It's been a fabulous summer of "firsts" for me! First time mountain bike racing cross country at the Downieville Classic 2010 in July (
race report and photos here). Last week was my first time mountain biking at Lake Tahoe! I had not visited the Tahoe area since going to
Burning Man in the Nevada desert in 2007 (haven't been back yet). So three years later, I made my mountain biking debut on the gorgeous, rocky trails of South Lake Tahoe. I joined
an organized camping/biking weekend with friends from
Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz and other mountain biking clubs. I quickly discovered that Tahoe was even better with my bicycle, friends, camping and feasting!
I have posted my full Tahoe photo collection on my Flickr page. Take a look!
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| I loved the spectacular views on our rides. I joined group rides on Thursday and Friday and then did not ride on Saturday and Sunday. | | |
What brought me to South Lake Tahoe to camp for four nights in August? The lure of organized bike rides, camping, warm sunshine and someone else working out all of the logistics. (Thank you!) Although I had planned to do the trail work on Saturday afternoon, a key part of the trip, I bailed out due to exhaustion and multiple crashes from the ride the day before. Yes, I felt bad about not doing the work but much more remains to be done, so it's not my last chance!
Mountain Bike Tahoe 2010 trip stats. This was the 5th annual group mountain biker outing, but the first time at the
Zephyr Cove Campground in Nevada- which I loved for its proximity to the lake - just 10 minutes' walk to a dip in the clear, cold, refreshing water.
There were about 108 attendees this year from 7 clubs from Monterey, Santa Cruz and the San Francisco Bay Area. There were 12 rides organized over 4 days. During trail work day, 1212 feet of finished Tahoe Rim trail was completed and 539 feet of usable (not finished) trail was also done. The Tahoe Rim Trail work leaders were really impressed with how much was accomplished!
Here are trail work photos taken by Chris Matthews of Specialized.
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| This was a fabulous overlook that reminded us of our hard climb. Photo Credit: Karen Kefauver | | | |
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| I could have stopped even more often to take in the amazing panoramic views. Photo Credit: Karen Kefauver |
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| It was new to me to get in a car to drive to the start of a ride, but it was worthit and we had willing drivers, some of whom could fit up to 15 bikes in one vehicle! Talk about bikepooling! Photo Credit: Karen Kefauver |
Nice, and appreciate the images.
ReplyDeleteSpectacular views of your mountain bike trail. Was the trail tough?
ReplyDelete@Richared Bolen - thanks, glad you like my photos!
ReplyDelete@Thailand aboard - generally, the terrain in the Tahoe area is very rocky, so the penalty is steep = to your body and your bike, if you crash (and I did, several times). But there are trails, like the Tahoe Rim, trails which are scenic, smooth and not so hard even for beginner mt. bikers. At the other extreme, Mr. Toad's Trail is known as very advanced and technical.
Nobody beats a great view while riding your bike. Challenging yet when you finish the trail, its a great feeling.
ReplyDeleteEven the trail is tough and you have some bumpy obstacles, the enjoyment to see a majestic view with your friends is worth it.
ReplyDeleteHope you had a great time riding with your friends and conquering Lake Tahoe. Another challenge complete.
ReplyDeleteThis is also great for people who explore while trekking. You can pace yourself to your comfort.
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