Cross Country Ride Part 1: Day 4 Auburn to Truckee, Ca 74 miles 9200 feet of climbing

awesome view from donner summit; challenging switchbacks through boulders and ponderosa pines; a descent for five miles; donner lake in the foreground and the mountains surrounding lake tahoe in the distance [yes, snow-capped]

while this was the most challenging ride day i've ever been on, it was possibly the most beautiful as well. we were warned that today would be the most climbing we'd do in a single day on the entire ride across the states. and the ride leaders were true to their words. the day was basically broken down into two parts: the first part being the 71 miles of ascents; the second being the final 11 miles of descent down into truckee.

the shot i wish i took was from the parking lot this morning at 5:00 am when we were loading our bags and getting ready to grab breakfast and ride out. the sky was that kind of purple just before it starts to get lighter. the bright crescent moon hung over the motel and, as it was much colder than we imagined it would be, we all grabbed an extra layer of clothing from our bags before loading them in the vans. owing to the length and degree of today's climbs, as well as the forecasted 98 degree temperatures, we hit the road at exactly 5:39...sunrise in auburn, california.

i just climbed this!

from my first turn out of the motel parking lot, it was all uphill. the first hour of the route involved no less than four climbs that warranted shifting into my granny gear. i took the shot on the left just after getting to the top of that hill. i stopped, turned around and took the shot as i wasn't about to stop mid-climb while going up at that percent grade.

we all knew the day would be long and the climbs frequent. even though the summit at donner pass is only about 7200 feet, if we totaled all the ups and downs of our day, the total vertical distance covered was approximately 9200 feet. more than i've ever climbed. ever!

the view of tahoe forest at one of the few turnouts on the narrow, winding road up the hill

while today was the most challenging ride i've even done, two parts of it were the most beautiful. the picture at the top from donner pass was breathtaking [as was the swift, steep descent down to the lake!].
the picture just above was during the climb up to tahoe forest. like the first climbs of the day as well as the final attack on donner summit, many of these roads were just a steady, mile after mile, climb with grades ranging from 8% up two 14% in two sections.

one particular example of that was the middle section of today's ride. all during the morning, we were toying with interstate 80. we'd ride around it, over it, under it and alongside it. finally, from mile 32 until mile 49, we rode on it. that's steve, my fellow mississippi veteran, riding past the "5000 ft elevation" sign on the eastbound shoulder of interstate 80. scary as that all might sound, the shoulders are extremely wide. all we had to contend with was the noise of the oncoming traffic and all the detritus on the roadside. i've been told that much of our ride through nevada will be along interstate 80. "there's only three roads that go across nevada and two of them are crap." hence, we'll take the interstate.

but the best part of the day was the six miles descending, then climbing back up a road called norton grade. i'm not even sure i can tell you the name of the town it's in. there's a small lake on the bottom. i was riding through a very rural section when i turned down onto norton grade road. as the route warned, it was a steep, very curvy descent. that went on for about a mile and a half. and, while i'm not prone to flying downhill at speeds upwards of forty or fifty miles per hour, the chicanes i rode through going down norton grade were spectacular. once i reached the bottom of the lake, the real fun began. a quick turn to my right and i started up a three-mile climb, either in my granny gear or the next best thing. normally, this would be exhausting and you could expect a lot of complaints on my part. not today. today, all there was on the road was me and the bike. an occasional car would show up but, otherwise it was just me doing a slow, steady pacing as i rode through tall stands of pine forests. zigging and zagging back and forth as the road ahead of me twisted and turned up the ascent, i was alone with my thoughts and, at the same time, grabbing a quick glimpse through the trees of the marvelous views the higher i climbed. yeah, it was a hummer of a climb, but i almost wished it didn't end. i thought it was just my quirky nature that appreciated that climb, but when i joined a bunch of our other riders at the first pit stop, they all agreed that norton grade road made their day. the best ride ever.