As the planning for Sprung from Cages gets more and more involved, I’m looking closely into the specific route I’ll be traveling.

The third day will find me in Nevada on US 50. I took this exact route on Scoot 66. You can read about that here. It quickly became one of my favorite roads in America. Like last time, I’ll be stopping for the night in Ely, Nevada, an old mining town that is apparently pronounced like “freely.”

In 2008, I left Ely and took US 50 through the western portion of Utah. You can read about that day here. Along US 50, after crossing the border into Utah, I rode past a sign reading: OLD HWY 6 & 50. It indicated that this old segment of road was 16 miles north of the newer segment that I was on.

After a bit of research I discovered that there’s a 100 mile stretch of old road from the Utah border to the town of Delta. I hoped that one day I could do it.

That day is coming.

When I first planned out this area of the trip for Spring of 2010, I decided to give Old Hwy 6 & 50 a shot. But 100 miles is a long, long distance to travel on an old segment in the middle of the desert. There are no services for those 100 miles. Not only that, there are no houses – no signs of human existence for at least 80 or 90 of those 100 miles. There’s no cell coverage and, being 5000 feet up in the spring, the weather is fairly unpredictable.

Mostly, it’s a flat, straight road through the desert, passing through the Confusion Mountain Range (not exactly comforting).

If I were to break down, I would have to walk as many as 16 miles to modern US 50, which isn’t really all that well traveled (its dubbed “The Loneliest Road in America” for a reason). Even then, there’s no cell coverage or services.

When it comes to traveling across the country on two wheels, very few things scare me. Wind, rain, dust storms, even East St. Louis were all easily survived. For some reason, however, this little abandoned alignment has made me more than a little uneasy.

Prior to this old road being US 6 or 50, it was the Grand Central Highway, a local “shortcut” and preferred route to the Lincoln Highway, which was through the salt flats. It was also part of the National Roosevelt Midland Trail from Washington DC to LA. The Midland Trail is perhaps the oldest cross-country route, first signed in 1913. This specific segment wasn’t used until 1922.

Modern US 50 through this part of Utah wasn’t even paved until 1952. The old alignment, upon which I’ll be traveling, has never been paved. A 1950s newspaper described it as “nothing but a wagon trail-rutted, filled with dust…one of the worst chunks of federal [sic] road in the country.”

My concern was simple – ok, it was not much more than a wagon trail in 1950, but what has happened to it since then? I figured that it was never paved, but was it ever graded? Is it dirt? Gravel? Satellite images give some detail, but it’s hard to tell. I could find no pictures of the road – hardly a mention.

I decided to write to the Millard County Road Department about my trip and ask what the current road conditions might be.

The department secretary replies: This road is all gravel. It is graded and in good shape at this point. It has some traffic on it depending on the day. Heavy rains can cause wash outs. Vehicles do not need to be 4 wheel drive but do need to have some clearance. It is a good gravel off road. Always be prepared. Good tires and water are always recommended. Have a good trip.

This was great news! I’ve been on some crappy roads before – washed out, muddy, rocky, sandy – the Vespa does surprisingly well. I’ve been nearly stuck in a few spots, but have always been able to pull through. The light weight of the scooter makes it easy to pull out of the mud and lift over rocks if need be. I’ve gone places where a normal SUV couldn’t go. That’s pretty cool.

So while the road conditions seems pretty ok, the desolation still frightens me. It’s true, breaking down on a tenting road trip across the country isn’t that huge of a deal. I have a good tent, a sleeping bag, food, water and all that I’d need for a hike to the main road.

I don’t figure that there will be any problems. Still, it’s good to know what I’m up against and to be prepared. I’m both and I can’t wait to tackle this 100 mile stretch of desert!