Miko & Jon at the Finish Line -- 5 hours, 5 minutes, 20 seconds!
The Tour de Tahoe was a tough, yet beautiful ride that took you from Stateline, Nevada up the switchbacks along Route 89, through Tahoe City, Incline Village and back down the steep descent along Route 50 back into Stateline. See our pictures of the event below. This ride was very challenging with almost 4,300 feet of elevation gain. If you are up for a challenge, this is the ride to do!
Team WeLikeToBike pauses up the switchbacks along Rt. 89 with Big Blue in the background
Lake Tahoe glistens in the early morning sun
Bikers pause at the first rest area
Lake Tahoe from the Kings Beach lunch rest stop
After 40 miles of riding, bikes are strewn across the parking lot
Pausing for lunch along the beach
Team WeLikeToBike pauses for lunch
Here’s a couple of links to videos of the route by Jim from a few years ago. Our ride was less sunny and the descent was wetter than a water park!
Going to Lake Tahoe is typically associated with boating, camping or snow skiing. The opportunity to have a fully-supported bike ride around Lake Tahoe is available only twice a year, June and September.
Both of these rides are put on by Nevada’s BikeTheWest. The first event of the year is called “American’s Most Beautiful Ride,” put on every June. This time of year is tends to be a bit chilly and snow is still prevalent in the higher elevations.
The second event of the year is the “Tour de Tahoe” in coordination with the Ride to Cure Diabetes. This ride starts in Stateline, Nevada and continues around the south side of Lake Tahoe along Route 50, then heads north up Route 89, then continues to loop the north side of the lake along Route 28 and once again joins up with Route 50 on the ride back into Stateline, Nevada.
There are two ways to enter this ride, through BikeTheWest.com for $100 or as part of the Ride to Cure Diabetes team. The Ride to Cure has a series of rides all over the country with a variety of different fundraising levels. The minimum level of fundraising to be part of its team is $2,000. If you don’t think you can raise this money, the best way to be part of this ride is directly through BikeTheWest.
We will be participating in the Tour de Tahoe on Sunday, September 11, 2011 through BikeTheWest. We can’t wait to take part of this amazing ride! We will be training for this ride as the elevation change is just over 3,000 starting at 6,500 feet above sea level.
We will post pictures of the ride later. We hope you will be able to join us or find a ride in your own area.
Descents are the reward after climbing to the top of Sequoia Valley Road or Panoramic Highway. The former takes you on a beautiful journey through Muir Woods, the latter takes you on a magnificent 4 mile descent to Stinson Beach. While Stinson Beach requires a series of climbs to make your way along the Pacific Coast Highway to Muir Beach, the second half of the route from Muir Woods is relatively flat. These two routes intersect at the Pelican Inn along CA-1. The pattern of a tough climb being rewarded by a great descent is remains unbroken in The Three Amigos. The return begins with a tough narrow climb along CA-1 with traffic nipping at your heals. If you can time the cars just right, you will experience a fantastic, high-speed return back to the Marin Crossroads. Each path that leads to this return is its own unique adventure. That adventure continues on in The Three Amigos’ journey to Sausalito.
Difficulty: A tough climb on a narrow road with no shoulder followed by a fast and fun descent that can be interrupted by “Sunday Drivers”
Elevation Gain on Route: 623 feet (190 meters)
FOR A MORE DETAILED LOOK click here for the full Geoped Map provided by g-map-pedometer.com
Elevation Map for the Route provided by MapMyRide.com
From the Pelican Inn, there is one last hill to conquer before the exciting descent and return to the Marin Crossroads and Sausalito.
Miko stands atop the last hill between you and Sausalito from Muir Beach
Continue heading south on CA-1 from the intersection with Pacific Way.
Head south along CA-1 past Pacific Way
Hopefully the drivers you encounter along the way heed this sign
The beginning of the climb is hidden around the first corner.
Ketlon takes point and Miko readies herself for the tough climb ahead
THE WORK:
Round the first bend and you get a preview of you life for the next 2.2 miles: switchback, blind corner, switchback, blind corner…
Often the cars pass you closely on this shoulderless, narrow road.
Other times, you get a brief distraction from the climbing.
As the Ferrari F430 passed by we got a brief reprieve from the climbing, if only in our minds
With steep gradients, the standing climb is your friend on this hill.
Though only sometimes necessary, passing other bikers on the narrow road requires, speed, control and a bit of luck to get a long enough break in the traffic.
Poised in the standing position, Kelton overtakes a slower mountain biker during a brief break in the traffic.
The standing climb can also be used to work different muscles to not tire your legs too quickly.
Although the scenery doesn’t change much as you continue around the next corner, make sure to enjoy the views around you.
A small shoulder is present in some areas of the climb.
As you keep climbing you can eventually see the top of the climb.
The top of the climb is at the base of the pine trees in the upper right side of this picture.
As the distance to the top gets shorter, a good standing climb helps Kelton keep pushing his way to the top.
Kelton dances in the saddle
The base of the pine trees (center) signifies the top of the climb is getting near.
Just a few more stints of out of the saddle climbing and you’re almost there.
Turn the corner and you can almost see the definition of the trees.
Then you realize you still have a few more turns to go.
Although closer, you still have a few more switchbacks to climb before the reach the top.
The road starts to reduce in gradient as you get closer to the top, keep up the RPMs and you will start to gain speed.
As the top nears, these two road signs indicate the last two switchbacks before the top.
At the sight of the last corner the blood rushes back to your legs.
Rounding the last turn, a spot to rest is just a few hundred feet away.
Kelton approaches the rest area after burning up the hill.
Once at the top, you realize the amount of traffic passing you was not just your imagination.
The top is a great spot to rest for the other members of the party still climbing.
Miko makes it into the resting area after a personal best time up the hill.
Timing is everything in this next portion of the ride. The relatively flat section between the resting area and the intersection with Panoramic Highway gives you a bit of a chance to get ready for the downhill portion of the journey. If timed well, the journey is fast and exciting. If timed poorly, you’ll catch a car quickly and be on your breaks the rest of the way to the bottom.
Watch the cars rounding the visible corners, when no other cars are in sight, that’s your queue to go!
Miko watches carefully for a clear path.
After leaving the rest area, you have a quick jaunt through the woods on a slight decline.
Which leads you past the intersection of Panoramic Highway and CA-1 and to…
How long do other bikers last in front of Miko on a downhill?
The downhill section of this ride has a wide assortment of twists, turns and straightaways.
Not only can cars be an obstacle, wildlife can be as well…notice deer, stage right.
The rolling, twisting road make for incredible fun if you can manage to get a section without cars!
After you exit the woods you have a few more turns to go before you reach the intersection of Shoreline Highway (CA-1) and Almonte Boulevard.
Though we were able to catch the entire downhill without running into any cars, be mindful, the “Sunday Drivers” are out in force every day of the week on this section and can ruin your descent. Have fun, but be mindful of the cars.
Once you reach the intersection of Shoreline Highway and Almonte Boulevard, make a right at the light and follow Shoreline Highway until you reach the on-ramp for US-101.
At US-101, check for cars and head to the middle lane, you’ll be going straight through the next two lights and under the overpass.
At the other side of the overpass, Marin Crossroads is on your left. Check for cars again and get over in the left turn lane. When clear, cross over to the Marin County Bike Path.
Follow the bike path to its end at Mike’s Bikes.
Get in the turn lane and wait for the light to turn green, then cross over to Bridgeway.
Follow Bridgeway through this section of Sausalito.
After the second light, the lanes will split at the Y-intersection ahead, go to the left. Check the lane and position yourself to merge into the upcoming bike lane next to the left lane.
Continue straight on Bridgeway and past A Bicycle Odyssey and through the next light.
Then just a another half-mile to the light in front of Bacchus & Venus.
Watch for traffic and get in the turn lane to make a left into the ferry terminal.
Make a right into the parking lot and head towards to boat.
Then get in line for the boat back to San Francisco.
Once on the boat enjoy a drink and the views of Alcatraz on your way back to San Francisco. Make sure to check out The Hat Trick to safely park your bike on the boat.
The return from Muir Beach is a tough climb at the end of a long ride, but once you are to the top, the rest of the way to Sausalito is literally downhill from there! If you do take the ferry home, make sure to listen to the Ferry Boss and enjoy the ride home!
Bike4Breath 2011 was a wonderful ride and a great time. The route (below) took us from Foster City to the Crystal Springs Reservoir, Arastradero Preserve, by the Stanford Campus and back to Foster City. This is our favorite charity tour each year. We hope you will join us next year!
A special thanks to Nicole and Kenneth from Breathe California who are an integral part in making Bike4Breath and all of the other Breathe California events work so well!
WE LIKE TO BIKE 