Days 60 & 61: Carson City, NV to South Lake Tahoe, CA

• Distance: 33.33 mi
• Elevation: 3,390 ft
• Dedication: Uncle Tim and TJ Allen
• Ride group: Bryce, Collin, Patti, and Grace, then just Grace, then Grace and Bailey
• Host: Temple Bat Yam

We took advantage of a low-mileage day and a great host to sleep in a little yesterday morning and take our time with getting ready. Patti had an excellent breakfast spread and I enjoyed my food and coffee from a cozy chair on the front porch. We also took advantage of the extra time to do an unorthodox dedication circle. Typically we go around in a circle and share the name of the person or people we’re riding for; yesterday we each shared a little bit more about those people. This was similar to the “why” circle we did at the beginning of the trip, but we hadn’t done something like this since the runners joined us. It was emotional but nice to refocus on why we’re doing this.

I started the day riding with Grace, Bryce, Collin, and Patti! Patti is an avid cyclist and was so helpful in planning our route. We rode about 15 miles together, with a quick stop in Genoa for bathrooms and park stamps, before a water stop at the base of our big climb for the day. Patti left us there and Bryce and Collin climbed together, leaving me and G to take on a nice 7-mile climb to Daggett Summit together!

This climb was very similar to Trail Ridge in terms of grade and views. Motivated by Grace’s Eminem-heavy playlist, we climbed slow and steady the whole way and could look back on where we had started and come up the road, which is always very cool. The last little stretch to the summit was the hardest, with the grade reaching 10% at one point, but by then we were so excited to get to the top that we pushed though with relative ease (aside from having to stop when Grace somehow managed to lose a glasses lens with like half a mile to go lol).

We took some summit pictures at the top and waited for the rest of the team to arrive. I then descended with Bailey and Grace. Some of the turns were pretty tight so I didn’t go all that fast, but it was definitely one of the most technical descents I’ve done and it was fun to send it a little!

The descent leveled out right before the very unceremonious Nevada-California border, which we only knew we crossed because Grace had Google Maps on and it gave her a “Welcome to California” message. This was our first time riding in a populated area in a loooong time, and as strange as it felt it also meant we had a plethora of amenities! We made stops at Whole Foods and a bakery before heading to our lunch spot at El Dorado beach.

The beach was hot but beautiful– Lake Tahoe is called “the jewel of the Sierras” for good reason! After enjoying the views for a few minutes we got back on the road for our last few miles to the host.

This host is unique because it’s our first stay at a synagogue! It’s actually my first time in a synagogue ever, and as someone who grew up with little exposure to the Jewish faith it’s been so interesting to learn more about their beliefs and culture.

We had an excellent dinner and I then dashed to Reno with Bryce, Max, and Tori with the primary goal of replacing my sleeping pad (I also bought some things I really didn’t need, made a stop at Ulta to restock on skincare stuff, and grabbed a beer at this place with a ridiculously huge tap list). Right before we got to the store we were hit by an intense storm. It really wasn’t that bad by Maryland thunderstorm standards, but we quickly noticed that there are no storm drains in Reno! Later I read that they got over an inch of rain in an hour, more than they had gotten in all of 2022 until that point. It was mildly scary but also a little humorous because we were in our huge van and were unfazed while smaller cars were getting stuck in the water.

We got back to the synagogue without any problems. Initially I wasn’t thrilled with having to spend my evening in the car but it was such a beautiful drive up around the lake and into the mountains. We are pretty solidly out of the desert and back into the forests. I liked the desert much more than I expected to, but I noticed that I was subconsciously so much happier being back among the green trees!

Today we had our rest day in Lake Tahoe, which was honestly so surreal. South Lake Tahoe is a little touristy but I never want to leave! It’s such a beautiful spot and I felt so relaxed all day– in part because the folks at the synagogue are treating us like kings and queens! After breakfast and lounging around for a bit I was treated to a massage (yes, a massage) and had my bike looked at by a mechanic– all without leaving the host! They really pulled out all the stops for us.

I then left with Maggie and Bailey to go parasailing on the lake. None of us had tried it before so we were a little nervous but it was so fun. Think skydiving but much less intense! After getting into our harnesses we were just gently lifted off the boat and sailed above the lake for a few minutes. The views were spectacular and it was so peaceful up in the air. On the way back down we got dipped in the lake, which wasn’t as cold as I expected, before coming back down on the boat. The ride to and from the dock was just as enjoyable as the parasailing, and we were ready to spend the rest of our day on the boat.

Instead, we got back on dry land and had lunch at the marina. The three of us hadn’t had an outing like that in a while so it was nice to catch up and talk in a normal setting. Back at the host I took a deep nap and was woken up right before dinner. Once again, our friends at the temple really went above and beyond. After dinner some of us went back to the lake to watch the sunset and listen to some live music. Overall it was a very chill day (exactly what I needed!) and I would not be upset if we had to stay here longer!

Until tomorrow,

Lauren