Burbank to Cedar City...?
Thread started by
bikerbryan83 at 06.30.08 - 6:11 pm
I am staying with my brother at a friend's in Burbank, CA. We are taking the bike route from Cedar City, Utah, back East to the New York Metro area. Once we get to Cedar City, we are all set. However, the problem is getting there.
We are not sure how to ride our bikes from Burbank, CA, to Cedar City without taking Interstate 15. The speed limit is 75 miles an hour and the road is very narrow.
Please, can anyone suggest/recommend a route from Burbank, CA, to Cedar City, Utah? We really need advice.
Sincerely,
Bryan
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I can't offer any specifics about the roads in that direction, but I was pretty sketched out about riding on the 14 and the 395 for a past bike trip so I called the local CHP ahead of my ride.
Confirmed that highway riding was legal there, the shoulder was wide enough and even got a few heads-up on some of the trickier spots (plus a recommendation on a free camping spot, which I'd have never found).
Maybe you can take highway 40 to the 89 but I-15 looks like the quickest (and flattest?) way. I did find
someone who rode part of it on bikely.com, so I guess it's doable. If you map it out on
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/ you can see what your elevation will be.
Have an awesome transcontinental tour!
two wheels good06.30.08 - 6:49 pm
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There are tons of mapping programs out there. Use one and ask it to route you there without using freeways. It will give you an approximate route. From there, simply adjust it to your liking, since it will likely be pretty a fairly roundabout route. You can definitely get to Vegas without taking a high traffic corridor on an interstate.
There are lots of interesting ways to get up to Lancaster from LA (San Francisquito or Bouquet Canyon to name a couple). From there take Shadow Mountain Rd to Barstow. From Barstow, you need to get to Baker. I'm reasonably certain that there are roads which parallel I-15 all the way to Baker, but there are definitely such roads for at least 75% of the distance. From Baker, you want to drop south and then east to Cima via Kelbaker rd, then take Morningstar Mine Rd to Nipton Rd. Take Nipton Rd down the LONG descent into Nipton and then Searchlight and then climb back up into Boulder City. From there, it is easy to plot a route into Vegas. that avoids the freeway. You will definitely ride a lot more miles than riding the I-15 corridor (most of the extra miles are between Baker and Boulder City), but that's part of the charm of touring america off the interstate - you see much much more and it is all much more interesting. There's food and water in Cima, Nipton, and Searchlight and hundreds of square miles of desert to camp in at night.
There's a lot of elevation gain and loss between Baker and Las Vegas, no matter which way you go. I've taken that route by motorcycle many, many times, and while I'm not sure I've ever passed a car between Baker and the Nipton rd, you'll see a car every 5-10 minutes between Nipton and Searchlight and then a fairly steady stream when you are cranking up I-95 to Boulder City from Searchlight. There is almost certainly some kind of frontage rd you can ride on instead of I-95, but 95 itself isn't so bad. Traffic is moving along at high speed (which is the case no matter where you are in the desert, highway or not), but it isn't super dense traffic or anything.
As for getting to Cedar City from Vegas, honestly, I'd probably recommend you stick your thumb out and catch a ride unless riding coast to coast without breaks is your goal. It is hot as hell out there all day long. You'll actually traverse the Valley of Fire state park (national monument?) at one point, which is one way to get off the freeway, actually. There really isn't a lot to see. The Virgin River Gorge is an amazing stretch of highway that is all kinds of fun for motorcycles (and probably bikes, too, but it'd be way scary with traffic), but that is the only thing worth mentioning besides the Valley of Fire between Las Vegas and Cedar City.
From CC, you get Utah in all of its glory. Zion and Bryce are must see parks, as is the entire length of Hwy 12. Beware of daily thunder and electrical storms in the afternoon all summer long - you don't want to be caught out on the devil's backbone with lightning coming down around you - don't ask me how I know!
From there, you are up on the Colorado plateau and it is just stunning no matter where you go until you get to eastern Colorado. I could rant and rave about amazing towns and stunning sights in that area for days. The only downside of the bicycle thing is that you won't be able to see much of it. In fact, I'd recommend you take a jeep tour out of Torrey Utah (intersection of 12 and 24 right in the middle of the state), and if you can't afford that, I'm sure I've got a friend or two in Torrey who would take you out in a 4x4 in exchange for dinner and brews.
Central Utah is one of my favourite parts of the country (it's tattooed on my leg, after all), so enjoy your time there.
ideasculptor06.30.08 - 7:00 pm
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