Rally to Reno

The old federal route known as US-50 has been called "the loneliest road in America." It looks like it won't be next June!   www.rallyetoreno.com

Jamie Jensen, author of Road Trip USA (www.roadtripusa.com) describes it as a "3200-mile odyssey from sea to shining sea....Along the route are some of the country's most magnificent landscapes: the Sierra Nevada and the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains, the endless farmlands of the Great Plains, and the desiccated deserts of Utah and Nevada....US-50 passes through literally hundreds of timeworn small towns, the great majority of which have survived despite the modern onslaught of Wal-Marts and fast-food franchises."


Blue Highways author William Least Heat Moon writes the route is "for the unhurried, this little-known highway is the best national road across the middle of the United States."  Wikipedia notes that the route was constructed over a historic corridor, first used for the Pony Express and later for the Central Overland Route and Lincoln Highway. 

The Nevada portion was named the "Loneliest Road in America" by Life Magazine in 1986. The name originates from the large desolate areas traversed with few or no signs of civilization. The highway crosses several desert valleys separated by numerous mountain ranges towering over the valley floors. In 1997, Time Magazine devoted nearly an entire issue to telling the story of US-50 , the road it called the "Backbone of America." 

Can you think of a better route to drive a 57-horsepower open British sports car designed for cobbled lanes shaded by quaint hedgerows?