Bigass trees and tons of moss just on the north sides of the bark.
Frame #5 at Watson Lake.
Wednesday October 25th.
I heard a huge winter storm was headed into Colorado for Thursday...nice! But in Truckee it was forecasted to be 60ish degrees with a 20% chance of rain. Sounded pretty nice so we planned for a day outdoors. In the morning, we did a hour or so hike up around the Martis Peak area with the pups. We didn't see a soul except for a lot of bear scat (our dog bear loves bear poop so he pointed each pile out to use as he tried to grab a bite to eat).
After our hike, I got a 'shuttle' up to Brockway Summit from Truckee since the ride I was going to do was a point to point. It's a short drive over Hwy 267 before it drops into the lake from Truckee. I was going to ride over there from the Martis Peak area but just didn't have the time to get it all done before the sun set...i'm hating the shorter day length! Two days previous, on my Dirty Harry ride, I got kinda turned around and barely made it back in time before it was totally dark. With my fitness (or lack thereof) and poor navigation skills (even with map and GPS) I thought it best if I left earlier and didn't try for such a huge ride. Ok...it was Mrs. Meriwether's idea...fine. I now carry an emergency blanket in my bike pack...it's light and you just never know.
The Tahoe Rim Trail from Brockway Summit going south to the lake (Tahoe) is around 20 miles. It's not a huge ride but I hadn't done it before and there are lots of old logging roads to get you confused along the way. It does have more down than up, but not by much - there's 2,450 ft of elevation gain and 3,200ft of drop. It starts out off Highway 267 and climbs back up towards the summit of the road heading west. The trail is smooth a lot of the way but has the classic grey granite of Tahoe all over the place and does have some technical spots but really not too many. It's so smooth in spots i could ride with my camera out taking video. It stays smooth, curvy and rolly trading off between up and down pretty consistently.
more tree porn
Past Watson Lake, the trail climbs to the high point of the ride at around 7,800 ft. where the trail takes a downturn to the south. Right as you start descending, you see
the best view of Lake Tahoe so far. This is the best lunch spot, with rocks to sit on and stare out over the water (pic below).
Two things that were ideal to have this day - steel and wool.
Not too far after Watson Lake, it started to snow. Luckily I usually carry WAY too many things in my pack at all times. I always have my rain jacket but also had a spare wool short-sleeve jersey, a wool hat, warmer gloves, arm warmers, and a recently stashed headlamp and a few extra batteries for my GPS and such. I used them all except for the headlamp.
...and then it started to snow! So rad.
After a good descent from the high point, you traverse on an old road that has grown over mostly into a singletrack. It's pretty fast if you're pedaling. After a road crossing, there's a great climb up some smooth windy singletrack to "Painted Rock" which is the start of the section of trail that
parallels Truckee River from far above. The overlook here is awesome,
looking at the backside of Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley and at the
Granite Chief Wilderness Area. The trail curves south and then
southeast, following the edge of "Thunder Cliff's for awhile before
finally descending into Tahoe City. This section of trail is more rocky but fine on a hardtail. All day I saw three people, two hikers at Brockway and one rider in the middle. Surprising for being so close to the lake.
Out of the snow and about to drop into Tahoe City
the trail follows the cliff's edge overlooking the Truckee River.
Lake Tahoe before the sun set...unlike my ride 2 days previous.
A short movie of the ride to Fugazi. Not too exciting footage for the music, but it's a cool song.
We are in Truckee, CA right now, loving having a second fall. We're on a vacation but also visiting family close by. The colors here are on fire, even if there are way less aspen here than in Colorado. I'm able to jump on trails from the house we're staying at and get some big rides in. Tomorrow I'm doing the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) from Brockway Summit (a 20 minute ride from the house) to Tahoe City...a ride I've been craving for awhile now. I brought frame #5 and am just loving it. The bike is just super fun to ride.
Yesterday, I rode some more local trails off Martis Peak called "Dirty Harry" and some of the old logging roads inbetween. I didn't get out on the ride until almost 4pm so needless to say...i got turned around and barely made it back before it was pitch black outside. No, didn't have a headlamp of course. All the logging roads look the same here! It's fun getting lost again though...always awesome exploring new terrain. This place has sick trails...even if they're a bit "DH" for my style of riding. At least I can ride UP most parts of most of them unlike many DH trails in CO. The number of swoopy smooth berms, gap jumps, and bridges make it REALLY fun. Here are some shots of the days so far.
Hike above Klondike Meadow, about 1 mile from the house.
Bridge number ? on Dirty Harry trail
Looks a lot like Colorado in this drainage.
Another bridge crossing a wet meadow (practical AND fun!)
One of the first lookouts at the top of Dirty Harry trail. That's Martis Valley in the far distance, Truckee is right behind that.
Redonculous berms on this trail...you feel the G-force as you get thrown around these, one after the other.
Holy crap, this picture doesn't do the size of this snag justice...
See my bike there...? That old guy was around 6 feet in diameter! Monte Carlo meadow.
Hike to the "beach" of Stampede Reservoir with the pups.
The alpine meadows here are just amazing and the size of the trees are stunning. That ponderosa pine is just massive.
It's been almost 2 weeks since we let our boy Basie go. He was part wookie part shepherd part...who knows...he was the perfect dog. It was 3 weeks before his 14th birthday. We called him the Woodle because he looked part Wolf and part Poodle for the sounds he made if he saw another dog or coyote or deer. He and the Monkey were the best of friends and they completed me. I had tons of adventures with them exploring the local woods. Now that they're both gone, a big part of me is missing, but I try to focus on the happy times we had over the last 12 years. Basie just 'was'...he was such a 'Zen' dog...it's really hard to explain to you unless you met him, but he was everyone's favorite of our pack (although 'they' will never admit to choosing favorites...). He was the mellowest, happiest, most peaceful, loveable muppet that there ever was...I miss him more than I can say.
Three singlespeed cross bikes on the morning after the 1st snow of the season (4-6" depending on where you live up around Ned) felt a lot like a mini-IGSSC. Many of the pilots and other crossers were racing the 2nd day up at the Ft. Collins cross grand prix, getting their UCI points for the Master's Worlds in Kentucky later on this season.
Heyride, me, and the Powers - who "donated" her $40 to the race promoters instead of racing today (good choice) - headed out at the crack of noon-thirty and rode Blue dot and Reboot. It warmed to 45 degrees or so from the 15 degrees we woke up to. Quote of the day from Powers while trying to slow down on the wet snowy trails, "brakes are merely a suggestion today..."
