Day 4: Auburn to Truckee

Today’s Highlights:
Today’s ride was epic! We climbed almost 8000 feet in our 72-mile ride from Auburn to Truckee, cresting at Donner Pass around mile 62. The magnificent view from the top made the climb all worthwhile.

We started our day with a 5:00 am luggage load and 5:15 breakfast. I started my ride at 5:45, just as the sun was coming up and rode alone to the first rest stop. The morning was cool and just right for climbing. We traveled country roads that paralleled close to I80 and I saw a little wildlife along the way. At 18 miles we dropped down into a forested canyon and had to climb back out. It was very peaceful in there, and what I noticed the most was that I could no longer here the I80 traffic and finally heard the birds singing. At our first rest stop I met up with Bud and Ken. From there we leapfrogged each other throughout the day, but mostly I rode alone. At 36 miles we entered Interstate 80, and by then the temperature was in the 80’s and climbing. There was a nice shoulder, but a lot of traffic, especially trucks, which roared by as they climbed the unending grade. It was nice to get off there after 16 miles.

Fifty miles into the ride we started climbing Donner Pass Road which was a little steeper than earlier sections. The scenery got better, traveling through tall pines. Ken, Bud and I crested the pass together and stopped for pictures there. The view down to Donner Lake was very beautiful. It was unusually warm today, about 80 or 90 (it can sometime snow this time of year up there), and you could see for miles under the clear blue sky.

The next five miles was a steep winding downhill. I did not make up any time through, since I stopped very often to enjoy the view and take pictures. The ride along the lake was flat and pleasant, and the mountain lake homes along its shore were very nice. Our route also went through the center of the town of Truckee, and I wished there was more time to explore it. I stopped in several places for pictures. Leaving the edge of town, we crossed over the Truckee river and climbed for 1.5 miles to the hotel. Ken, Bud and I reached the hotel around 2pm, about two hours before the next rider arrived. It was a long, hot, strenuous day for everyone.

We are staying in a nice lodge tonight. They greeted us with cold bottles of water and delicious chocolate chip cookies.

Pictures Of The Day:

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000oSymoQkgX8E” g_name=”Day-04″ f_show_caption=”t” f_show_slidenum=”t” img_title=”casc” pho_credit=”iptc” f_link=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”t” f_fullscreen=”t” f_smooth=”t” f_up=”t” f_topbar=”t” f_bbar=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_mtrx=”t” fsvis=”f” width=”400″ height=”300″ bgcolor=”#000000″ btype=”new” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” crop=”f” twoup=”t” trans=”xfade” tbs=”5000″ f_ap=”t” bgtrans=”f” linkdest=”c” f_constrain=”f” f_bbarbig=”” f_enable_embed_btn=”f” f_show_watermark=”f” target=”_self” wmds=”llQ6QNgpeC.p1Ucz7U.Y5fOqmPVWRYZWx4J1lIKnGu2_i33DmoLnD_DiBUgfQ7bUlvp6Xg–” ]

Go to full Cross Country Bike Trip Gallery

Statistics:
Zoom and pan the map to explore the route. Click the name or ‘View Detail’ to view more information at Garmin Connect.