The World is Flat Pedaled

When it comes to building a touring bike there are so many things that are taken as fact; steel frame, high range of gears, quick wicking clothing, but some gear parts are debated. It seems that clipless pedals are one of these things that falls on both sides. I have seen a good deal of "ways to improve riding" or "how to prepare for a bike tour" promote clipless pedals, but I'm going to go ahead and say that these are less than ideal for bike touring.

Casual SPDs were becoming the rage when I first began riding, with Chrome exploding everywhere and other companies finally following in their wake (Teva, Five-Ten, and Vans now all have their own casual clipless pedals). I started with rat cages, but after destroying many metal cages I have taken the plunge into full on flat pedals and could not be happier.

Surly Cross Check rocking Wellgo MG-1s

The tides seem to be turning away from clipless toward flat pedals on touring cyclists, with the rise of casual touring promoted by Rivendell and hike and bike bikepacking as promoted by Cass Gilbert. And here is the real reason why flats are more superior than clipless pedals, they are multifunctional. For anyone who has ever packed for an extended bike tour knows that having multi use items is extremely useful as it saves space and weight, yet people still believe in clipless pedals and off the bike shoes/sandals, when one pair of sneakers functions for both. For me, bike touring is about exploration, and exploring off the bike is half the fun, from incredible day hikes, to museum walks, to unplanned games of soccer, not skating everywhere is fantastic.

Another tenant that the flat pedal fulfills is the keep it simple stupid attitude, an attitude I shortly picked up from Surly upon purchase of my Cross-Check. As an example, I remember being a few days north of San Francisco last summer when I met a couple traveling the coast and it was about this point that one of their touring pedal cleats was so torn up from being walked on over rocks, curbs, pavement, what have you, that they could no longer clip in and needed to limp by on a small platform to get to San Francisco to replace their cleats. Another example comes from an old article from Urban Velo magazine that I found, in which these avid cycle tourists cited the tool or piece that they'd never leave without again and it was consistently pedal bolts. When you go flat, that's one less tool and one less headache.

Another shot with the white MTB pedals.

"But what about the power increases!" well, that's mostly a myth. There may be small gains, but nothing extremely major. People are bound to believe that being clipped in allows you to pull up on the upstroke, which is actually wrong. The only benefit may be that you are less fatigued because you don't have to worry as much with foot position but with grippy shoes and grippy pedals this is not an issue whatsoever.

One of the greatest gains that have come from the switch to platform pedals over rat cages is learning better bike ability. I had never known how to bunny hop and was completely dumbfounded by the process, I kept trying to pull up the rear wheel with my feet, which is dead wrong. Flat pedals have taught me better weight balance on the bike and now I'm having a blast throwing my rear wheel wherever I want it, be it mountain biking, hopping curbs, or bike poloing. For performance, flats reign king in my bike.

What do you ride? Flats, clipless, cages? Why? What are the benefits and disadvantages?

Further reading: Riv Bike on clipless v. flats.

Review: On One Midge Bars

In the mid 80's Wilderness Trail Bikes, one of the earlier pioneers of mountain bike design, unleashed the Dirt Drop Bar, a wide flared drop bar intended for off-road use. The bars were wildly popular on cyclocross style with Specialized even throwing in the mix on their Specialized BB-2, unveiled on their Rockhopper Combo, the manufacturing giant's response to the Bridgestone's XO series (as an example of the lack of interest in drop bar mountain bikes, the Rockhopper Combo only lasted one year and had trouble selling stock).

WTB Dirt Drop bars, credit to My Brain Hurts on Flickr

Specialized Rock Combo with Specialized BB-2 drop bars, credit to Russ Teaches on Flickr

Over the years dirt drops never caught on. While the WTB Dirt Drops stayed in production, mountain drops were rare on full build kits, until the Salsa Fargo 2. The Fargo featured their own in house mountain drops, the Woodchippers. They fit what this bike was intended for very well, for an off-road touring bike, because they offered the multiple hand position of a drop bar but also had more horizontal brakes and wide grips for control.

Salsa Fargo

Now, mountain drops are coming back into style as bike touring is on the rise and off-road bike touring is no longer seen as a totally insane venture. The choices are still slim, but they are out there (besides hounding ebay for the now discontinued Specialized BB-2 or WTB Dirt Drop bars), some of the choices are the aforementioned Salsa Woodchipper,the Soma Junebug, the Origin-8 Gary bar and the On One Midge Bar. After reading reviews I decided give the Midge Bars a run, being my first mountain bike drops, this is both a review of this style and of these bars themselves.

The first thing I noticed on the Midge bars was how natural the hoods were. My hands rested easily on a 45 degree angle on the hoods, both widening my grip and making my ability to reach the brakes much easier, a joy when descending on dirt. This isn't the only good position for descending though, as I found in the hooks was way better, with immense braking power and a very wide balanced controlled position with my hands in that semi-horizontal position. Ascending was equally better with these bars, as I could grab the drops and mash some leverage on the wide position as well as being low enough to keep my butt in the saddle, keeping traction on my skinnier cross tires. The tops were great for road riding too, expanding the hand positions so my wrists never don't tire, as what often happens on flat bar touring.

The cockpit view.

Shifting on my bar ends was a breeze on the On One bars, as the drops were shallow and when positioned correctly the bar ends sat perfectly near the bottom of the hoods, making that switch easy. I even began to get into the point of on road of finding that shift perfectly in the drops with my pinky. STI shifting is also an option on these bars, but I have never been a fan, as bar ends are far easier to fix on the fly (the ability to switch to friction shifting is even nicer when the cable stretches and you don't feel like playing with it).

Side view on the Cross Check.

The On One Midge Bars make great off road touring bars as they offer the multitude of positions but also allow for more controlled descents and more traction and leverage on the ascents. That plus easy functionality with bar end shifters make these my go to for off-road touring at the moment. How they match up to the Soma Junebugs or Salsa Woodchippers is hard to say, but they definitely work well for me, plus come in at a better price point than the Salsa or Soma bars.

Further reading:

• Guitar Ted on how to setup Mountain Drop Bars on a Mountain Bike not designed for drops.
• 29 Drop on a better history than mine on Mountain Drops.

A Test of Many Miles: Vittoria Randonneurs v. Schwalbe Marathons.

It's a common debate, argubaly two of the best production touring tires on the market, the Schwalbe Marathon and the Vittoria Randoneur. Over the past year I have extensively ridden both, carrying Schwalbe Marathons on my cross-country schlep and Randonneurs around the Bay Area, almost exclusively for commuting. While I did use them in different circumstances, I did get a good feel of riding both of them, so here is how they stack up against one another.

Durability

Vittoria Randonneur – This is why people buy these two tires, they are burly and don't seem to break. Commuting on my Randonneur's it's hard to remember when I actually blew a flat it's become so rare. Sure nothing is “bulletproof” but these get damn close.

Vittoria's come in white or black, a nice option the Schwalbe lacks.

Schwalbe Marathons – Okay, this is an unfair assessment because I rode them a lot more than the Randos with a lot more weight, but I did have some flats on these, but 70 miles a day going across country, they were rare. I remember first purchasing these and pulling glass out of my tire with no flat. Occasionally, a stray piece of metal would strike at the right angle and flat these, but it was rare.

Fully loaded the Marathon's held up well.

Ride

Vittoria Randonneur – One thing I noticed differently from the Marathons is how much quicker the Randonneurs were. There is a difference in weight and I think that's where this comes from, but the first time I put these tires I took off down the road pretty hastily. That comes at a cost though, with a thinner compound, these can't be run at as low pressure as the Marathons and can be a little bumpier of a ride. Sure it's not like a roadie feeling super heavy ride, but noticeable.

Schwalbe Marathons – COMFORTABLE. Their added weight makes these guys a little bit slower, but the trade off of speed to weight is well worth it. The Marathon rolls like a dream, holds pressure well, and can be run at a lower pressure, meaning that bumpy roads don't feel so bumpy.

Verdict

These tires are very similar and serve as great road touring tires, especially for those just getting into it (widely available, affordable, and straightforward). The big difference is what you are going for, speed or comfort. If you are looking for that little bit of extra spin, go with the Randos, but the Marathons will feel more comfortable, especially if you're hauling over long long miles, losing that time for a less bruised under area is nice.

Strava: Not Just for Dweebs Anymore!

Or maybe I'm just becoming one of them. It's hard to say. But one of the greatest things about being a cyclist in today's day and age is the variety of every rider. Commuters are wearing clipless pedals, once deemed solely for the racers and racers are trying their hand at steel, once deemed too heavy to ever put under their legs. People are just becoming enthusiastic about cycling in general, which who can really complain about?

My foray into Strava came once I returned from tour. Now being GPS linked, I realized I had all this data and no way to process it. Send in the Strava. Most of my friends were talking about it before I even started, so I decided to take my tracks and upload them to the website. Now I'm hooked.

But why? What is so intriguing about this website? It's not the king of the mountains, the original competition this site brought that gave it such a negative connotation in my head. Why would I want to race every time I got on my bike? It seemed to me that this constant competition is what I disliked about cycling, it's way nicer to just go out and ride, but at the same time there is someone I like to beat every time I go out. Myself.

Seeing days you rode and days you missed is helpful to track if you're finding time to ride or not.

Maps with plenty o' data.

It's an old ethos I carry over from my cross country (that's running not mountain biking) days in high school. Day in and day out, you can never control how fast the person next to you goes. They have their good and bad days just as you do. But the one person who you can constantly control whether you beat or lose to is yourself. It's training advice I truly take to heart and that's what Strava provides me. I can see over time how my climbs compare, how my mileage compares and more. Plus it tallies up my mileage, so it can help motivate me more to get out and do the ride I wasn't planning on. Even further it's the ultimate social network for cyclists, following your other friends as they break their first century or as they set a new PR on their favorite climb, it's exciting to see how they're doing.

Elevation plots and the infamous segments underneath.

Certainly some people take it too far. There are some people who constantly go for a new PR on group rides (not cool, if you want that ride on your own or with a paceline, not the group rides I sign myself up for usually). Or the people who ride extremely dangerously for the extra seconds (the Berkeley tale is so close to home that it's a constant reminder to compete on the ups and play it safe on the downs). Having a way to truly measure my fitness is really rewarding and I'm glad I finally signed up and have been trying to stay on top of my riding because I have the mile ticker to know when I decided to sit inside instead of see something gorgeous.

(Follow me on Strava: here)

Who Doesn't Love Packlists?

Packlists are my favorite. If it wasn't for the help of great packlists like Cass Gilber's at While Out Riding or Joe Cruz's at Pedaling in Place, my kit would have gone through some of the errors they went through. Nevertheless here is my packlist from my tour up to Tahoe.

Bags

First let's talk where it all goes. Bags and where to put them is an art that I'm slowly learning to perfect. Last summer's build was a maxamilist approach and built in the wrong places. I upgraded from the bulky pannier rack system on the front to an easier to manage bigger handlebar bag. I also added the tool bag under the seat, which makes getting them convenient on the road and opens up room in my panniers. I was able to manage to pack up food, clothing, and tent all on the rear. It made picking up the bike wonky, which I want to fix in the future, but as of now, I really like the way this is built, it handles very well. All the bags are Detours made. The rear rack is a Tubus Vega (light durable, great). I carry my water in my bottlecages along with hydration bladders buried away, the Klean Kanteen didn't really work as it held coffee flavors that's going to get axed for a lightweight camp mug (or a smaller Klean Kanteen for camp and carrying ice/ice cream to camp!) and put another waterbottle in the cage, that is if I don't have a framebag by then. I also have a Topeak Morph Mini pump pictured here, it broke on tour, but I prefer it to the Planet Bike one I replaced it with. I also carried an REI Flashpack to add some room and take weight off the bags/racks/bike, not ideal on the back, but it was real handy (until a bear tore it in two).

Clothing

Riding clothes.

Camp clothes.

Clothing is usually the bulkiest, but not the heaviest, but it is easy to go overboard on clothing. What I have here might actually be too much. The top is my riding gear, the bottom is camp gear. My riding gear consists of Novarra cycle shorts ($10 at Used Gear Sale!), cheap falling apart Nashbar rain jacket, Canari jersey (looks good, works), cycle shorts (probably cut these next), Ex-Officio boxers (GREAT purchase, dry quickly, hold no smell), gloves, Smart Wool hat, Goodwill merino sweater (5 bucks, why pay more?), Novarra leg warmers, and my North Coast Brewery cycle cap.

My camp clothes consist of a casual t (might get axed for another jersey instead), Smart Wool baselayer (comfortable and can be used when it gets real cold), Smart Wool leggings (pack small retain heat, also good for riding, might go with this or the legwarmers next time, not both), and gym shorts (want to replace with quicker drying active shorts). I wore Salomon water shoes on this tour, I liked them for their quick drying, ability to be worn without socks, and breathability, but I'm not 100 percent sold on them as the go to touring sneaker yet.

Camp Gear

Sleeping

Eating

Camp gear is where weight can really be saved. Sleepwise I've upgraded to a 45 degree LaFuma bag, good for summer, but even on some nights I found myself chilly, probably need another bag to compensate when I'm not doing hot parts of the world. Sierra Designs LightYear One tent, works, but can be tight and the front entrance is awkward, still looking at a Tarptent or Six Moon Design solution possibly. Nemo Zor sleeping pad, comfortable, warm, works.

Cook kit consists of; Trangia alcohol stove, I'm still unhappy with flame control, but alcohol is the way to go (the stove is the one included with it and the alcohol is obvious). Sea to Summit collapsible bowl, great for cutting board and easy to clean, like it. GSI Ultralight cofffee maker, bought this one because I lost the bigger plastic version of this, but I'm glad I did, no filters needed, easy to clean, and makes delicious coffee (downside to it is only one at a time, while the other could make three or four cups). Sea to Summit Ti spork, easy to store, easy to clean, useful. I also have a handkerchief and a gross looking cleaning pad in the shot. I also carried a Platypus 2+ L hydration pack, which gave me plenty of water over the night and into the morning, I even had a cheap free one I got in a giveaway, but if I go to one water bottle next tour I'll get a second Platypus I think.

Tools and Toiletries

I put these in the same shot, mostly because they were small and both fit in the same pockets on opposite sides of the bike. The tools consist of the basic Crank Brothers multitool, spare tube, tire levers, patchkit, and spare chain (with spare quicklinks). The things that aren't standards that I really like is my Leatherman Skeletool, great camp tool and easy to have on my belt loop. Anti theft skewer tool on my keychain, it's probably unnecessary, but zero weight for added security? Sounds good to me. Hypercracker, that's a great tool, I can pull off my Shimano cassette to change rear spokes on my bike (spokes not shown because I brought the wrong size spokes with me, d'oh!). Electrical tape, duct tape (wrapped around a pencil), handkerchief, chain lube, and zipties finish off the tool list.

Toiletries are easy to cut, but sometimes are just needed. Sunscreen, Dr. Brommers, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss (good for sewing too, if I remembered my needles!), moist towellettes (my tentmate on the Inca Trail had this great tip for feeling clean on the trail), ibuprofen helped me cure a hangover, and the Band-Aids were to solve my busted thumb. Also in this pic is an emergency blanket, just in case.

Electronics/Misc

Electronics is definitely the things that I carry for comfort. Starting in the top right is my MP3 player that my good friend Eric loaded up for me last summer with some great Americana tunes for riding across the country, it's attached to an X-Mini capsule speaker, good sound for small weight. GPS Etrex 20 was the greatest addition to my kit, it helped me get off the highways and really found amazing things. Steripen helped me carry less water if I saw I would be traveling next to water (which happened frequently on this trip). Gorilla pod camera stand, with camera case, as of now I just have a cheap Fujifilm Point and Shoot, hope to upgrade this winter. The headlamp was a great addition too, don't know why I didn't think to have that last summer, but it makes camp life easier and can be used for nightriding when necessary. The top bag is my chargers, next to it is a AA battery charger for my headlamp and GPS. I carried my laptop this time, but it's really what's going to hold me back from going lighter in the future, it helped a ton, but I'm thinking of going with a tablet next to also replace what's under my laptop, my Kindle, which has been great for carrying, but I also like real books, which is why Cadillac Desert is in the shot (great book too). The final bag is my notebook and pens and pencils, I'm trying to write and sketch more and my little Moleskin is great for it. Oh and I do carry a U-lock, because if you know my story from last summer you'd know why I carry it.

That's the gist of it. It's always a work in progress making things better and lighter.

The List (bold are things I really like and recommend, *s are things on their way out)

• Bags
• Detours D2R Handlebar Bag
• Detours D2R Large Panniers
• Detours Wedgie
• OR Stuff Sack
• REI Flashpack (not picture)
• Clothing
• Canari Jersey
• Peral Izumi Cycle Shorts*
• Novarra Casual Cycle Shorts
• Ex Officio Boxers
• Nashbar Rain Jacket*
• Novarra Leg Warmers
• REI pack towel (not picture)
• North Coast Brewery Cycle Hat
• Smart Wool Cap
• Gloves
• Goodwill Merino Wool Sweater
• Casual T (Broken Rim Records for pop punk fans)*
• Smart Wool long sleeve baselayer.
• Smart Wool leggings.
• Casual shorts*
• Salomon Water Shoes (not pictured)
• Camp
• Sierra Lightyear One
• LaFuma 45 bag.
• Nemo Zor Pad
• Cook
• Trangia backpackers cookit
• Sea to Summit collapsible bowl.
• Sea to Summit ti spork.
• GSI Ultralight Coffee Kit
• Platypus bladder
• Tools
• Crank Brothers Multi 17
• Hypercracker (although goodluck finding it)
• Leatherman Skeletool
• Anti-theft skewer tool (on keys)
• Spare tube.
• Patch kit.
• Tire Levers.
• Spare chain with quicklinks.
• Electrical tape.
• Duct tape.
• Zip ties.
• Emergency Blanket
• Kryptonite Mini U-Lock
• Topeak Morph Mini Pump
• Toiletries
• Dr. Brommers
• Moist Towelettes
• Toothbrush/Paste
• Dental Floss
• Sunscreen
• Painkillers
• Bandaids
• Electronics
• Garmin Etrex 20
• Laptop*
• Kindle*(maybe out depending if I get the tablet)
• MP3 player
• X-Mini
• AA Battery Charger
• Steripen
• Headlamp
• Fujifilm Finepix JX520* with Gorillapod
• Misc.
• Book
• Moleskin with good pens!

Final Days: Home

Leaving Tahoe was sad. I didn't want to go. But normal life was calling me back and off I went. I headed back to the free site I hit on the way up at Big Meadows, where I settled in just as one of those infamous Sierra summer thunderstorms started to roll in, luckily this one was pretty mellow. I slept well, dreaming of my breakfast of fresh fruit and coffee in the morning.

When I unzipped from my tent in the AM, I first noticed my Platypus bladder on its side, hm, I don't remember leaving it that way. I picked it up and it started to leak, bizarre. Then I turned to go find my food and all I found was a ravaged mess. It looks like someone else was as excited for my food as I was. Because of a broken food locker, I did like I do when I free camp in bear territory, I stored my food bAGS about 100 feet from my tent on the ground and it looks like a bear found it and had his way. The worst part was it totally tore up my REI backpack, ripped my bladder, and put hole in my pannier, luckily the pannier would live to see another day.

Collecting Passes like Ribbons. Maybe some day I'll catch em all.

With only Carson Pass in my way before a big drop down I decided to press on with no food. I grabbed Luther Pass rather quickly then hurried on to Carson Pass, which would prove to be tougher than expected, with a series of undulating meadows and climbs in between.  To my happy surprise when I got to the pass there was life. An information booth sits right at the trailhead of what are supposed to be stunning alpine hikes (maybe if I had more food I would have participated), but the best news was that the volunteer staff always has food for thru hikers. They hooked me up with fruit, cookies, and a Coke. I was so glad that I didn't even stop at the general stores on the way down Mormon Emigrant to the Valley (which on Mormon Emigrant I didn't see a soul and only saw enumerable dirt roads that trail off endlessly into nowhere, a great place it looks like to explore some other time).

Another intersection neither here nor there.

From Mormon Emigrant I dropped down the amazingly fun Sly Park Road, a fast descent with sharp bends that are perfectly carved that you hardly have to flutter the brakes. Sly Park Road led into Pleasant Valley, whose pizza place had terrible pizza but wifi, at least the fountain soda hit the spot. From there I navigated my way towards Oakland. I buzzed through the next section of my ride across the rolling hills of the valley. into Cameron Park. While enjoying a late afternoon coffee, I found a spot on Google Maps that seemed like a nice place to camp, so off down Shingle Springs Road it was.

Shingle Springs Road was nearly trafficless, but when I hit Latrobe is when the real fun started. The pavement reached left, the pavement reached right, the pavement ended straight forward and that's where I wanted to go. Six straight miles of beautiful gravel roads along stretches of golden grass reflecting off a golden sunset. This is where peace was found.

I wish gravel roads were more prevalent. 

The roughest part was that barbed wire and No Trespassing signs hemmed the road in. I kept looking for any place to camp, but couldn't find any. Whoever said that barbed wire was the death of the West was right. It was such a shame, so many beautiful camp sites beyond reach. I took the only option left to me and pushed on to the next town which would be a huge mistake. I came over the top of a hill and looked and to my left was a huge football field and playground, town parks of small parks are great places to camp, but as I looked closer the whole thing was fenced in by a six foot tall stonewall. Turns out Rancho Murieta is a private community of bizarre characteristic. Amid the dry rolling expanse of the Sacramento Valley was this elite community of dark green lawns and huge fountains in the middle of golf course lakes. The place was dropped here arbitrarily it seemed.

Fairly disgusted and annoyed I tried asking for help, which people seemed to only turn up their noses and tell me they didn't know. Someone suggested near a corn field, which never is a good idea, I scoped it out and decided to keep looking. I finally noticed a gazebo on top of the hill next to the highway and scrambled my way up there just as the sun was beginning it's final descent over the landscape. It was less than ideal, but it would be home for the night. I laid out on the bench and contemplated the fine line between bike touring and homelessness and if I ever imagined myself here. I thought of my suburban upbringings and how they somehow brought me here, sleeping on a park bench outside of a snobbish community. Is this where I belong? I was on the verge of something, but what it was I wasn't sure. I just knew that Rancho Murieta is the kind of place I never want to see myself ending up.

I had trouble sleeping and was interrupted by an elderly man hiking up around midnight, which only made me more worried that he might call me in, thankfully he didn't. The full moon kept me company, illuminating the valley. It was in between my interrupted sleep at around 4 AM that I noticed a floodlight over the cornfield I chose not to habitate, what a good decision that was. Then by 5 I was up and out to the local coffee shop where I waited for the sun's presence, before moving forward.

The wind would be my demise on this day. It was gusting down my nose for a good part of the morning, but I could do nothing but push through it. By the time I got to the Delta the wind was worse and making me feel worse, so I stopped at my favorite watering hole in Locke, Al the Wop's where a Bloody Mary helped clear my mind. I followed that up with Chinese food.

That combination of alcohol and Chinese food would be my unraveling in the 90 degree heat. Somehow I ended up avoiding most of the traffic on the skinny levee roads, but the ride was still rough going with my stomach in knots. I threw on some tunes hoping to distract myself. It helped and before I knew it I had hit the Famer's Market outside Rio Vista, where delicious organic local peaches and iced tea returned my vitas.

The wind would pick up for the rest of the ride. So windy I couldn't even set up my tent where I wanted to and instead chose to make that night my last and pointed towards Pittsburg BART. The wind was constant in my face and started to wear on my spirit and body. My headache forced me into one final Starbucks stop to rest up, where a confused woman could not get my order right and was nothing but irritating. I tried to be nice, but my patience was thin and all I did was come off as rude. Guess we all can't be winners all the time. The rest of the ride zipped by and before I knew it I was on BART heading home. Another tour over and no foreseeable bike touring in the next six months and that's hard to swallow.

A Week by the Lake; 6,000 Ft Up

Lake Tahoe, I made it. Now what? That was the question when I got here last week. I wasn't quite sure. It seemed that Lassen was out of reach, but going around the lake? That seemed possible. So off I went.

A beautiful campsite overlooking NV.

In my quest for more adventure, my first day brought me to the Tahoe Rim Trail, a backpacking and somewhat mountain biking trail that circles the lake (parts are closed to bikes). I decided to give this trail a try. It would prove to be my downfall. The beginning of the trail from Kingsbury Grade was nothing but rocky steps, in which I hauled my bike over time and time again. By the time I was finally ready to ride the rocks were going the other direction. The front suspension MTBers were popping right over them, but fully loaded on a rigid cross bike I worried, rightfully so, at some point I looked down and had a snapped spoke and my toe clips had the same fate. I was not too pleased. I forced the bike over the hill and walked a lot more of the trail than I wanted to, that by the time I reached the scenic overlook I was exhausted and unhappy. Lesson learned, my bike is not a mountain bike. The original plan was to continue on to the Flume Trail, the classic Tahoe mountain bike trail, but once I found pavement again I bailed back into town and felt utterly defeated. I was ready to head home. My mind was fried I couldn't decide what to do. I went to the local bike shop (called The Bike Shop, actually), where Pete, a friendly fellow talked me up some and pointed me in a better direction, sending me on paved roads up to a dispersed campground at Mosquito Lake, a brilliantly quiet camp, where my head fell back into place and I felt ready to keep going.

The Tahoe Rim Trail, it all didn't look this good.

Surly at the bench of Tahoe Rim Trail.

Surly Cross Check at Mosquito Lake

The following morning I was to descend into Tahoe City, the main tourist spot on the lake, but before I could make it there the road was closed. It seems that a mountain bike race was taking place, so I popped my bike down and watched some of the race. It was a qualifier for the Leadville 100 and these guys and gals were moving. I watched them at this gravelly corner where some took it with great skill and one guy ate it pretty hard. Then I went to the top of the hill where the MTBers were complaining and utterly torn apart, which was funny when I saw how short the hill actually was, funny how much a "mountain" can take out of a mountain biker. From there I headed into the Main St of Tahoe City, where I overheard about a festival down at Squaw Valley and feeling adventurous headed in that direction. It turned out to be a yoga festival, what an interesting place to find myself. The best news though is that yoga people love vegan food, so I was able to get some great vegan food and great vegan free samples (SO Delicious Ice Cream! yes!). But I could only take so much granola crunching hippies and upper crusties, that I headed back up River Road to town (which River Road is a fast road in either direction, I ended up passing most of the weekend traffic on my way into town), where I had a beer then headed to camp out at DL Bliss State Park.

Caught in a MTB race!

The Truckee River.

The Lake.

DL Bliss was a blast as I was invited to join a fellow Nick who fed me beers, whiskey, and tequilla til 1 in the morning. Apparently the whole campsite was one big group of people, who wandered in and out sharing adventurous stories of mountain lion scares hiking stories and what not, it was pleasant to meet such hospitable people. The following day at DL Bliss I decided to walk some instead of ride, taking the extra night at DL Bliss to avoid Sunday traffic. Hiking along the lake was beauiful, and at first peaceful, until I hit the beach full of loud boats playing loud country music, putting a foul taste in my mouth, so instead I walked back trying to find a quiet place along the way, which was hard to find. Oh well, back to my campsite where I spent the rest of the afternoon reading and having a few beers.

The beers would be a bad idea as my goal of waking up early this morning failed because of a hangover/dehydration. It reminded me of the sickness I had in the Salt Flats of Bolivia a few years ago, I bet the elevation had something to do with it. So today, I'm taking it easy, drinking iced coffees and snacking out in South Lake Tahoe. All in all, Tahoe is a pretty incredible place. I'm already sad to be leaving, but I can't vacation forever, now comes the fun part (the downhill) and the very unfun part (the Central Valley). I'm already planning on what comes next and I'm not even home yet!