Cycling TO Burning Man

[Navi_Keef]

also, how many vehicle passes were sold? i thought it was more than half of the amount of tickets sold.. so way less than 50k cars, right?

Sold to the public, yes. Plus the VPs that go to staff. Plus the vehicles that don't require one (think LEO). Plus the non-BM traffic. 50K is about right.

so leads, bmorg and staff show up early, and so do most of the vehicles that are there to set up art and theme camps and such. the website says 27,000 vehicle passes were sold

[digital]

so VPs and staff show up early, and so do most of the vehicles that are there to set up art and theme camps and such. the website says 27,000 vehicle passes were sold

The roads are OVER-CAPACITY from a week prior to the event to a week after the event. My point still stands.

[Navi_Keef]

OP if you have made it to Reno from Alaska by the time the event starts i'd say go for it! you have traveled the rest of the country by then and im sure some very dangerous large cities. I highly doubt that burning man is going to be the death of your cycling, but i do say this. DONT BE A FUCKIN SPARKLE PONY! figure out a way to bring your own shit to survive, dont expect others to help you survive and dont let the bike haters discourage you from doing an epic journey that you have always wanted to do. you will always have downers and haters talking negatively. just do it and enjoy it. then be happier that you did it and have a story to tell

[Token]

Wouldn't it be an epic case of culture jamming cacophony if Navi_Quife ran over the two Brits on the way in?

[Zumaria]

come in on the Burner Express or any other means, and obtain all your supplies while you're there in Reno. Maybe you can even bring your bike, but just don't ride it in.

I'd just like to point out that you can bring your bike with you on the burner express - have your cake and eat it too! It is extra to bring a bike, but worth it! You'll wish you had a bike on playa.

[burner von braun]

There are a lot of stretches on 447 headed up to the burn where long columns of vehicles are rolling in tight formation at 65 to 70 mph. There are semi trucks and locals headed south at similar speeds. There is often little or no shoulder. It is no place for a numbskull trying to prove himself on a foogin bicycle and endangering everyone around them. A time and place for all things.

What is the single biggest problem that Burningman faces today?


Traffic safety and congestion on 447. It is the reason for the population cap. It is the reason we have vehicle passes and the angst many who lack them are feeling right now. Anything we can do individually or collectively to make the road run smooth and uneventfully benefits us all.

People are well advised not to pass other vehicles on the run up to BRC. The last thing we need is to have thousands of tired drivers being forced to pass a bicyclist.

[Navi_Keef]

heck, if you are traveling cross country you can probably fit all of your things in here! so go for it!




http://www.treehugger.com/tiny-houses/m ... cycle.html

[FIGJAM]

So the trip from Fernley to Gerlach goes from 2hrs to 10hrs because we all get to caravan behind a cyclist???

[Token]

[digital]

*Make that 15-hours, FIGJAM!

heck, if you are traveling cross country you can probably fit all of your things in here! so go for it!




http://www.treehugger.com/tiny-houses/m ... cycle.html

[FIGJAM]

That's how long it takes me to get from Phoenix to Fernley, so I just have to double my travel time???

[Captain Goddammit]

Road bikers will never understand anything but themselves. Fuck all the other drivers, fuck the well-being of the event, fuck anyone's safety, fuck bringing adequate supplies and not being a mooch. It's all about their journey.

"dont let the bike haters discourage you from doing an epic journey that you have always wanted to do" perfectly illustrates the point.
Burners are generally a cool bunch. Burners aren't bike haters, burners ride bikes in huge numbers. We hate DUMB-ASSES who ride their bikes in places where they cause trouble for everyone else and don't give a fuck.

[some seeing eye]

Eplaya is beastly place where threads go off track. Don't let that discourage you from asking more questions about your Burning Man plans. Be brave, keep questioning on ePlaya!

But to summarize all our able commenters, although 447 N & S of the event, the only roads in and out are paved, they are very very busy with trucks and wide vehicles piloted by sleepy drivers pre and post the event. BM does not report fatalities which happen on the roads to and from the event. More fatalities happen on roads than at the event itself.

ePlayans, experienced burners, are super critical of "the playa will provide" attitudes. Water at 8 pounds per gallon at 1-2 gallons a day cannot be brought by bike. Shade over your tent or sleeping arrangement is another weight detail. Thus my suggestion to find a established camp to join.

[Navi_Keef]

fuck yer burnnnnnn!!!

[Ratty]

To the OP. In answer to your question. One of the best ways to get a ride from the Bay Area is on our eplaya rideshare board. I don't think it's open yet but it's a very busy, well used resource. It's not far fetched to think you can arrange a ride with or without your bike. Also CL is another place to put up a request. Please don't ride your bike from Fernley to BRC. I really would like to see you at the meet & Greet.

[AntiM]

everyone is driving to burning man, it isnt like there isnt another lane on the other side of the double yellow line that isnt getting used. from BRC to Gerlach that should be the only traffic on that road shouldnt it? traffic going to burning man? not coming from...

You sure that isn't "Naive" in your name?

Nah. You're fucking with us about riding the wrong way in the other lane? Yeah? Thank goodness the gypsum plant is closed; 447 used to see a lot of semi traffic. Splat.

P1060376 - Copy.JPG

Highway to Heaven .... one way or the other. That of one of the good stretches about three days before the hordes begin driving in.

On the way out, the vehicles are not quite as spaced out as the window to leave is smaller than the window to arrive. The packing is much worse, people are exhausted, sleep deprived, or just plain stoned or drunk. I've seen people asleep during exodus surges, or drinking copiously, or doing whippets. I witnessed the aftermath of a parachute falling off a roofrack and tangling around the axle of an RV. Almost every year there is a ton of debris along 447 which has blown off poorly packed vehicles, and not just a few trash bags. Cushions, bins, coolers, bikes, water jugs, and more. And trailers by the side, with blown tires or broken axles. Plenty of cars passing in dangerous ways, going by ten or more vehicles at 80~90, then cutting in. It is fucking insane.

Good luck. I would leave the good bikes in storage, and come in via one of the buses or a rideshare. It really would be safer all around.

[Dr. Pyro]

I would like to make a point which I'm sure will be ignored. Not to paint a steriotypical picture of burners, but many of these people have been driving for 48 to 72 hours, many without solid rest. And I happen to know for certain that at least a handful of those drivers will be impared with pot, alcohol, or worse. It's not that we want to take away your right to drive to Black Rock City, it just isn't smart. The upside is very limited and the downside is death. Do as you see fit.

[some seeing eye]

Dr Pyro has a good accurate summary. A friend suffered a rollover broken neck in a vehicle outbound. On a bike, well hope someone memorializes you passing into another world at the Temple in 2016 where we mourn.

[Ratty]

Years ago there was a beautiful 21 year old blonde cocktail waitress at my work. She said she had just been invited on a fabulous free trip to some East Asian country. We ripped on her till she finally realized the truth about the trip. I'm convinced she would be dead today if she had gone. Listen to the 100 years of Burner experience. Come have fun with us.

[Jovankat]

LET THIS BE SAID
to a cyclist this is the most annoying thing that can ever be said by auto drivers. cyclists know that roads are dangerous yet we still ride. we wont stop riding because it is "dangerous" and people implying that there is no shoulder to ride on, fuck i'm going to take my right to a lane as a cyclist. i live in one of the most dangerous cities for cyclist and have been hit, that hasnt and wont stop me from riding. no matter how many people tell me that a road is dangerous, it will not stop me from riding. shit i may even unload my bike at Gerlach to ride in from there now. 16 miles, meh thats about a hour ride.

I'm a cyclist from a very anti cyclist city/country and I'm all about cyclist rights and taking your lane but this is STUPID and and incredibly selfish dick of a thing to do.

[Zhust]

As you can see from this thread, every single person with a car will try to kill you then blame you for "getting hit". It is a fact of our county that we are hell-bent on ruining the environment and any attempt to do otherwise is met with vicious aggression, so get yourself an SUV and rape the earth for fun with everyone else. If it bugs you, get the fuck out of the way—but for God's sake, don't kill yourself: suffer the indignity of watching the climate change and the trees cut down and the world paved over. Remember: it's your fault you care, so stop fucking caring!

Plus, the only way to participate at Burning Man is with something big and extreme. The only gift you can bring is material—Burning Man wants no spirituality, no oral history, just stuff, stuff, and more stuff. Don't fool yourself: it's not about people or humanity, it's about excess. And don't go off and build something yourself, you can buy more stuff made by slaves in China with the same dollars.

[Captain Goddammit]

Well let's examine that emotionally driven but factually inaccurate bit of propaganda.
The fuel wasted by putting a rolling roadblock in a few thousand vehicle's way will increase consumption in the overall picture. Vehicles aren't efficient at idle. And yes, Burning Man requires vehicles. Big ones.
Burning Man absolutely is about stuff. The huge man itself, all those theme camps, all those art pieces, all that infrastructure... it wouldn't be Burning Man without it.

People who goes to Burning Man claiming to be environmentalists are hypocrites. This is a huge, wasteful, excessive American party. Tens of thousands travel hundreds or thousands of miles to a temporary, trucked-in, run-on-generators play land for a week, just for the fun of it.

Wanna be "green"? Don't go!

[ygmir]

as with all human stuff, some cyclists are dicks.
Some drivers are dicks.
"taking my lane", can be a very selfish attitude, considering you pay no license fee for it, as relates to your bike. You claim "share the road", and yet, hog a lane at 15 mph, maybe 30 mph, when everyone, many many more than you, want to drive the speed limit, which is usually much faster. And now, they get a ticket for passing you too closely, in a lot of states. You claim a right, in the name of safety, and at times with glee, at slowing and impairing the travel and passage of others. I'd even suggest some, take pleasure in enforcing their will on others in this sense.

Of course, this applies to some, but certainly not all bikers.

Some auto drivers, in the same light, do not respect the safety and vulnerability of a person on a bike. Don't understand it is their choice, and right, to get places in this manner. And even their right, to think riding a bike is somehow saving the planet. (IMHO, the number of bike riders, that now, or ever exist in the U.S. is insignificant as relates to pollution).

There are naturally, places where bikes work well, the roads and or terrain allow for coexistence for both autos and bikes.
It seems that in a respectful manner, both sides should be able to realize this, and act accordingly.

447, or any of the other highways/paved roads that funnel folks into BRC, are not safe, most of the time for bikers, and especially during the surrounding days of Burning Man. And, it's flat ass rude, to hold up (as CGD so eloquently said) hundreds, of vehicles at a time (having to drive past you, or follow, slowly, for long stretches), delaying them and wasting even more fuel, "just because you can". Especially, when there are alternatives, cheap or free, to get you and your bike hauled out there.

And,in the end, no one wants you to get killed or injured.

Not only for the sake of the humanity and empathy if that does happen, but also for the impact it will have, moving forward, on the event.
An incident, or two, such as this, and certainly, NDOT, or LE, will make some sort of change, restriction, or other (usually counterproductive) government edict, which negatively impacts the vast majority of participants and staff, of BM.

Know, if riding out there, you will be a hero to a handful, a dumb ass, to many, and an ass hole/speed bump, to most.
Don't mistake that hand waving with a single finger, horn honking and verbiage, as adulation.
Please don't satisfy some perverted sense of entitlement and self aggrandizement (narcissism?) on the time and effort, of many, many others.

and, please, don't die doing it.


*rant off*

[fernley1]

I live in Fernley and travel up 447 many times during the year. Even now, I would not ride a bike up to Gerlach. Lots of semi's use it as a shortcut to and from Oregon. And its a lonely road and many drivers are daydreaming and not paying attention. No shoulders, hardly any pullouts, lots of crosswinds.

[mudpuppy000]

I wonder how often the trains go through there. Probably would get arrested but not necessarily insane. You should be able to see trains a long way off out there.

[Elliot]

Bob Wollek was one of the truly great automobile racing drivers, and an athlete in all ways. Few Americans knew his name, because he lived in France and raced mostly “Sports Cars”. Wollek raced in the 24 Hours Of Le Mans for 30 straight years, with several podium finishes. He won the 24 Hours Of Daytona four times.

Wollek was an avid bicyclist, famous for cycling to and from the races all over Europe. He cycled across France to the Le Mans races, counting the ride as good conditioning for the grueling race.

Wollek was in Florida for the 12 Hours Of Sebring in 2001 when he cycled from the track towards his motel after the day’s race practice. He was struck from behind by the rear view mirror of a van driven by a local citizen.

His car was withdrawn from the race, and on race day a Minute Of Silence was observed in his memory. It was to have been his final race before retirement from a 34 year career of risking his neck for a living.

[tatonka]

[Zubeneschamali]

I'm not sure if this is just feeding the trolls, but OK, I'm in. I'm sure you've gotten a pretty good taste of the logistical issues of riding your bike to the playa and the impact you might (probably) will have on dozens to maybe thousands of people.

But hey, can't teach a junebug to play poker so maybe you're saying to yourself "fuuuuuuck them, a bunch of virtual haters, probably not even going to BM, they can't tell me what to do". I get it, I'm prone to acting stupid too.

So, please chew on a couple thoughts. Like, please do some research on the road and the fatality rate around this time. Notice that these are vehicle related fatalities and realize that throwing a variable into the mix (like B = bicycle or P = pedestrian) may have a direct correlation to a rise in that fatality rate.

Also, be prepared with a really good story for the police. They are out there in force, hell they import them from other jurisdictions just for BM. And they may not like the safety issues of a bicyclist on the road. Good chance you will be pulled over in Wadsworth and I give you 3:1 odds against making it to Nixon and 5:1 for actually riding your bike the whole distance. How do you want to wager - Bitcoin? Or absinthe at the M&G?

Finally, you know your ability to handle stress on the road better than any of us e-numbnuts, So ask yourself, how much can I take? How many close calls with RVs, how many honking horns, how many yelled insults, what if I get a flat and there's no shoulder? At what point is it not fun? Cause you don't want to give up halfway. You'll probably be able to catch a ride, but it might be with hippies.

To conclude this feeding of the troll, I wanted to let you know that I run a 150db triple airhorn in my rig that's only used on special occasions. Since we're betting its in my best interest to give you a couple toots while I pass you "on the other side of the yellow line". Ah hell who am I trying to kid, I'd blow them at you even if I wasn't wagering against you.

[some seeing eye]

Frankly I don't think the original poster is a troll. But we on ePlaya are doing a pretty effective job at discouraging new ePlayans from continuing to use the site. How many threads are started by profiles with under 10, or in this case under 2 posts that give up? Is there a huge amount of knowledge by experienced burners here? Yes. How would you deliver that information on playa face to face in response to a question?

When I sailed dinghies, we always had problems with power boats making wakes that could capsize us. The saying by our female crew was "the bigger the engine the smaller the member." Can we do better on ePlaya? Yes.

Maybe we could get back to the Page Two thread tradition?

I also really dig the Ghost Bikes tradition which evolved organically within the bike community. We of course don't want more.

[Captain Goddammit]

Well I don't think we were all talking to the OP anymore but instead to those who are regular eplayans that supported and encouraged such bicycle dumb-assery.