From San Francisco to Carson City and Back on the Western Express Route I had gotten the ACA Western Express route maps for Christmas, 2005. I was considering a cross-country ride connecting the Western Express route to the Trans-America route at Pueblo, Colorado.

But, after riding from San Francisco to Phoenix on the ACA Southern Tier route, I decided that biking cross-country involved more uninteresting scenery then I wanted and I haven't been tempted to go cross-country since.

In early September, 2006, my wife had a business trip planned and I decided to ride from San Francisco to Carson City and back while she was away.

I knew that this route involved lots of climbing and I didn't want to take any unnecessary weight. As a result, I decided to leave the camping gear at home and only stay in motels (what's called a credit card ride). I also left the cooking gear at home. I figure I saved about 20 pounds by doing this.

Here is a picture of my loaded bike just before I headed off from Vallejo.
Note specifically that the top of the back rack is empty.
       
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