Day Four

Tahoe National Forest

Climbing through the fog shrouded snow covered peaks.

Donner Lake from atop the pass.

Atop Donner Pass and the end of the day's climbing!

Three Advil night??

So we were told that this was to be the “toughest” day with all the climbing but I wasn’t concerned because I did a lot of climbing in May and most of it was probably steeper than what we did today.

But we hit a steady drenching cold drizzle within the first 15 miles and I wasn’t dressed for it so I struggled into the first SAG stop at 25 miles thinking this is going to be an interesting day with frozen fingers and feet. The majority of the second 25 miles was a steady climb on I-80. Apparently bikes are allowed on the interstate if there are no alternate routes available but I don’t think the Walmart trucks are necessarily aware of that. While the grade wasn’t particularly steep it was mostly a slogging climb in rain and fog with the world’s largest trucks whizzing by at 100 mph maybe 5 feet to the left.

I had decided to ride with the big kids today which was probably a mistake because they nicely tolerated me early but by the time we got to the interstate it was everyone for themselves. There was an optional stop at a Burger King off one of the exits but I knew if I stopped there I’d never leave so I pedaled by. Total time on the highway was probably about 1-1/2 hours and I was a basket case by the time I exited. I know we have some more interstate riding but hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Finally in the last 25 miles I found my rhythm and hooked-up with the two lead guys so we rode through the Lake Tahoe National Forest together to the final SAG stop. Then it was up through Donner Pass with a fabulous descent and a screaming tailwind for the final 10+ miles to the motel. Almost on queue, the rain stopped and the sun started to appear so we cleaned our filthy bikes while we waited for our luggage to catch-up.

The lesson I’ve learned over the years is to just keep spinning the pedals and try to think of something to keep your mind off the misery (like, hey, the Donners had it a lot worse!) and eventually your body will kick in or you’ll reach your destination and chalk it up to another character-building experience.

Robb stayed with the big dogs enjoying Whoppers at BK and they all thought it was just a fabulous day on the road.

Tomorrow’s challenge will be the cold because it’s supposed to go down to the low thirties tonight. we're pulling out all the warm gear tonight to get ready.

Today’s ratings:

Scenery: 5 (weather limited)

Road conditions: 3

Grunt factor: 3