At 8000′ it is cold in the AM, like 34 degs.

Today is drive to Tahoe and maybe get in a ride meaning the drive would have purpose. Needed diesel b4 Tahoe, thoght Bridgeport would have cheaper fuel than Mammoth’s $3.17; nope, paid $3.75, $75.00 and pump shut off.

Drove up 395 and drove back highway state 89 into S Lake tahoe and gaming houses. Volunteer @ visitor center said there are 2 casinos in town that let you park overnight. Good location if want to be downtown in the action. I wanted The Flume Trail.

Kept after it and made Spooner Lake state park in NV and Flume TH center, the one Max Jones, back in the day, a great mtn bike racer in there w/ Johny T, Nedly, Tinker, Rishi, and others. I read Max’s biography @ the mtn bike hall of fame in Crested Butte, CO. What a great past as racer & team leader. He chose an Ibis carbon frame DW link over another Turner.

Weather was chilly & skies were starting to mean threatening. My ride is to be up this steep gravel double track to Marlette Lake, connect the Flume, join the Tahoe Rim Trail that is open to bikes on even days, like today, drop down to Marlette, and climb out & bomb the previously climbed steep uphill. Hit 29 mph somewhere, speed limit is 20. I was unable to read the small numbers on my computer screen and focus on a line. Late afternoon, in rain showers, didn’t expect uphill travelers. Kept to right side anyway. Bike is fun on smooth downhill like skiing groomers. Needed rain coat on downhill to ward off wind chill and short while later the sprinkles.

Pleased w/ how hard I rode. I made more of the tech moves since last time I rode here. That was back Labor Day of 07. My business card picture was taken on the Flume. Virtually to myself. Snow patches @ 8500′ .

Drove 7 miles West on rt 50 to Zephyr XG for coin shower. Today they were complimentary. XG was plugged.

Drove back up hill to Spooner Summit and drove back a rough logging road to open flat area where I usually stay when i visit. Selective logging occurred. Lots of logs remain in unit. Flat area is log dech. So much waste & destruction.

Tahoe soil is granite sand. pretty flowers, maybe Indian Pipe?

Took an Artie Johnson old Laugh in yellow rain coat, tiny tricycle just pedaling along fall. I was in a patch of loose sand and i attemped a u-turn. I figured that I would stall the front wheel and then fall to the inside where I would clip out my left foot and catch myself before falling. The old cleats would have released probably too soon but my foot would have been catching my fall. This is the 3rd ride on new cleats that are full size so they  do not accidently release. they worked like the should. I twisted my heel outwards to release my foot. I was faling by now and I juts could not muster the amount of outward twist to release. Bang! Hard splatter fall on my left side. The sand abraded away scabs from a previous miscalculation from my left shin. Blam city.

Chilly night, ended up double down blanket night.

Today i am going to ride the trails below snow level from 1 edge of ski area to the other and a little extra. Rider @ brewery the other night laid out a ride. Drove down @ parked intown parking lot. Found trail & I immediately recalled Brian’s evaluation of trails here as a C-. Pumice w/ duff added into energy sucking tread. Practice for Bachelor. The ski area is huge w/ chair count to support. Made a mistake and dropped down too early riding this really loose stuff. The trail had a deep center rut and peppered w/ loose volcanic rock. Junk. I recovered by riding back up another trail and figured out the ride. Well designed & built trails when they stay out of fall line. Big firs. Pumice is rock filled w/ air bubbles. Upon enough force they crumble which sucks forward direction. The trail gradient was below 10%. Design of ride was to make big climb @ start and then the rest would be a descending traverse w/ short climbs mixed in. Trail up high was in big firs. I finally emerged in treeless high desert. One day was enough. A race would be incredibly dusty.

view:

Grocery shopped then returned to camp spot.

Cloudless till just afternoon and then clouded as if to rain. Today breaks a string of 21 days of rain falling here. Still was knee warmers and light  long under wear top ride.

Tomorrow I will drive up to Tahoe.

IMBA epics: no guarantee that they are repeatable in that they weren’t permanently marked, had sustaining permission, or are being maintained today. Virginia City is the next epic to ride.

Heater evening @ 8200′.

Quiet night and chilly. Turned on heater in AM.

Today i ride w/ Mark down Rock creek trail that he initiated the repair of. Originally built by the CCC it had fallen into neglect. It drops down a narrow steep sided canyon switching sides of fast flowing Rock Creek. Old rt 395 used the canyon to climb out of the desert up to mammoth and beyond. We shuttled.

Mark is a walking history book. He showed us a car graveyard where cars lay smashed from a drastic plunge from highway above. There is a steam boiler in the creek that was destined to Mammoth to power some gold mining equipment. The ride was only 7.92 miles but took 4 hours as we stopped frequently and Mark shared his knowledge of a feature. We stopped for a lunch break and I spied I say a canine animal, Mark says a feline across the creek laying out on a rock. And adolescents appeared. Mark counted 3. She was not concerned by us. Each of us scrambled along the large chunks of rock to get within maybe 60′.  Huge old growth P-pine, the largest I have ever seen.

At the trail end is an old CCC camp that was converted into a resort which assured the upkeep of the small barracks type buildings.

Mark is discovering and following old wagon roads in the canyon. We drove part way out of canyon and then turned off on a side road and walked down into desert search for grooves carved in the soft rock by the iron rimmed wagons. We found the old wagon road and several places of grooves in the under laying soft rock. We found old metal cans. They were welded. They were filled from a hole in an end of the can and then welded shut, Mark speculated they were filled w/ condensed milk.

The weather @ Mammoth was suspect for rain and our trip needed to be planned around possible mountain rains. Rock Creek is about 20 miles down canyon from Mammoth. We enjoyed warmer temps & now rain. As i drove back up into mountains the temp dropped @ rain fell.

Bought a shower @ XG.

Drove out to site where I stayed last night. In the morning I laid out my green carpet and folding chair to designate I was camping there. Somebody took them but nobody was camped in my spot. Phoey, need to buy new chair.

40 degrees outside.

I’m tired. Last night I didn’t sleep well as I seemed to be fighting for my breath @ 8000′