Archive for the ‘Summer Recreation’ Category
By Tim Hauserman
After all the rain last week, spring is forecast to once again be sprung in the mountains, leading many folks to get a hankering to be out on their bike. With the morning temps still nippy and a bit of mud around, now is a perfect time to head to Verdi for a ride. Its only 20 miles east of Truckee, the grass is green, the horses and llamas are out enjoying the sunshine, and the temperature is usually 10-15 degrees warmer bringing it right into the Goldilocks zone.
Ranch outside of Verdi
Start your ride from Crystal Peak Park, just off Business 80, a short distance from Gold Ranch. The park sits next to the Truckee River and there is plenty of parking, picnic tables and restrooms. From here you have several options:
-Head east from Verdi, following the Truckee River to the edge of the Sommersett development. Here you can climb on nicely maintained bike lane through the extensive residential community enjoying views of Reno and the surrounding desert. Turn around wherever you wish and return to the bottom, where a bike path leads you east to 4th Street. Take 4th to Mayberry, then follow Mayberry for a mile, to a left turn into the Edgewater Park development. Cruise through the neighborhood to a bike path, and now follow the bike paths and roads along the Truckee past a series of riverside parks. Before you know it, you are in downtown Reno, at the Reno Whitewater Park.
Bike trail at Dorostkar Park along Mayberry road in Reno.
-Want to add some distance? Before heading east on Business 80 from your starting point, ride South Verdi Drive to Boomtown. Cross over I-80 and circle through the lovely neighborhood to the south, adding an extra half hour of riding.
-Ready to make a day of it? Just after you turn onto Mayberry take a sharp uphill turn onto Plateau, and then wind your way all the way across Reno to the Mt. Rose Highway and back for about a 45 mile trip. Check out the link below for the Reno Area bike map, and be sure to take a copy with you on your ride. The purple line is the ride I just described.
http://www.rtcwashoe.com/bicycling/documents/BIKE_MAP_13_online.pdf
Quick tip: Don’t forget to fill up your tank at Gold Ranch before returning to California. The gas prices are usually at least 60 cents a gallon less then Truckee.
Small side tributary of the Truckee River along the bike trail.
THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
www.lynnrichardson.net
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
By Tim Hauserman
Ah May. Time for spring biking, hiking to Emerald Bay, and baseball. For many of us Tahoe folks, baseball means watching our beloved San Francisco Giants. There is nothing quite as fine as making the trek to a Giants game at ATT Park. Until you get the bill for driving to San Francisco, parking, getting tickets a million miles from home plate and buying several overpriced sweatshirts that are always required when you find yourself in San Francisco on a foggy night.
Photo from The Reno Aces website
There is a Plan B for the baseball fan who wants to see a game live: The Reno Aces. Triple A Minor League Baseball is just a 35 minute drive from Truckee, in a lovely little ball park tucked in between the downtown skyscrapers, the Truckee River and the railroad tracks. Seeing the Aces is an easy, fun and affordable experience. Parking can be found just a short walk from the park. You don’t need to buy tickets weeks in advance. Just walk up to the ticket window an hour or two before game time and get a great seat at a price that is downright civilized. You can eat inside the park or grab a bite at a few of the places downtown just a block away.
Photo from Reno Aces website. Photo by David Calvert/Reno Aces
Once you are inside the gates, The Aces stadium is a fine place to spend an evening. You can hang out on the grassy knoll above center field and watch the sunset over downtown, enjoy a libation at one of the field side bars and restaurants, or get in a bit of a workout by walking a few laps around the stadium. And then of course, about every inning they have some sort of wacky promotion or on-the field race to keep you entertained. It’s just a good old fashioned experience.
How is the quality of play? While the names may not be familiar, these are good players at the highest level of the Minor Leagues, either working hard to make the majors, or spending time working on mechanics before they go back up to The Show. And The Aces want your business. Just about every night there is some sort of promotion with inexpensive food or after the game fireworks. Check out the schedule at www.renoaces.com
Batter Up!
THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
www.lynnrichardson.net
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
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!
www.lynnrichardson.net
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
YOUR FRIEND IN HIGH PLACES 