Pony Express Territory Announces Top Five Reasons to Mountain Bike in Nevada During the Fall
Bikers Enjoy the Scenic Beauty
Austin, Nev. (PRWEB) August 23, 2011
Only a three-hour drive from Reno, Nevada boasts one of the West’s best Mountain Biking Areas, Austin, located in Nevada’s Pony Express Territory. Austin is built along the steep walls of Pony Canyon, and Highway 50 climbs over the Austin summit at an elevation of more than 7,000 feet above sea level. Nearby mountains soar to 11,941 feet.
Here are the top five reasons to bike the region, especially in the fall season.
1) Ideal Weather Conditions: Weather conditions are ideal in the fall for mountain bikers, averaging 60-70 degrees during the day and lows in the 40s at night. Austin is a high mountain desert with moderate ranges of weather conditions. The air is generally dry and clear.
2) Variety of Biking Trails: Numerous rides are available for all level riders. They include trails like the Castle Loop, an easy 4.5 mile trail with a 400-foot elevation gain. The Crest Cut-off challenges the more advanced rider with a 5,000 foot elevation gain totaling 24 miles. Other rides include the Cahill Canyon Run, Bob Scott Slide, Gold Venture Loop, and the Pony Canyon Down Hill Trail, all offering different mileages and elevation gains. The Pony Express Trail is an 11-mile trip for all level riders.
According to Chuck Brown, avid mountain bike rider from Reno, Nev., “The Gold Venture loop is my favorite trail because it’s a technical single track with a 4,000 foot of elevation gain into Birch Creek then descending through Reese Valley.” Brown added, “The isolation and scenic beauty of the area is like no other place that I’ve ridden.”
3) Scenic Beauty: The mountain bike trails in and around Austin offer a feeling of isolation and boast scenic beauty. The fall season is particularly wonderful with the colorful trees and landscape. They are intertwined along the rocky, brushed covered hillsides of the surrounding historic mountain town giving rides views of the Toiyabe range, wildlife, aspen groves, rocky ridges and much more. The nearby Toiyabe Mountain Range begins in northwestern Nye County north of Tonopah and runs approximately 120 miles northeast through eastern Lander County, making it the second longest range in the state at 100 miles long ranging up to almost 12,000 feet in elevation. Toiyabe is a Shoshone word meaning ‘big mountains’.
4) Pony Up on that Bike: Bikers can plan to ride parts of the historic Pony Express Route along Hwy 50 on the western slopes of the Toiyabe Range at an elevation 6,605 feet. Bikers will find a lot of intrigue along Highway 50 as it parallels the historic Pony Express Route that 150 years ago covered 2,000 miles of wilderness between Sacramento, California and St. Joseph, Missouri. http://ponyexpressnevada.com/
5) Adventurous Ghost Town: When off the bike, visitors can explore Austin, a historic mining town full of options for the more active traveler. Austin is not only a living ghost town and a cultural heritage get-away with its petroglyphs and hieroglyphs but it also has a multitude of adventurous options including hiking, ATV tours and more.
Founded in 1862 during the silver rush, Austin features 11 sites on the National Register of Historic: the Courthouse; Episcopal and Catholic Church; the Methodist Church/Emma Nevada Town Hall; The Austin cemetery; the round table down below town, Old town hall/ American legion hall; the Masonic Hall; Austin’s old school house; Stokes Castle and the Gridley Store.
For more information about mountain biking and lodging call the Austin Chamber of Commerce 775-964-2200.
The Pony Express Territory welcomes the media to its new online press room with exclusive high res photography and fresh story ideas. We’re available to help you tour, customize your story, and more.
ABOUT THE PONY EXPRESS TERRITORY
Nevada’s Pony Express Territory sits on 17 million acres of wide open space with 150 years of rich history, rugged undisturbed nature and black night skies. The Territory is where the Pony Express riders once galloped along its main trail, now Highway 50, connecting the six adventurous towns of Dayton, Fallon, Fernley, Austin, Eureka and Ely.
1,840 miles of wilderness was crossed in the Nevada “Pony Express Territory”. Twenty years ago Life Magazine designated this section of Nevada State Highway 50 – “America’s Loneliest Road.” For more information, visit http://www.ponyexpressnevada.com or call 1-888-359-9449.
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