Modern Vespa

Has anyone on the forum ridden Hwy 50 fm Ocean City, MD to San Francisco? It's on my bucket list and I'd love to know how long it took at a relaxed rate of speed.

I have no idea what you mean...

Do a search on this year's Cannonball run. It basically followed that exact route. I don't think you could call it a leasurely pace though.

Coast to coast? On a SCOOTER? Are you daft?

Hwy 50 actually does no reach SF. It ends in Sacramento, where most folks hit Interstate 80 the rest of the way. 50 passes through Tahoe, so it's a nice ride there for sure. Whenever we take 50 to Tahoe to snowboard, we see the "Ocean City, MD" sign where 50 begins. I'd like to do that ride someday.

An elderly gent.....eighties plus.....here in the DC area has done coast to coast runs on a cycle taking the back roads numerous times and is quite fond of the US 50 route.

fried okra

I know that Hwy 50 through Nevada and western Utah kicks ass! I actually did it on a road bicycle during a stage race but can only imagine how cool (and how much faster) it would be on a scooter...

Best wishes,

Desi B.

I did it this past summer from Lake Tahoe to Virginia. Starreem did it in May and the Cannonballers did it in September. Time only depends on how many miles you want to ride each day. It's a fantastic ride...however...very desolate in spots!

Check our blogs. Mine is in the signature! The Cannonball site has several of the rider blogs.

http://www.vespajourneys.blogspot.com/

http://www.scootercannonball.com/

I always thought that was a bizarre sign and even more so to hear that their was another one like it on the other coast.
Don't think I'll ever be trying that one.

8)

I left Nevada and went to San Francisco the day before the CBR. I rode the CBR which followed hwy 50 more or less. The morning after the finish I headed west and it took 9 days to get home. I spent 2 days in DC and left there with a new rear tire and oil change. On the way home I followed Interstate 70 to Utah and drove hwy 50 across Nevada. So it can be done.

R.B.

Don't lie dude, that's just nonsense.

Highway 50, you say?

Yes. A few of us around here just did that.

Check out the cannonball slide show thread also....

https://modernvespa.com/forum/topic37286

Thank you all. I didn't realize the CBR ran Hwy 50. I'll probablyhave to do it in stages, like head south fm MN till I hit it, flip the coin and turn right or left and ride it till the end. It's bound to look different going the other way.

It's obvious that I should be on it in September '09 so I can either draft a pack of CBR riders or wave as they go roaring past in the opposite direction.

The west coast part of highway 50 coming from around the fort scott,KS or KC,MO area was incredible.
East of there, there were more deviations to keep it interesting.
Go west, for sure though. If I could only ride to the midwest on 50, I owuld start in SF, go to the colorado/Kansas border, and turn around and do the route in reverse.
You can still see the daily routes on the CBR site, listed above. You could use that. The routes were stunningly beautiful and very good riding. Make sure you hit the burr trail and yosemite going west, and make sure you hit highway 42 in MO if you go east.

Bummer is that the next CB will not be until 2010...
If you are in the area ( East Coast) give a call, I live 5 minutes off RT 50..

I've crossed the bridge coming out of Ocean City MD (the eastern end of Rt50) countless times and long ago noticed the green sign marking SACREMENTO 3073 Miles. I've travelled parts of 50 in OC & Annapolis MD, Parkersburg WV, Carson City & S Lake Tahoe NV - not in one trip and only the OC/Annapolis on a scooter.

looks like a great trip on google maps though!!

**edit - thanks Jess

Indeed it does...

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=sf,+ca&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=44.60973,71.982422&ie=UTF8&ll=37.763862,-122.505026&spn=0.021849,0.035148&t=h&z=15&iwloc=addr

viddy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qxuB3YGvkY

Its on my bucket list as well. I'm giving thought to maybe next summer, on my PX150.

Why wait for a Cannonball?

One of my regrets during some of my longer trips is that I have been so focused on getting to my destination in time that I was missing a lot along the way.

No time to stop and smell the roses, or whatever else warranted sniffing, so to speak.

I've been deviously chuckling to myself in my darkened office and plotting blue road trips for some time now. When I get the time to take the time...I'm off.

I've already bribed the little woman with earnest promises of work I will get done on the house, dining out, flowers and candy. I've let my staff take all the time off they want for trips and vacations this year so I won't feel guilty when I need some extra hours from them when I fly off.

It'll be great.

BTW, the Byways.org booklet and sites like this:

http://www.motorcycleroads.com/

and especially this:

http://www.motorcycleroads.us/

are helpful. Most of the roads listed are blue roads, and with a little planning, most of them link up with one another and make for some real nice riding.

I'm planning on adding more states to my list....

Wayne B

Highway 50 down the hill from Lake Tahoe is one lane in each direction. I used to live at the lake and visited family in the Bay Area a lot, and found that Hwy 50 was less pleasant going TO Tahoe than FROM Tahoe because of being stuck behind slow trucks and RVs. So what we'd do is go to the Bay Area via 50 and back to Tahoe via 80.

Oscillator, I still don't see Highway 50 in SF. I saw something on the Lincoln Highway on PBS last week, and it terminates in Lincoln Park in SF. Is that what you were thinking of? Lincoln Highway and Highway 50 are not synonymous. In Reno, Lincoln Highway is on Highway 40, for example.

8)

Highway 50 went through Castro Valley and Hayward. It also went over the Altamont Pass into Tracy. It also went over the San Mateo Bridge to San Francisco. Just had to share this with you young'ns . Just my 2 cents worth.

R.B.