Day 5: Truckee CA to Sparks NV

Today’s Highlights:
We had an exceptionally scenic ride today over the Sierra Nevada mountains. Leaving Truckee before 7:00, we enjoyed some very crisp 45 degree mountain air. It was quite chilly riding in the shade of the tall pines since I dress lightly anticipating a quick warm up. Our route followed the Truckee River for several miles on the road. Then after reaching the Olympic Village, we got on a bike path that continued to follow right along the river’s edge. It was very tranquil and scenic. The trail ended in Tahoe City where we got our first glimpses of Lake Tahoe. The town was very nice, and the lake views were great. It had warmed up by then, and was sunny and clear. We could see the mountain range all around the lake, some of their peaks snow covered.

Some of us stopped at a bakery in town to get a quick treat of energy before our big climb of the day. Shortly after that we entered Nevada. From there we started climbing Mt Rose, rising almost 3000 feet in eight miles. As we climbed, there were more views of Lake Tahoes, including a spectacular vista at one highway pullout. The surrounding mountains and forest were also beautiful, making the climb even more fun. Just before the summit was a mountain meadow that I stopped to admire for a while. I reached the summit around 11:20 where we had our one rest stop for the day. It was a comfortable 75 degrees there.

Leaving the summit, we had eighteen miles of steep winding downhill. That was really fun. As we dropped down, the scenery change dramatically to a desert landscape. The temperature rose into the 90’s. I reached the hotel before 2pm, happy to get out of the heat.

Pictures Of The Day:

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Statistics:
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