Day 5
After a filling continental breakfast in Truckee, CA, we went out of the parking lot and turned left for a wonderful day of climbing and screaming down the back side of Mt. Rose. We began by peddling along the gorgeous north shore of Lake Tahoe on a crisp, 50 degree morning. With towering, sweet smelling pine trees abounding and streams running along the side of the highway, we began a 28 mile ascent. Moving at speeds of 7-10 mph, you have a chance to see the magnificent scenery while gasping for air as we ascended from about 5,000 feet to the top of Mt Rose at 8900 feet. With no wind and bright sunshine I decided to shed my long biking pants just prior to departure and only wear normal biking shorts, long sleeve under armor, cycling jersey and winter gloves. I was comfortable the entire ride to the top. Almost all 36 of us rode individual paces as their is little advantage to hanging together on the ascent. I sang every patriotic song I knew as I climbed to make sure I was breathing deep and staying aerobic. I stopped once at the 9000 foot mark to view the panoramic grandeur of the south shore in the distance and take a few photos. As I began the last hour of climbing I had to laugh when a local vendor was having a "Moving to Oklahoma" sale. Thought of you, Steve Pulley! Shortly thereafter, I took my "entering Nevada" sign picture and kept climbing. As I listened to my inner rhythm, I stayed on my 8.5 mph pace and stood up occasionally to keep the blood flowing to all extremities. With just 3 miles to get to the top, the dreaded "road construction ahead" sign surfaced. The locals were resurfacing the climbing lane and restricted traffic to one, roughed and tattered lane. After a short chat with the flagwoman and a waiting motorcyclist, I continued the climb past some monster machinery and a few dirt clouds. It was a very welcome sight to see the America By Bicycle trailer at the summit along with Barb Munk and her assortment of SAG drinks and eats. Since the summit temp was about 40 degrees with 20 knots of wind, I wore my new rain/all-weather jacket for the descent. I woofed down a banana, some peanuts and some gatorade and began my descent with Clarence, the retired rehab professor from Auburn University. Despite the gusty winds, we both smoked down the hill at speeds up to 43 mph before we scared ourselves too much on the windy, twisting road to Sparks. The 17.5 mile descent lasted almost 30 minutes and was a blast . . .with one exception. Clarence was descending at about 30 mph when a log truck cut directly in front of him and he had no choice but to swerve far right and barely missed the left front fender of the truck. Near the bottom of the hill, I stopped briefly to take my jacket off and Clarence pulled up to tell me his story. He was still shell-shocked and shaking. The last 10 miles to the hotel were pleasant and uneventful. As we waited for the luggage to arrive, several of us got the hotel to take us to In and Out Burgers, a CA deluxe burger place. It was the perfect place to get a great burger, fries and shake and discuss the day's ride. After our daily debrief of the days ride at 5:30 pm and outline of tomorrow's plan, we all enjoyed a great meal at the Nugget hotel where the buffet had every treat a tired, hungry biker could ask for. Another super day!