Three Sierra Passes near South Lake Tahoe

Bill Bushnell — Saturday, May 23, 1992

A few weeks ago I posted a message requesting information about places to ride in the South Lake Tahoe area. I received many responses, and I’d like to thank each of the respondents again for giving me helpful suggestions and advice. The ride went very smoothly, and I would highly recommend the route I describe below to anyone up to the challenge of an exciting ride in the Sierras

The morning is bright and cool, but the weather promises to be in the mid-80’s Fahrenheit.

The air is also very dry, which means I’d better take along plenty of water. I’ve eaten a big breakfast, so I start slowly. This is my first day at altitude, so I’m unsure how my body will handle the thinner air as I start exercising.

Fallen Leaf Rd. is a narrow single-lane road five miles long that connects the south end of Fallen Leaf Lake, where the Stanford Camp is, to CA-89 near Camp Richardson. After looking at a local street map, I decide that I’d rather avoid the main highways as much as possible, so I cut over Angora Ridge on Tahoe Mountain Rd. heading into a residential area of South Lake Tahoe and then out to US-50. Crossing over Glen Alpine Creek, I begin my ride. But for all the cars, pickup trucks, Blazers, etc. careening around the blind corners, Fallen Leaf Rd. with its dips and twists is fun to ride.

The couple hundred-foot ascent up to Angora Ridge gives me my first taste of climbing at altitude on a full stomach. I manage with the slightest suggestion of cramping just as the road widens near the top. The descent down to South Lake Tahoe Blvd. (or Upper Truckee Rd.) is steep, and I reach 39 mph before I apply my brakes at the bottom. I turn left.

This segment of South Lake Tahoe Blvd. is a shoulderless, four-lane highway with no cars (well, few cars). In a few minutes, I’m at the main intersection of US- 50 and CA-89. From here to Stateline, Nev., US- 50 is a four-lane, car- and camper-choked artery with a token two-foot bike lane relegated to a dangerously crowned, gravel covered shoulder. I proceed carefully.

I pass several people on mountain bikes riding slowly in the lane. There are several stores selling and/or renting mountain bikes. Most of these riders probably never venture off the pavement, yet I see no one riding a road bike. I guess most people assume you ride a mountain bike in the mountains.

I make my first photo stop at El Dorado Beach. I think I’ve found all the places on my bike where I can balance my camera, so when using the timer, I can get myself in most of the pictures. The beach looks longer and wider than Pescadero Beach along the San Mateo County coast here at home.

I continue on to Stateline. At the California/Nevada border, Harvey’s Resort and Harrah’s Tahoe have strategically positioned their high-rise hotels/casinos on either side of the highway like great sentries. Instead of pickup trucks, campers, station wagons filled with families and children, and motels with neon signs and gaudy paint, I see valet parking attendants, white limousines, and overweight ladies in tightly stretched polyester pants bustling from one casino to the other.

Shortly after the state border, I arrive at Kingsbury Grade (NV-207) and my first real climb. I stop to take down the mileage and climbing. Just then I see the first “serious” bicyclist zip past me up the hill. I’m still not functioning 100% at altitude, so I shift down to my 27-inch gear and grind slowly up the hill, trying hard to stay on the very narrow strip of clean pavement between the white line and the gravel-covered shoulder. I pass many houses, a restaurant, The Chart House, that seemed more appropriate for a coastal fishing village than a mountain resort community, and several resort condominiums. Around every corner I think, “This must be the top. I know it’s not far.”, but there always seems to be another long relatively steep section ahead.

Then abruptly I reach Daggett Pass. This is a real pass. On one side, 9% grade up. Not more than 50 yards later, 9% down. I stop for a picture or two. I can see the highway winding all the way down the mountainside below. I can feel warm air blowing up. It’s going to be hot down there.

After a fleeting thought, “Are you sure you want to go all the way down there? You’ll have to pedal all the way back up!”, I decide to go for it. The eastern side of Kingsbury Grade qualifies as a fun descent in my book. Even though the sign says 9% grade, it couldn’t average more than about 6%, and it didn’t feel steeper than about 9% at the maximum. No need to use the brakes on this descent. The curves are wide and sweeping, and except for the first 2/3 mile from the top, the road surface is smooth, clean, and wide. I reach a maximum speed of 40.5 mph. Since I’m not going to set any speed records on this descent, and to give my neck a rest, I stop a few times for a good photo opportunity and to enjoy the view, which is magnificent looking out over Carson Valley. As I descend, I pass several riders going up in a group. They look hot and tired.

I’m glad I decided to ride up the populated (and shorter) side of Kingsbury Grade and down the hot, desolate, desert side. A hot breeze blows from the north and helps me pedal south along NV-206 (Foothill Rd.). I see some more bicyclists, everyone from an elderly couple moseying along enjoying the scenery, to a bicyclist with aerobars who barely looks up as I wave.

I turn right on Fredricksburg Road. I can hear cattle, horses and cowboys making their respective sounds as I pedal up the hill. Shortly I cross back into California. A bright white line is drawn across the road at an oblique angle, and the pavement suddenly improves. I continue past some ranches and an isolated house or two. I need to make a pit stop. Ah, here’s a nice big tree I can hide behind. Whoops, that’s a cemetery right there, and there are visitors there, too. I’d better find another place to commune with nature.

After gliding down a gradual hill I turn right on Emigrant Trail. Emigrant Trail follows the gradient up a shadeless slope, and since the air is still and hot, I start sweating. I pass a small development on the hot exposed slopes, and someone working on a new home.

Before long, I reach Woodfords Station. Tired and hungry, I stop to eat my lunch. A sign reads: “Ross Perot petitions here”. Another sign reads: “Vote Here.” Two men in flanels and jeans are leaning on the rail chewing beef jerky. I step into the store with two empty water bottles. Before I can say anything, the proprietor offers, “You’re welcome to use the restroom.” I thank him, and go in and fill up my water bottles.

After eating and resting for about 25 minutes, I start the long climb up Carson Canyon. The road is not steep, and the shoulder is comfortably wide. The river is running noisily as I pass over a bridge. There are several people fishing along the banks. I pass two or three campgrounds before the grade levels off at the Hope Valley Cafe. I stop at the cafe. I’m feeling pretty good, so I think I’ll continue up to Carson Pass before heading back over Luther Pass. I decide to top off my water bottles. I step into the store and ask if I can fill up my bottles. The proprietor orders me, “Outside. There’s a faucet out by the gas pumps. Fill up as much as you want.”

Outside I meet a couple riding heavily-laden mountain bikes. “Where are you heading today?”, I ask. “Oh, we’re camping over in Markleeville.”, one of them says. “Where’d you come from?”, I continue, hoping to start a conversation. “South Lake Tahoe.”, he replies. As I take down some notes and fill my water bottles, they speak in hushed tones. “Have a nice ride!”, I offer. “You, too.”, he answers.

I continue up Hwy 88 past a small community of cabins called “Sorensens” and then to Picketts Junction, where CA-88 and CA-89 split. I continue on CA-88 to Carson Pass. The road is level, and Hope Valley is beautiful. I stop several times to take pictures. As I continue up toward the pass, the road rolls up and down a few times. The asphalt is cracked across every 20 feet or so, and the shoulder is at times very narrow. Again, the outer two feet of shoulder is crowned and covered with gravel, making travel hazardous for bicyclists. Fortunately, traffic is light, that is, light compared to a summer weekend in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Since I have a helmet-mounted rear-view mirror, I’m not freaked out everytime a camper or Gambler’s Special tour bus hurtles past.

While the road is not steep, I pedal along in a relatively low gear. As I reach the eastern end of Red Lake, the road levels off and crosses over Red Lake Creek. The road then turns gradually to the left and becomes quite steep. I grind up slowly in my granny gear. I stop at the last vista point before the pass and take a couple of pictures of my perching on the outside of the little wall. A mountain biker passes by, saying something about how he hates the diesels. I continue on and reach the pass in another minute. I stop at the pull-out and take another picture. There are flies everywhere, but they don’t seem to be biting. They don’t look like mosquitos, either. I guess it’s too early for mosquitos. I eat a banana and a sandwich. This is the highest point of my ride.

Well, I have to go down sooner or later, so I put on my black, floppy sweatshirt and 15-year-old bell helmet and start down. Just as I start I see another road biker wearing a green-striped jersey arrive up the eastern side. I could swear I’ve seen him before when I was going down Kingsbury Grade or on Foothill Rd. Maybe there are other bikers doing the same or similar ride.

The highways in the Sierras are about as steep as the highways in the local Santa Cruz Mountains, but the curves are wider. This means I don’t need my brakes as often, and I can get up to faster speeds than I can back home. The eastern descent of Carson Pass is such an example. As I start down I watch my speedometer climb gradually to over 50 mph before the level section near the eastern end of Red Lake. The top reading is 52.5 mph! My previous highest speed was 47.5 while descending South Park Drive in Berkeley. I calculate that the grade is only about 7.5%. Maybe the thinner air helps a little.

The trip from Carson Pass back to Picketts Junction takes about a half-hour including one photo stop. At Picketts Junction I turn left and head up Luther Pass. Luther Pass from Hope Valley is only about a 650-foot climb, almost trivial after the previous two passes. Again, the shoulder is only just wide enough for comfortable riding. The traffic is somewhat heavier than on CA-88, but there is enough room for safe passing.

While the grade is moderate, I decide to take it easy and spin up in my low gear. Twenty-four minutes later I reach the pass. Of course I must stop and take a picture of my standing in front of the Luther Pass sign. There’s no view here, so I head down toward Meyers, a 1400-foot, 8-mile descent. As I pass by Grass Lake, a bicyclist with aerobars passes the other way. That’s the same guy I saw down near Minden! I wave. No response this time; he’s too busy hammering along. By the time I reach the bottom of the grade, I’m tired, but I still have to climb back over Tahoe Mountain Rd. At US-50 I turn left for a half mile and then right on Upper Truckee Rd. Here’s a nice alternate to US-50 for bicyclists. Similar to Pioneer Trail on the eastern side of Lake Valley, Upper Truckee Rd. winds its way up and down the flanks of Angora Ridge on the western side of Lake Valley. Near Tahoe Mountain Rd., Upper Truckee Rd. changes its name to South Lake Tahoe Blvd, and becomes four lanes as described earlier.

Only a few cars pass on Upper Truckee Rd. There’s even a bike lane for the first half mile or so! The climb up Tahoe Mountain Rd. is steep, but brief, and soon I’m descending to Fallen Leaf Rd. Like a horse returning to the stable, I pedal quickly, perhaps dangerously so, as there are lots of clueless motorists, some towing boats, speeding along the narrow, single-lane road. I reach the Stanford Camp at 17:30.

It was a good ride: no flats, no accidents, no unfriendly motorists, and great weather. I’m glad I did the loop in the clockwise direction. The climb up Carson Canyon was gradual enough to allow me to enjoy the scenery, and I didn’t have to pedal against the hot winds in the Carson Valley or climb the steep, shadeless Kingsbury Grade under the midday sun.

Ride stats:

distance: 80.5 miles

climbing: 6670 feet

total time: 8:10

riding time: 6:14

average speed: 12.9 mph

maximum speed: 52.5 mph

index: 107.2

An article on indexing can be found here.

©2004, Bill Bushnell

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