September 12, 2006 -- The ride around Big Blue (Lake Tahoe) was held on Sunday, September 10. The drive from OC to Tahoe isn’t too bad - - about 8 ½ hours with a couple of quick stops. We chose the scenic route up 395. The ride started and finished at the Horizon Casino & Hotel in South Lake Tahoe. This area is an eclectic mix of beautiful scenery, great hiking and biking trails, casinos, old and new hotels, and a new trendy upscale shopping area. There’s something for everyone.
The Big Blue has two routes available: a 75-mile ride around the lake and a 35-mile option where you hitch a ride on the Tahoe Queen Paddleboat for a ride across the lake. I knew this was a pretty hilly ride at high altitude, so with my knee problems, Don and I opted for the shorter ride.
It was a brisk 48-degrees when we departed the hotel at 7:30 a.m. for the 1.5 mile ride to the Tahoe Queen. Our fingers were frozen after this short ride. The friendly staff members took our bikes below while we went upstairs in a nice warm room where a continental breakfast was served. My idea of breakfast is French toast, bacon and eggs, but the event coordinators had a more healthy fare in mind. Breakfast consisted of bagels, cream cheese & jelly, fresh fruit, granola and yogurt. The weather was beautiful for this 2.5 hour ride across the lake. The sun was shining and it soon warmed up enough to head topside to enjoy the view and some sunshine. The nice thing about the boat ride is that you can purchase tickets for non-cycling friends so my sister and her husband drove down from Reno to participate in this cycling event.
The ride across the lake was very relaxing. There happened to be a hot-air balloon event in Reno and we were lucky enough to watch a beautiful balloon take off from a barge on the lake. We finally reached the north shore a little before 11:00 a.m. and the cyclists found their bikes and departed. The lunch stop was only five miles down the rode, which was great because we were hungry. There was plenty of food including ham and turkey sandwiches, bagels & peanut butter, potato chips, cookies, brownies, and fruit. There were rest stops for the remainder of the ride about every 8 to 10 miles.
These many rest stops are a welcomed site as this is a tough ride. Norm, our BCI ride coordinator, would probably call this a “rolly” ride, but most of us would say it’s hilly. Let’s just say that I used all 27 of my gears and often used the granny gears. At one point in time, I was spinning at the breakneck speed of 4 miles per hour. My husband, Don, who was behind me, coaching me up the hills, said “can you spin any faster?” I replied, “yes, of course! I’m just riding this slow to irritate you.” Later, he told me that because he only has a double, he was almost falling off his bike. I offered for him to go ahead of me, but he insisted on sticking to me like glue. I jokingly told him that the only thing I saw in my mirror the whole ride was his big head!
Despite the hills, this is an absolutely beautiful and well supported ride; the weather was fabulous - - in the mid 70’s. I hope to gather a BCI group for a future event. |
