Early in the Sawtooth ride–looking over Truckee River and Hwy 89.
We tried to finish Linda’s house yesterday, but Nancy had a long, frustrating day under the house. She couldn’t get the backflow and irrigation connected without it leaking, so she left the water off and returned early this morning to get it hooked up.
There was nothing for me to do, so I rode Sawtooth Trail. The hardest part was getting there–there’s little climbing on the trail, but there’s about 700 feet of climbing on the way up.
Sawtooth is a ten mile loop with no tough sections (not counting the snow). It has some nice views of the Truckee River gorge and Northstar’s backside runs.
We rode it on December 1 of last year, and there was twice as much snow today. However, it was about 90-95% rideable. I was able to ride through most of the snow patches, but it made the ride much more tiring than normal.
I barely made it back before dark. My thighs were cramping like I’ve never felt before, possibly from the cold.
You can do it, honey!
We drove down to Highway 20, near Nevada City, to do some mountain biking out of the snow. We rode Pioneer Trail, which follows an old trail on a ridgeline used by emigrants in the 1800s.
The lower part is a beginner trail, and the upper part is intermediate with a few brief steep or rocky sections. The section above the White Cloud campground is the most interesting, as it follows what seems to be an old flume.
Staying on the alert for bears, cougars, and … oh yes, helicopters.
The ride is an out-and back, starting at 3700’ and climbing to 5100’. It’s a nice trail, but unfortunately it parallels the highway for almost its entire length, so you can never get away from the highway noise.
We got a late start, so we didn’t ride the whole thing. It was surprisingly cold for the foothills; the east wind must have been in effect. We rode 25.5 miles and got back at 5:05, just before the trails got pitch-black.
After riding Emigrant Trail .
The last couple of rides had a negative effect on my nether regions—I felt like I’d been smuggling wood rasps in my pants.
But(t), the calluses are slowly building up again, so I rode Emigrant Trail out to Stampede Reservoir and back. Despite the blues skies, it was a chilly day. Maybe someday I’ll learn to bring warm clothes on winter rides.
The trail was free of snow, but surprisingly muddy. I rode the 19 miles in about two and a half hours, which means there are people who can run faster than I can ride.
Afterwards, I made dinner for Nancy, a Chicken Francese recipe from the Food Network. You know what they say: the best way in a woman's pants is through her stomach.
Emigrant Trail on a snowy, rainy Thanksgiving.
Nancy called at 10:00, suggesting we go for a ride for the holiday. I said ‘sure,’ thinking that we’d ride into town and go shopping for potpourri and charming ’Welcome to the Lake’ signs to hang next to carved wooden bears.
Early in ride, just starting to snow.
Nancy called at 10:00, suggesting we go for a ride for the holiday. I said ‘sure,’ thinking that we’d ride into town and go shopping for potpourri and charming ’Welcome to the Lake’ signs to hang next to carved wooden bears.
The turnaround point: Stampede Reservoir.
Wrong! She wanted to ride Emigrant, despite the gray skies. Core, dude.
A quick lunch before the chills set in.
It snowed for the first hour we rode and rained during the last half-hour. There’s wasn’t a whole lot of sun in between.
One good thing, though: you can’t tell if your feet are wet if they’re numb.
No, I’m not wet … much.
Actually, it was a fun ride. There were a lot of people out, all headed the other way to get out of the snow. We took our time—or at least, Nancy did—and managed to get back before dark.
