<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2v92Jz_0w9N3Til00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2v92Jz_0w9N3Til00" width="986" height="555" >Apologies to one and all for the tardiness of this column. While our reasons are valid, there is still the throbbing ecstasy of Wolf Pack football's triumph over Oregon State last Saturday to be considered, and we shall get to that.***The delay is God’s fault, really. Our creator has endowed upon Northern Nevada such astounding natural beauty that the prospect of one last motorcycle ride before the good weather ends was irresistible. Thus, Sunday was given to riding instead of writing.***We carved two great loops, Grant Langston and me. Grant is my motorcycling buddy and also a musician and songwriter with whom I’ve been making music for 20 years. Here is his latest album.Our initial loop was the Western Alpine loop. 395 North to Hallelujah Junction, then West, then South through Loyalton and Sierraville and some coffee in Truckee. Wide-open prairie gives way to shadow-dappled winding roads beneath a magnificent coniferous canopy.The Sunday morning air was crisp but there was no wind. Visibility seemed infinite. A warm coffee mug revitalized my semi-numb hands in Truckee, and I finally read the instruction manual on how to activate my newly purchased heated gloves. Appropriately defrosted, we rode on South to Kings Beach. Then the Eastern shore of Tahoe, where sky, mountain and water all sparkled within a spectrum of purest blue.***The descent began at Spooner Summit. Up whooshes the arid landscape during the headlong burn winding down the 50 towards the Carson Valley. The great brown desert contrasts with the verdant Sierra punctuating the beginning of the second great loop the desert inland East.America’s Loneliest Road isn’t all that desolate before you get to the 341 and corkscrew your way North up to Virginia City for lunch, grand vistas, and local flavor. State Route 79 is mostly a meandering fire road and then a quiet neighborhood street coming out of the Virginia Range back down to a lonelier stretch of 50. But the real magnificent desolation was the Northern apex of the second loop: Pyramid Lake.***Pyramid Lake is a favorite place to bring visitors who aren’t from Northern Nevada. A Tahoe-sized lake of equal beauty but surrounded by desert instead of mountains and without significant tourist commercial development is invariably a jaw-dropper for first-timers and old-timers. And it’s a geologically satisfying finish to a day spent mostly exploring the glory of the Tahoe Truckee watershed.***Now, about Saturday. Big plays win football games, generally speaking. Nevada was a big-play factory in the 42-37 win over Oregon State. Both Savion Red and Brendon Lewis have proven to be game-breaking ball carriers. Lewis’s astonishing 67-yard touchdown flight through the heart of the Beaver defense proved the game-winner and the most exciting moment of Nevada offensive football in a long time. Red scored four touchdowns and averaged six yards per carry, posting his third 100-plus-yard rushing opus of the season.Let’s also consider that, while slightly fluky, Lewis leading Nevada in rushing, passing and receiving yardage in the same game is patently insane. You could watch a thousand college football games and never see such a thing.Sprinkle in the four-interception performance and a touchdown from the defense, and the Wolf Pack was as explosive as a fire in a grenade warehouse at Mackay on Saturday.While we would most certainly like to know more about what this all means, and how good this Pack actually might be or become, let’s pause to appreciate something much more immediate: This Nevada football team is ENTERTAINING. There are STARS who make BIG PLAYS. My apologies for the capital-letter-shouting, but those hearty few who have been wandering through the post-Jay Norvell desert of Pack football can appreciate what a contrast this is to the recent past.The Choate Boat is a thrill ride! Good things happen unexpectedly for the fellows in blue!We have longed for this to be, and now it is.***Finally, let us extend our warmest alohas to the University of Hawaii in joining the Mountain West as a full-time member. We are (selfishly) looking forward to consistently scheduled basketball and baseball road broadcasts in addition to the already consistent football dates. Journalism thrives in tropical climates.John Ramey is the play-by-play voice of the Nevada Wolf Pack. You can listen to him broadcast Nevada football on 105.7 FM KOZZ, Nevada men’s basketball on 95.5 FM The Vibe and Nevada baseball on 630 AM FOX Sports. You can enjoy John’s writing, podcasts, and other Wolf Pack-related content at John Ramey Media. Follow him on Twitter @John_L_Ramey.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Ramey: The excitement of Wolf Pack football and motorcycling around Northern Nevada

Apologies to one and all for the tardiness of this column. While our reasons are valid, there is still the throbbing ecstasy of Wolf Pack football's triumph over Oregon State last Saturday to be considered, and we shall get to that. ***. The delay is God’s fault, really. Our creator...