Monday Lakeview- Lounge Ride

We met at SC 11:38. It was Todd, Jeff M. , Sandie and Me ( Marcus). It was a beautiful, sunny day. Not to hot. A very slight breeze. We rolled up the pavement at a good pace as usual. Unusually normal conversations... Nothing too witty was said. No exciting encounters with any motor vehicles. Just rolled up the streets towards the hills. Todd did mention that he is preparing his house for his move in family! I will be thinking positive thoughts for you and will keep a vision of happiness for all of you. Moving requires physical and mental strength to stay positive. Find the opportunity in any setbacks!

When we hit Combs Canyon Rd. we encountered another Mt. Biker. Todd, Jeff and I passed him and I pushed as hard as I could up the long grade. Sandie, being the social butterfly, talked to Jon and he joined us for the rest of the ride.

We re-grouped at the intersection of Lakeview and were soon on the dirt. We pedaled to the top of the hill and bombed the sandy downhill. Someone had gone through the trouble of lugging some pretty big boulders into the middle of the trail. What for? I don't know. Maybe to stop erosion? If it was meant to slow us down it didn't work. Lots of smiles as we blazed down the hill.


We got on the old railroad track trail with the yippy skippy big ring hills on the side. I have to say this section is becoming more and more fun. There are so many opportunities to De-Wieght along the corners with lots of smooth transitions. Thats what its all about. Kinda like a roller coaster except I get to pick the line. Like Disneyland without the lines and the 6 hr drive.

It could all be summed up as a typical ride. No one was injured. No real fancy tricks were done. There were some smiles but nothing really funny was said. A full on Lounge Ride. A great day to be greatful for all the wonderful things we have. The abundance in our lives. We work next to these wonderful trails. We have state of the art technology that allows us to enjoy them at high speeds. We are all healthy. I look forward to riding this route in the decades to come....

Wednesday Night Ride

By the time we got off work Wednesday night, the skies had clouded up, making it a lot darker than it should have been. I met up with Jeff P., and he suggested we go up the Hobart road, and loop back down into Timberline. I hadn't done this climb since the early 90's, and Kathy and Sandie did it back in November. My memory and stories of the ride brought up visions of a painful climb. Not wanting to appear a sissy in Jeff P.'s eyes, I said, "Sure! Let's do it!".

When we finished the asphalt climb and were about to begin the real climb, I shot an energy gel. Man those things work good! We began the first gear grinder climb, and were both pleased that the sand was a bit wet. Jeff P. tells me we would've been pushing the bikes in some sections otherwise. We were able to ride the whole climb, only stopping for a couple pictures and rest breaks for me.

The downhill was a steep single track, that had a few downed logs laying across it. The single track ended at a fire road that was crazy steep. I'm glad we were going down it, and grateful for the fresh tire I had just put on the back. The fresh tread saved my butt a couple times when trying to avoid some deep ruts. We dropped down quite a ways to a road I was familiar with. From here it was another 1,000 foot descent back to town. We finished up around 8:00, and it was getting pretty dark. Just enough time to drive home, eat, and go to bed!

Recovery Ride

Monday was a recovery ride for Todd and I. Barbara sensed our weakness, and took the Combs Canyon Hill Climb. I wanted to chase her down, but my legs advised me to stick to the plan. You can see Barbara up front in the yellow wind vest.



The north canyon is still full of greasy snow. Forward motion was treacherous!



The view looking down the north canyon.



Todd's idea of a recovery ride is throwing himself down a snowy precipice! Todd took the standard line around the corner, but unfortunately it is covered in greasy snow. His front tire washed out.



Randy looks at Todd laying in the snow and thinks to himself, "What a dumbass...".



Much of the trail was in great shape though...



A great view of Nevada's capital city.

Friday!

I've been taking most of the pictures at lunch time lately, but unfortunately it's not the best time of the day for capturing good colors. I took this first picture on my way to work, about 1 minute from my house. The peak on the left is Job's Peak, and on the right is Job's Sister. These two prominent peaks are the defining landmarks of the Carson Valley. One of the local casinos even had a billboard sign that read, "Build This, Las Vegas!" featuring the two peaks in the picture.

The snow was still hanging around today, so we did a climb on the road up Combs Canyon into Lakeview. We pretty much rode until we could go no higher and then made our way back to work. The first couple of miles were screaming fast...no pedaling needed!

Next up...Carson Valley Road Ride on Sunday!!!

Monday Road Ride

Kathy joined Kristy and I for a road ride today. Kathy seemed to have a hard time kicking our butts on her road bike. I don't know...maybe she's losing some fitness. Or maybe it's because her road bike had 2.1 knobby tires, and full suspension. Whatever...



Kathy and the rest of the gang had just finished doing the Lakeview/V&T loop, and decided to ride with us for the rest of our ride. After we finished our upper Lakeview loop, we headed for Kings Canyon. When we got to the canyon, I headed east for work, and the girls climbed the canyon to the end of the pavement.

Coombs Canyon

This first picture is the beginning of the Coombs Canyon climb. You'll also notice from the sign that it is also part of the HWY 395 bicycle route...a route that takes you through town on the back roads, away from the dangerous traffic. This is one of our favorite climbs. It's easy enough to do in the middle chain ring, and short enough to race up. Most of the time we just ride up the hill at a normal pace, but once in a while this turns into the drag strip. It's more fun to race when Ryan doesn't ride, because he smokes everyone, all the time.

It was just Kristy and I today. Actually Patrick rode too, but we missed him by a minute at the rendezvous place...he did a different trail. The climb felt great. I could feel the xmas calories burning away, heating our bodies in the below freezing temperatures.

We continued over the top of the climb, enjoying the view of Washoe Valley. This is where the thrilling part of the ride starts...a fast descent down a sandy canyon that leads to the old V&T Railroad Grade. In the summer this descent is very sandy, but today it was wet and slightly frozen. Even the snow in the shadows had excellent traction. We flew down the straightaways, and railed the corners. Part of the thrill of the downhill is the high-up feeling you get looking down at the little cars on the highway below.

At the bottom of the hill we got on the V&T Rail Road Grade and headed back towards town. The parts of the trail in the northern shadows of the hills were covered in snow. Cold crunchy snow that was just a blast to ride through. The V&T is still pretty high above the city, and provides great views of the city below.

At the end of the ride we both agreed that trail was so fun today, that it made the cold, numb parts of our body seem tolerable. Warmer temperatures are expected this weekend!