Route was roughly Burns - Frenchglen - Beatys Butte - Warner Mtn - Adel - Lakeview. 5 days, maybe 250 miles, about 65% unpaved.
Nice country. I`ve motor camped and driven a lot in that region, keep wanting to do more pedalled explorations, especially around Frenchglen/Steens/Malheur WR but something else always tempts me away when time is available.
Last June I had a new bike I wanted to try out, had my wife drop me off on US95 (~25 mi north of McDermitt) on our way home from Boise. Rode mostly dirt from there to Gerlach, then mostly highway to home (northern outskirts of Reno). Whitehorse Ranch Rd, on the top part of that route was nice enough, though nothing really special. Crossed civiliation in Denio, then hit the really good stuff between route 140 and the asphalt north of Gerlach. The Sheldon Antelope Refuge and Summit Lake Indian Res areas were spectacular, and skirting the west arm of the Blackrock playa was, as always, surreal. Very dry, though- water guaranteed at Denio/Denio Jct, Summit Lake and the creek that flows into it, also at Solider Meadows Ranch for emergency (you`d have to go knock on the door and feel like an ass). I also filled up at several springs that wouldn`t be flowing later in the summer.
