Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Day #30: Here Comes Tahoe & There Goes Tahoe

Today's Route: Hope Valley Resort (5 miles W of Woodfords, CA) to Granite Flat Campground (2 miles S of Truckee, CA) (59 miles)
Total Trip Miles: 1195

It was a sad morning.

This morning we parted ways with Randy, our dear lifelong friend of 14 days. I knew this time would eventually come, but I was hoping it would happen much, much later. Or perhaps even never.

Our timeframes and paths are unfortunately starting to diverge. Randy will be spending some time with a friend in Eugene, OR, before he continues north to Portland, OR for the Blues Fest, which is held at the beginning of July. Alex and I, on the other hand, are continuing along the Sierra-Cascades route until we reach the Canadian border. We need to reach our destination and return to Seattle by the end of June.

Alex and I left a note for Randy on the sign post for Luther Pass, which we climbed this morning before reaching Tahoe.

Our note for Randy.

Sure enough, we received a photo later in the day from Randy. He had taken a picture of his bike next to the pass sign. Bless his little heart. I guess I won't be surprised if Randy sends us a photo of him jumping for joy next to the "Welcome to Oregon" sign.

A rare photo of Randy's rig, at Luther Pass.

Although we will no longer be riding along with Randy or spending evenings with him at campsites, Alex and I look forward to leaving notes for Randy along the route.

By the way, I learned just this morning that Randy also has a blog. Follow along on his adventures at ridethewhiteline.blogspot.com. I took a peek at Randy's blog this afternoon, and it's quite wonderful. Quite insightful. Very Randy.

Today's ride took us along the west side of Lake Tahoe. I've wanted to visit Tahoe ever since college, when a friend of mine returned from a vacation to the lake with beautiful photos of the area. Needlesstosay, I was very looking forward to seeing Lake Tahoe on this trip.

Shirley, at the first site of Lake Tahoe.

Sections of the road along the lake were steep, narrow, and curvy. But given the riding we've done thus far on this trip, we were well prepared.

We stopped for lunch at a vista overlooking the gorgeous Emerald Bay.

Emerald Bay.

Me and a cairn, enjoying beautiful Lake Tahoe.

We rode a number of miles today on paved bike paths through the Tahoe area.

Riding along a bike path in Tahoe.

I'm all for bike paths -- they are awesome. But they take a bit of getting used to when you've been riding for a thousand miles, following the white line on the side of the road. For example, bike paths tend to be slower. They tend to be bumpier due to tree roots. And they tend to be used by recreation goers who are paying less attention than drivers.

We enjoyed riding along the paths...for a little while. But then we hopped back on the main road.

After about 24 miles of riding along the lake, we made a left turn and then the lake was gone. It's weird to me that I started the morning in great anticipation of seeing Lake Tahoe. And then just a few hours later Lake Tahoe had been seen and was now a memory of the past.

Here comes an awesome riding buddy named Randy, and there goes Randy. Here comes Lake Tahoe, and there goes Lake Tahoe. So goes life, I suppose. Enjoy the moments while they last.

8 comments:

  1. I spent two weeks sailing on Lake Tahoe and camping on Emerald bay when I was in middle school. There's an old stone tea house with an amazing view on the top of that little island in the bay. Glad you enjoyed Tahoe!

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    1. Coolio. :) I'll tell you, though, I'm having a really difficult time imagining you as a middle school student. ;)

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    2. Well the peaks around the lake have eroded quite a bit since then... And Half Dome was called Dome.

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  2. So true! I think you do a great job of appreciating life's moments! Your journey inspires me-so glad you share it!

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