140 posts tagged “lake tahoe”
While the phrase 'El Nino' has been used a lot when referring to this upcoming winter, I've remained cautiously pragmatic. Color me skeptical, but I know how fickle Mother Nature can be, so I like to err on the side of caution.
So I did get to play at Saturday's roller derby bout. Not for long, but long enough to really like the adrenaline, and appreciate all the practicing I've done up until this point. Lucy Crabapple was indeed, in the house (rather, on the track) for a brief moment in time.
Last weekend I convinced N that I was mentally ready to tackle a longer mountain bike ride, one that he'd done a few times in the past, and one that I really wanted to try. For someone of my fitness level, this sort of ride requires the comfort of a geared, full-suspension bike, so I traded up from my single-speed for the day.
Our route started at the Tahoe Rim Trail Kingsbury - Big Meadow segment at the Stagecoach Lodge parking lot, and ended up at our house. In between we rode 41 miles, with 5,100 feet of climbing and 6,200 feet of descent. For the statisticians out there, the ride can be broken down into the following summary:
- Number of wildflowers seen = a bazillion
- Number of llamas seen = 2
- Number of calories burned = over 3,000
- Number of rounds of applause I received = 1 (by a group towards the last descent who learned how far we'd ridden)
Overall it was a spectacular day, and was made much more pleasant by the moderate temps and blooming wildflowers. While it's likely not going to be a weekly ride for me, I'm definitely planning on doing more 30+ mile rides in the future. With or without the llama sightings.
So it wasn't much - just the trail I've been riding regularly on the SS, but yesterday's climbing and pedal stroke felt right, and I aggressed the short hill climbs before they bit me in the arse. Talking about technique (yes, there is some with one-gear riding) with N helped as well, and while I'm not yet ready to take on the 2,000 foot climb of Armstrong pass, I am thinking I might be ready to try one of the lower trails in the same area.
I figure if I keep this up and work real hard, at some point I'll be able to pass somebody, even if it's only the wacky old lady in the sunhat I occasionally see riding her cruiser on the trails.
I am the recent owner of a single speed hardtail mountain bike. While those non-cyclists may not understand the allure of riding with only ONE gear, I really like the simplicity, weight (light) and fact that I cannot dog it, as there's no granny gear to run to.
However, if one (read: me) is not feeling all that fresh due to a crappy night's sleep, an excess of pollen in the lungs and a 6 am riding start time, the single speed is not as fun as it usually is. I did my regular route (the only marginally hilly trail I feel comfortable on at this point) and it took a lot more effort to keep the pedals moving. Put simply, it was an ugly thing to watch, and I returned home exhausted and with lots more greenish yellow pollen in my mouth, nose and lungs.
I'm hoping that more sleep and some rain helps me do my new bike justice later this week.
The tree pollen has landed. Literally. Within the past few days, every pine tree in the region appears to be dropping its pollen simultaneously, leaving cars, driveways and sleeping dogs covered in a pale green film. If a breeze kicks up it means green clouds in the street, which is fun to watch if you're in the confines of a car or house with closed window. Less so if you're riding your bike through it.
On top of this pollen, a heat wave of sorts has hit South Lake Tahoe, with temps well into the 80s. With few homes in the area with air conditioning, this means that keeping the windows closed to keep the pollen out is simply not an option. Pollen vs. heat - it's really a case of the lesser of two evils. So I keep the windows open and accept that I'm miserable and can't breathe.
Yesterday I tried to beat the ridiculous heat and left the house early to ride uphill. While I felt pretty feeble and slow on the climb, I did have the satisfaction of passing 2 guys (one my age) on the ride down. Admittedly they appeared to be more of the roadie types (local road cycling club spandex tops, obvious discomfort on the sandy bits), but still - I passed them and made them eat my dust!!
I may suck horribly riding uphill, but my downhill skills have to be improving. Think of the possibilities once the pollen goes away!
So with the regular mountain biking I've been doing, I was feeling pretty good about my ability to keep up with others. Until this evening. I was invited to ride up Roundabout, a beginner trail at Heavenly with a neighbor and some of her friends to see the sunset. It's a standing Friday night ride, and everyone rides at their own pace up the sandy fireroad to the top of Heavenly's Groove chair. It's a little over 1,700 feet of climbing from the Heavenly parking lot within a few painfully long miles. The views at the top are stunning. But the slog to get to it is akin to carrying stones up steep, sandy hills with every step forward resulting in two steps back. And it didn't help that every single person in tonight's ride is a ski instructor (at Heavenly, natch), which gives them magical powers riding up this grunt of a hill - I swear none of the broke a sweat and they were all singing the entire way up. I was dead last within 15 seconds, and I was definitely one of the youngest riders.
Truth be told the views on the climb up are breathtaking too, with more of Lake Tahoe visible around every switchback. The problem for me was that I was sweating so hard that I was essentially blinded for most of it. To top it off, I realized 3/4 of the way up that my hamstrings were screaming because I'd not extended my seat all the way - which for non-cyclists, is a sure way to crippling yourself.
The views at the top were lovely, and the descent was a fast fireroad of sand and hard switchbacks (yes, I was last on the downhill too. Call it a well-honed sense of self preservation, and a long-standing love affair with my brakes). But I realized that I am a singletrack aficionado, and while I'd climb that same elevation in a heartbeat on well-cut singletrack, I'm not so sure I'll ride Roundabout again anytime soon. But that might just be my sour grapes talking, seeing how I got smoked by a posse of ski instructors tonight.
I've had many intentions of posting my latest cooking experiment, but the millet feta patties never quite 'pattied', and ended up a tasty but ugly mess. And the balsamic reduction over grilled fruit wasn't that pretty. That and we'd finished it before I'd remembered the camera.
With my conference now over and a very slight lull before some other projects (and vacation planning), I'm at a loss for exciting adventures to post. It's settled into a routine again - work, play, eat, sleep - and I'm not inspired enough to make my characteristic cynical observations. Maybe it's the continued rain & clouds? I say I like the change from the incessant sunshine, but maybe the greyness is taking its toll. In any case....
Our weekend was slightly stymied by the early onset of clouds & drizzle on Saturday, so we opted for a hike instead of a mountain bike ride. We headed to the Desolation Wilderness to see how snowy the trail to Lake Aloha was. It was mostly clear to the last half mile, and we would have explored further had the sleet and hail not hit us hard. Since we had the dog with us, and she doesn't have a rain jacket - oh the humanity - we turned back. It was a little under 13 miles, which is a decent hike, but not one that should have wiped the mutt out like it did.
I think this is a sign she's getting older.
Last weekend we attended the local roller derby team's first home bout. It was a great opportunity for me to see the rules of play in action, since I had seen and read about the game, but not seen it live. Before the bout began the announcer and teams ran through a demo 'jam' to show spectators what the game is about. I got it on film, with my shaky camera hand and all. A better video is the one that was put together by a local website, Tahoeticker. They had music and interviewed Sister Slayer, the president of the team. It's a good group of women who have really welcomed this (tattoo-less) noob, and I'm looking forward to actually playing a bout sometime soon.
This week is national bike to work week, an event that's feted in the Tahoe region with locally sponsored giveaways and freebies for cyclists. What this means is that for one week there are a lot more people riding their bikes, and many of them are as clueless on two wheels as they are on four wheels.
Suffice to say even with heightened caution and observation I'm still seeing extraordinary examples of stupidity. Like the group yesterday who were riding 4 abreast on a road, ignoring the fact that they were blocking cars and other cyclists from passing. Who then yelled at me when I passed them.
Or the guy riding against traffic (without a helmet, as apparently he had no brain) who nearly hit me, despite the fact that it was a straight road.
So it goes without saying that I'm really looking forward to *next* week when all these folks return to driving their cars again, leaving the bike lanes free once again. That peace of mind is well worth paying for my coffee.
