Our bikes were packed carefully.
Unfortunately Nevada DOT had other plans, and closed highway 28 from Sand Harbor to Highway 50, so 12 miles into our ride we had to turn around and go back. Sue thought we might be able to charter a boat, so I called several marinas, but none of them were willing or able to give us a ride -- at any price. The riding alternative turned a 72 mile, two brutal climb day into a 150 mile ride with two brutal climbs and a "hela"-brutal climb from Carson city. Oh, and a lot more traffic. So we opted to ride around the lake another day.
As it turned out, my daughter Heather wanted to join us, so we rented a bike for her and all started off at dawn from the camp site.
My three lovely companions: Sue (Mrs Royce), Heather, and my Raleigh.
We started north from Sugar Pine state park; this direction keeps you closest to the lake, but it puts the dreaded hill at Emerald Bay towards the end of the ride.
At the 30 mile mark, about 10:30am, we were feeling strong and cocky. This was at Sand Harbor. Heather had not ridden more than three miles in her life, and she was bragging to her brother about our progress.
But then we started climbing. And climbing. It went on and on for 6 miles, and it was after 1pm after we started descending. Heather had a tough time, but never complained. She was tenacious, gutting it out like a champion. She could have called for a ride at any point, but she didn't want to give up.
Heather was a real trouper, pushing herself farther than she's ever pushed herself.
And I was right behind her.
The lake is at about 6200 feet. Highway 28 climbs significantly over 7000 feet; when we got to this sign on Highway 50 we had been descending for a while. The climb took a long time, and we were all starved by the time we got to Zephyr cove, about 2pm. We had a nice lunch, plenty of rest and refilled water bottles.
There was a spot on highway 50 where we had to take a tunnel. As a cyclist, you press a button and two lights start flashing. Cars traveling near the 45mph speed limit will see the flashing lights next to the sign "Bikes in tunnel when flashing" and will carefully pass you. And the Easter bunny will hand you chocolate when you come out. Our experience was this: Sue went through quickly and waited at the first spot she could pull out of the right lane. Heather went through more slowly and I followed her. I didn't look behind when I heard the brakes screeching in the tunnel. No one got hurt, although my heart rate bumped up a tad. Sue thought we'd been creamed.
South Lake was busy, urban riding, and the bike lanes on Highway 89 pissed me off. This part of the ride can safely be skipped. There is plenty of room to share the section of 89 heading north from highway 50 with cars. The right lane is wide and comfortable. Why, then, would CalTrans paint bike lanes in the gutter? This is why I don't like bike lanes.
Time was running short on the bike rental, so we decide I would ride ahead to get the car so I could come back for Heather's bike and return it to the shop. This was at 4:00, but I would have had to average about 20 mph to get back to the car in time (I didn't figure this out until later). And, on the Emerald Bay climb, I didn't quite average that.
Heather and Sue stopped at Inspiration Point, which is at the top of the Emerald Bay climb.
A little after 5 I called my brother for a ride, not far past Sue and Heather, and after everything was said and done we were about an hour late getting the bike back, so we locked it up in front of the shop, left the helmet somewhere safe, planning to call the next day and let them know what we did.
The ride was spectacular. I am so proud of Heather for making a very tough, 63 mile ride. She showed a toughness and determination that I'd never seen before, and she's welcome to come on any ride we do.
We returned home on Amtrak -- the California Zephyr -- which we enjoyed immensely. It cost over $150 and a week to ship the bikes by UPS (three boxes), but they came home with us for $15.
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