On the 4th I met up with rocket scientist and all around great guy Big Larry and another good friend Kathleen who coaches a high school mountain biking team in the Bay Area. We rode the section of the TRT from Mount Rose down to the Tunnel Creek trail. At that point we split up, Fiona rode the Flume Trail while Larry, Kathleen and I rode down to Red Flume Trail then around to the TRT over Marlett Peak. All in all a great ride. The TRT from Rose to Tunnel Creek is a great section of trail for beginning and intermediate riders to get a handle on the decomposed granite and rocky technical riding the characterizes the riding on the east and south shores of Lake Tahoe. Spooner to Red Flume Pictures and Ride Report here.

Saturday I had some slightly more ambitious plans. Last year some of the guys and I pioneered a new (to us) route going from Spooner Summit to Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. It’s brutal 40 mile ride starting on the east side of the lake and going all the way around to Meyers. It includes some brual climbs and a few amazing technical descents. Since this route was based on the classic “Punisher” route we dubbed it the Punsher Plus.

I’ve also rewritten my main Tahoe Rim Trail Guide to include information about more rides in the area, including these two.

So after a bit of a break from updating the site Fiona has goaded me into action again.  Strangely the update I worked on first is completely un-ridable right now since it’s under 12”+ of snow.  However since Fiona is the one who prodded me into working on the site she picked the trail I updated first.

The Strawberry Loop is Fiona’s Favorite ride.  Unfortunately until the thaw she just gets to look at the map and drool and speak of it wistfully to other riders.  This is a great beginner/ intermediate friendly trail about 30 minutes east of Twain Harte off of highway 108.  It also makes for some great bonus miles either at the beginning or the end of a Pinecrest Peak ride.  Without further ado,  here is the Ride Guide for Fiona’s Favorite, Strawberry Loop.

Incidentally some time ago I created a collection of Beginner Friendly Trails which sort of slid out there without mention.  So if you are a beginning rider you might want to check them out.  Many are spread all over Northern Califormia.

Now it’s a year later and I have the chance to ride there again, so off I go. I end up starting off the ride with about a dozen other riders in addition to the ride leaders of the year before. Even just a short time into the ride, I notice that instead of walking the climb, I’m still on the bike. And I’ll confess, looking back and seeing a couple other people behind me helped motivate me to keep pedaling. The route was very similar to last year’s. As I rode along I kept noticing that it seemed easier. I did walk some sections still, but I also was able to stay on the bike and clear some stuff that just seemed too hard just 12 months earlier. All in all I had a blast and felt glad to make it back to the parking lot at the end of the ride. A change of clothes and something cold to drink made a perfect end.

When Ogre and I started planning this trip, I visited the MBO website and requested the video CD to see what to expect. I didn’t think the chances were good that I’d be able to ride much and especially not with Ogre. The trail listings sounded like the rides were more advanced than my skill level, but I figured I’d find something that would be fun and maybe I’d be able to walk/ride my way through one ride. Boy was I wrong. There were several beginner/intermediate trails available. The one that kept me coming back everyday was the Salmon Creek Trail. This trail left directly from the camp area and followed along the side of a beautiful creek. The majority of it was covered by lush, mossy forest and even in the heat was a pleasure to ride.

On Friday morning I joined 13 or 14 ladies for a skills clinic taught by Tanya Huff, a Cannondale rep. We worked on basic climbing and descending skills and finished up for the day by riding down some stairs. After the clinic, I rode out on the Salmon Creek Trail 6 miles with other riders that had attended the skills clinic and our guide. We stopped for a break at the campground that is located on the far end and then started back towards camp. After about a mile Karrie, the lady riding behind me says “that can’t be good”. I stop to see what’s the matter and we discover that she has managed to break the rear derailler off(not the hook, the derailler itself). Thanks to the quick thinking of a couple of our fellow riders, she goes from a gearie to a single speed in just a few minutes. Karrie decides to head back to camp via the road and I volunteer to accompany her. We enjoyed the views of the countryside while getting to know each other, agreeing that the real fun of these kind of gatherings is meeting new people. We make it back to camp and part ways. She heads off to see if the onsite mechanics can fix her bike, I go to return the demo bike I got to ride, a ‘07 Cannondale Rush. The Rush was a great bike, though I think I’m sticking to my Spider for quite a bit longer. The geometry was just fantastic, but it felt too heavy and I hated the gear shifts and the Terry Butterfly seat on it. My butt hurt for three days.

Day two, we wake up and wander over to get breakfast. Thanks to all the great people of the Oakridge Kawanis and Moose, we enjoyed hot, fresh food morning and night. After breakfast Ogre heads off on his ride and I head over for the next skills clinic accompanied by Impy. Yeah, I can now lift my front tire and am working on lifting up the rear, then I can start bunnyhopping. Impy and I decide to head out on the Salmon Creek Trail after the clinic. BigLarry and Jilm join us as the three of them want a ‘light ride’ day so they can save themselves for the Middlefork Ride on day 3. I lead them out the way I went with the group on the previous day and BigLarry overhears a guide telling someone on the trail that there is a more technical option for the return route. Impy, Jilm, and I are game so off we go. The more techie trail turns out to be across the creek by means of a cool bridge. I definately was struggling to keep up with the others on this section, but boy was it worth it. The trail was festooned with short bridges that were built on an incline, gnarled tree roots, and then fun swoopy sections that were sheer pleasure to glide through. I was grateful for the break along the stream we took at the end of this section. The route lead us to Oakridge’s fish hatchery where got to see young salmon, trout, and representatives of the local wild bird community. BigLarry wanted to head into town for a map, so I joined him while Jilm and Impy returned to camp. The trip included a much enjoyed stop at Dairy Queen. Then back to camp.

Sunday started with most of our camp heading out to ride the Middlefork ride, leaving Rod, Jeff, Joe, and I to figure out what we wanted to do. The boys decided on a trip down Larrison Rock. A trail that runs about 6 miles, but has some tricky, techie parts from what they were saying. They tried hard to get me to join them, but it just didn’t appeal. I was starting to feel the effects of the 30 miles I’d managed wthin the last two days. Before they left Rod and Jeff convinced me to head out on Salmon Creek one more time. We made it out about 3 or 4 miles when my legs told me they were done. I reluctantly turned back with Jeff, while Rod continued on to finally see the end of the trail (he hadn’t made it to the far campground yet). Jeff and I returned to camp and I began packing up. Jilm had agreed to shuttle some of Ogre and I’s things south to give a little more room in the plane. The Middlefork riders began trickling in about 3 pm and talk turned to “what’s for dinner”. The rest of the story is pretty much just as Ogre said. I didn’t ride with Ogre once, but I really don’t think that matttered this time. We both found ourselves rides that rocked.

More pictures can be seen here.

We wound around the lake mostly on the dirt with short connector sections of pavement. As we went along there were 2 rather steep hill climbs, but nothing unhikable (if needed) and one downhill by Negro Bar that is like riding down a trough. The blackberry brambles and thistles overgrew the trail and beat up our legs and arms. I had a hard time keeping up with the Ogre even with him keeping it slow for him, but I was afraid of going too fast. All-in-all it was a fun adventure culminating in a quick dip in the lake near the CSUS boat area.  (More Details about Riding at Lake Natomas)