Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / Spring 2012: Mojave National Preserve Bicycle-Camping and Hiking / Day 1: Mojave National Preserve: Primm, NV to Mail Spring, New York Mountains foothills, by bicycle 44
33.3 bicycle miles and about 3000 feet of elevation gain. This wouldn't be so difficult except that I'm not yet acclimated to 90-degree F heat and the 10-ton bike! Despite fatigue and heat, it's a great to leave the grid again.
I spent last night at Whiskey Pete's Casino Hotel in Primm, NV and I'm more than ready to get going this morning
Sunscreen on, and the 10-ton bike packed up, I pull away from the hotel at Primm
After my coffee and water stop at the gas station (I don't need gas), I leave pavement and ride down this dirt road out of Primm
It's nice to see the I-15 freeway and its traffic getting smaller as I ride down the dirt road away from Primm
I reach the main dirt road from Primm to Nipton, often called Nipton-Desert Road, and note that I'm 10.5 miles from my next stop
I've got about 7 miles of bumpy dirt road to ride on the way to Nipton (the last 3 are old pavement)
I pass a few old household items dumped along Nipton-Desert Road
After almost an hour and a half in the heat, I'm already getting hot, and grab some shade under the railway tracks
While taking my shade break under the train tracks, I notice a washed-out cattleguard on the old road to the Lucy Gray Mine area
I'm happy when I get past Desert siding, cross under the tracks, and reach some old pavement
A few Coyote-melon vines extend out into the road along Nipton-Desert Road
That patch of buildings ahead is Nipton; I'll take a break there in a few minutes
Nipton, California, population 20; I take a half-hour break here
After my break at Nipton, I return to the dirt road parallel to the train tracks for the next 10-mile segment
2.5 miles beyond Nipton, I'm feeling hot again and notice some potential shade as I cross under the power lines
This short stretch of Nipton-Moore Road is extremely sandy where it crosses a wash near the power lines
I hide under the train tracks for a few minutes to get out of the hot sun
Back on the road, I pedal onward, slowly, toward the New York Mountains
I pass by a road leading down into the Ivanpah Valley toward private property
Ooo, another railway undercrossing along Nipton-Moore Road; I think I should stop here for a moment to check it out
Scape sunscreen: I feel like a chemical test site: it's bubbling and foaming in the extreme heat (high 90s F), how weird
Just ahead on the other side of the tracks is the old Ivanpah store, which means this segment of today's ride is ending
Here in the Ivanpah area, I'm at about 3500 feet elevation, about 1000 feet above where I started down at Primm
I'm back on pavement for a couple of miles and ride past the former Ivanpah store on Ivanpah Road
Ivanpah Rd slowly climbs toward a pass in the New York Mountains: I look for another place to escape the sun for a few minutes
I pull over for a heat-exhaustion break where the pavement ends on Ivanpah Road
Hmm, there will surely be some shade over by that old building over there that was probably part of the Goldome Mine complex
I'm hungry for shade right now, so I approach the old building as if it were a piece of food
I take refuge from the hot sun on the shady side of the abandoned cinder-block building that I've been eyeing
Someone has set up a fire ring in front of the old building
Perhaps this old building once served as a kitchen or showers for the adjacent Goldome mine
Large window openings open onto big views of the Ivanpah Mountains and the Clark Mountains in the distance
Somewhat rejuvenated from my break in the shade, I return to the 10-ton bike to continue the ride (or walk) up Ivanpah Road
As I ride (and sometimes walk) the 10-ton bike up Ivanpah Road, I notice the light somehow seems a bit weird
Close-up of my fuzzy shadows caused by the eclipse
A few years ago (2008), my overloaded bike rack broke while riding on the washboarded road here on Ivanpah Road
As the sun goes down on Ivanpah Road, I pull over to look at the Bathtub Spring Peaks area where I hiked last year
The sunset light on upper Ivanpah Road is incredible; tired, I'm walking the bike sometimes, enjoying the colours
Finally, I've reached the flatter, upper part of Ivanpah Road, still with blurry shadows due to the eclipse
The sun goes down behind me with a nice belt-of-Venus over Ivanpah Valley below as I continue riding up Ivanpah Road
Well after dark, I find a nice campsite along a road near Mail Spring, Mojave National Preserve, and set up for a couple of days
I set up the tent and lay down, too tired to boil water for an instant meal tonight (I just eat a lot of roasted almonds)
Mojave National Preserve: Primm, Nevada to Mail Spring, 3000 feet of elevation gain
Mojave National Preserve: Primm, Nevada to Mail Spring, 3000 feet of elevation gain