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Riding the Sierras |
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Written by Vikki Logrbrinck
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Thursday, 11 September 2008 |
Riding the Sierras
 After attending and racing in the Single Speed World Championship 08 in Napa, Mark and I headed to the Sierras for some fun time on our bikes. Our first stop was in Auburn, CA, at the foothills of the Sierras, where the ‘49ers found gold and silver. High tick area, so Mark got sprayed down with Deet, and off he went. I was pretty exhausted from manning the Lyme booth, so I stayed back at my folk’s place in Lincoln Hills to rest. I saved up enough energy for Mark to return and take me back to old town Auburn to buy some silver. The trails are beautiful and lush there, and some run along the American River.
 We then headed up Highway 49 (yes, named after the miners), to Downieville, CA, in Tahoe National Forest. Some may remember our race reports from the Downieville Classic from years past. This was our first time riding there with no pressure. The downhill course has been expanded, and is now 17 tough, iron man miles. I was proud to make it down twice during our stay. Sometimes those meds really do work. Mark enjoyed getting back on full suspension, and took the rocks gracefully. OK, he crashed a bit, but don’t we all? It was fun. After our rides, we walked the dogs down to the Yuba River, where they were happy to jump in and take a swim with us. Wile E. is the smoothest greatest dog swimmer we know. Joey, our tomboy, still swims like a paddle boat. It’s a pretty funny site to see. Mark felt like he was back home in the rivers of Texas.
 After a few days, we moved on to Mammoth Mountain, the site of many National Mountain Bike races. On our way, we stopped at an overlook of Mono Lake. The guard rail at the overlook is covered in stickers. We added another; Bikeman.com. It fit in perfectly with the landscape of the others. Mono Lake is filled with Tufas, natural mineral formations made under the water which show once the lake lowers. It’s at the base of the Sierras, close to the upper east entrance to Yosemite, and Bodie, an old mining ghost town.
 Mark rode the gondola up to check out the Mammoth trails for the first time. He enjoyed the trails. The wind came up the next day, and the gondolas were closed. So he rode with me down the lower trails. We still had to get a “pass” to allow us on the trails. This was a first for us, as Big Bear Lake does not charge you to use the trails, only to ride the lift up. I loved the single track, despite the fact it was Labor Day weekend, the gondolas were closed, so everyone and their kid sister was on the same trails. It was a steep $40/person to ride the lower single tracks, with a shuttle to bring you back to your vehicle. And they did have personnel on the trails, checking to make sure you had a ticket on your bike.
On our way home we made a quick stop at Rock Creek, also in the Sierras. Our favorite hiking place. Took a short day hike with the dogs, and watched them jump in the glacier fed creek for a swim. Good thing that was the last day of our trip; the camera died.
Vikki
 
 
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