Big Mountain Riding: Neil & Xan's Tahoe Trip

Neil (right) and Xan before heading down the trail.

Neil and Xan loaded up the van early one morning this fall to do some riding around South Lake Tahoe. Henry, a friend of Xan's, joined us for the trip. The goal was to ride the famed "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" trail, officially called the Saxon Creek trail. This would be Xan's first ride on his new white Rohloff-equipped Ventana Zeus, a 160mm travel trail bike with 650b wheels. It was also an opportunity for Neil to get away from the office and have some fun after a busy summer. Neil brought his Lenz Sport Lunch Box, a 150mm travel 29'er, which has proven to be a very capable bike over the past few years.

The bikes all loaded up and ready to go.

A start from Berkeley just before 7 a.m. put us in South Lake just before 10 a.m. and on the bikes just after 10. We parked off Oneidas road at the exit of Saxon Creek trail and headed up Fountain Place Road to Armstrong Trail, then up Armstrong Trail to Armstrong Pass, over 2000 feet higher than the trailhead. We took a break at the pass to eat something and take in the views, then took the Tahoe Rim Trail across Freel Meadows to get to the top of Saxon Creek Trail. The TRT tops out at over 9000 feet along this section, which made for noticeably lower oxygen content for us lowlanders. From there it was down the Saxon Creek trail, which offers a combination of rocky trail riding, gnarly DH, and flowing bermed sections.

Neil holds a Rohloff-assisted wheelie at Armstrong Pass.

The run down was a blast and exactly what we had hoped for. The larger rock sections tested the limits of both the bikes and the riders and the flowing sections were fast and fun. The technical level of the trails here was a big step up from what we normally ride in the Bay Area, and it's always a treat to get out on these trails.

The trail spit us out back at the car, where we took a break and refilled water and food supplies. After this we headed into South Lake Tahoe to grab a few more supplies and start climbing Upper Truckee Road to get back to the TRT and take a run down Armstrong Pass Trail to Connector Trail to Corral Trail. We were tipped off that Upper Truckee Road parallels Highway 89 through a quiet neighborhood, and this route proved to be a pleasant alternative to riding along the busier highway.

The Ventana on the Armstrong Pass Trail.

As we neared the top, dark clouds started to roll in followed by thunder, lightning, and some rain. We took cover under the roof of a restroom building and waited to see if it would pass. After about 45 minutes, the thunder and lightning had moved far enough that we decided it was safe to keep moving, and made it to the TRT at Big Meadows trailhead.

We were all feeling pretty tired by this point and moving slower than usual. This, combined with the storm delay, caused us to change our plan and take a second run down Mr. Toad's, which cut off the nearly five mile leg across Freel Meadows. Getting back to the start of Mr. Toad's ended up taking a lot longer than expected as our energy levels continued to dip and the thin air zapped our power output. We eventually made it to the top shortly before dusk and headed down expecting another fun run.

The Ventana and Lenz Sport at another rest stop to adjust to the altitude.

Unfortunately, Neil's tire tore in the roughest rock garden section and the tubeless sealant couldn't repair it, so a tube was installed, which took about 10 minutes. The ride continued with Neil trying to take it easy to preserve the inner tube, but about 15 minutes later the tube pinched on the corner of a sharp rock. After installing another tube, we were nearly out of daylight. We slowed the pace trying to follow the trail, moving ever slower as the visible light decreased until we found ourselves creeping along, barely able to pick out the trail under the moon light. Eventually, we ended up back at the car around 9 p.m., thoroughly exhausted after a long day of fun riding.

-Neil

We'd love to hear your stories about rides on your Rohloff or Schlumpf equipped bikes. If you have a ride you'd like to guest-blog about on the Cycle Monkey Tales site, email us at adventures@cyclemonkey.com