naughton loves adventure. When not cross country skiing he enjoys long distance bicycle adventures all over the world. His most recent foreign ride was through Thailand.
On Monday, September 28, Gordie and 26 other riders and crew set out to cross the entire state of Nevada following mountainous US Route 50, a distance of 420 miles, in just five days. Route 50 is affectionately billed as America’s Loneliest Road. To a cyclist, that probably does not seem a daunting five-day distance until you consider that the ride took place in America’s most mountainous state in the lower forty-eight.
The twenty seven riders started from South Lake Tahoe and headed through Carson City to Fallon. This 93 mile leg consisted of a seven mile hill climb ending in a twelve mile decent in heavy four-lane traffic. One of the cyclists clocked 52 mph and even passed a semi on the down hill ride. Gordie clocked a modest 39 mph; that’s flying on two wheels in our book. The day one destination of Fallon is the home to the Navy’s “Top Gun” training school.
The troop started early on Tuesday facing a 113 mile ride through a little town called Cold Springs nestled between the Desatoya and Clan Alpine Mountains. The ride consisted of challenging climbs through mountain passes and over New Pass Summit that ended in Austin, a little town that struggled to find beds for 27 riders and crew.
Wednesday morning greeted them with a 22 degree temperature that would reach only a high of 40. The third day leg of 69 miles took the party across Hickison Summit and by Summit Mountain to end in Eureka which lies in the shadow of Prospect Summit.
The 77-mile ride to complete the tour was an adventure for the road weary riders taking them through elevations of 6,521 across Pancake Summit, 7,438 Little Antelope Summit and 7,588 Robison Summit to the final destination, Ely, Nevada in the Egan Mountain Range.
Climbing 17,830 feet, screaming down curving mountainous downhill runs in cross winds and fighting the effects of freezing temperatures proved an adventurous accomplishment for “America’s Loneliest Bike Tour,” a bonding experience they will always remember.
We at Go Mini’s are proud of Gordie Naughton and his accomplishments.
