Well, I arrived at Davis Creek Park at 8:00 am where I met up with Brent and Jeff. As we were getting ready we were joined by Paul riding his MT bike. By 8:15 we were ready to hit the road. The first section would take us along the old highway and Franktown road. At Bowers Mansion we were joined by our second Jeff. It was turning into a beautiful day, a few scattered clouds, calm winds, and as Goldilocks would say the temperature was neither too hot or too cold but just right. The ride on the asphalt allowed for our muscles to warm up and for some casual conversation.
Just a little ways up Franktown we hit the dirt when we turned onto the Little Valley access road. After about half a mile we hit a 90 degree turn and I heard Brent exclaim "that's a steep hill". Well that evidently was some sort of code for let's go faster and the next thing I remember was seeing puffs of dirt then riding by myself. Oh crap I thought and this is just the start of the ride. Just then I remembered I had left all my energy bars back at the truck. Well I only had 37 miles and 6500 ft of climbing to go and four guys who were going to ride me into the dirt, so what's the problem? I caught up to Brent who had pulled off to remove some extra clothing.
We regrouped at Little Valley (
one
steep climb). As we rode up Little Valley I regaled everybody with
my knowledge of bears (knowing several people who are involved with
research and tracking of bears in the area) and that Little Valley had a
pretty good bear population. It must of been something I said because
the next thing I know is I'm riding by myself again. Again, I caught up
with Brent who was checking out some bear tracks.
While we were doing that the other three were checking out a bear. By
the time Brent and I got there the bear had run off.
We continued up the road (always up)
passing Red House then Hobart Reservoir (usually I'd have photos but I
was just too tired to take any and was beginning to resent the weight of
my camera). Finally we could see Snow Valley Peak and the final climb (
at
the summit and well deserved break). I mentioned if anybody was
interested in riding to the top of
Snow Valley Peak and to my surprise (not) nobody took up my offer.
It was now time to savor the newly opened to MTB section of the rim
trail and we were quickly rewarded (
a
picture is worth ...) . What a great section of trail, definitely a
good addition. We had it to ourselves (as opposed to the next section).
At the intersection with Hobart Road we met or first MTB rider. We had gone about 20 miles (half way through the ride) without seeing another rider. Things were sure to change. Between Hobart and Tunnel Creek roads we must have passed about 30 riders, most going the opposite direction. This definitely put a little crimp into the ride as we had to constantly slow down and pull over to let people pass (geez where'd all these people come from). Even with the crowds it was still fun.
Finally (I was getting pretty tired by now) the last section of rim trail, about 9 miles to Tahoe Meadows, then the big downhill. Everything had been going pretty well for me that is until the switchbacks, then the bonk set in. Only thing I remember is staring at my odometer and wondering why it was taking so long for the distance to tick by. Finally I made it to the final descent on the Rim trail. The rest of the group was sunbathing while waiting for me to catch up. Descending the short distance to the access road we must have passed about 50 hikers. I was wondering if a tour bus had stopped (it must of been Hike and Bike Day on the Rim Trail), I had never seen so many people on the trail before. At the road Paul left us and headed back home on the Mt. Rose highway.
The last section of the epic was a long downhill down the Ophir Creek trail. No sooner then when we hit the trail we were met and passed by about a half dozen downhillers all in full armor. Hey, no problem, we were already gassed by riding 33 hard miles and were all on light cross country bikes, should be a piece of cake. The upper part of the trail was nothing but pure "technicality" mostly large loose rocks on a narrow trail. It wasn't until we were above Price Lake before we could open up the throttle and let loose. This section was way too short, before long we hit a sandy section, then another rocky section, and where did this hill come from section, a creek, then the last little bit to Davis Creek Park.
Well, what a ride! All in all, 40 miles and 6700 ft of climbing/descending. We finished it with a little picnic of watermelon, guacamole flavored potato chips and cold sodas.
Next time more photos.!
2003
2004
2005
This site was last updated
09/05/06