By Tim Hauserman
View of the east shore of Lake Tahoe from Mt. Rose Hwy. Photo by Tim Hauserman
This mild winter is allowing Tahoe athletes to take on challenges that are usually not in the cards for March. My latest was to ride my bike from Incline Village to the top of the Mt. Rose Highway. It’s only eight miles to the top, but with 2700 feet of climbing and a destination elevation of just under 9000 feet, it will certainly get your heart pumping.
Pick your spot to begin in Incline and make your way over to the roundabout at the intersection of Highway 28 and Highway 431 and start heading up Highway 431 towards Reno. While the route is a steady uphill the entire way, the grade is mostly manageable and the shoulder is wide and smooth. While many people drive this road regularly, taking it at bike speed gives you a new appreciation of what it has to offer. About a mile up you start seeing Incline Peak standing high above. I’m not sure why it’s not called Pyramid Peak, because it certainly looks like a pyramid from this angle. More climbing brings you to the lookout point where you will find one of the best spots to see Lake Tahoe. And after over 3 miles of uphill, you will be ready for a break to check out those views. Check out Diamond Peak Ski Area below you. It was strange riding in bike shorts and looking down on the skiers still making their way down the few remaining ribbons of white.
Meadow area along Mt. Rose Hwy.
Photo by Tim Hauserman
Now the ride starts to get steeper, but the views of Rose Knob Peak and Relay Peak are sublime. You know you are getting closer when at 7 miles you reach Tahoe Meadows, still covered in snow but going fast. Just past the 8 mile mark is the summit and your turn around point at the Tahoe Rim Trail Mt. Rose Trailhead. The truly ambitious can keep going towards Reno but the heavily traveled road is narrow, often with little or no shoulder, and unless you left a car at the bottom you will have to come all the way back up. The ride back to Incline is a steady, long downhill with a nice shoulder.
Tip: Bring layers. The temperature difference from huffing and puffing up the hill, and roaring back down is pretty substantial.
THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
YOUR FRIEND IN HIGH PLACES 
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