Weekend Mountain Biking - Emigrant Trail.

Ok, so there was nothing new here yesterday.  I was out sick and writing about biking didn't sound like fun.

On Saturday, the Preacher and I headed out to do the Emigrant Gap trail.  We wanted a bit of a longer ride (22 miles vs. 18 miles) so we started from the picnic area parking lot and headed for Stampede Reservoir.  As you can see we did officially make it to the reservoir. 

En route to this turn around point only minimal gears were used.  You see that pretty red bike that the Preacher recently acquired only has 1 gear.  To be a good sport I chose not to shift (ok, I shifted between 2 gears...19 and 21 tooth respectively....the Preacher has a 20 tooth cog).  This endeavor proved to be an ass kicking experience for me.  I don't know what was up, but the energy just wasn't there and the Preacher was out front and apparently riding on the almighty's coat tails! 

This was about as close as I could keep him!

Amazingly, on such a beautiful day for riding, traffic was almost non-existent!   The scenery wasn't too bad either.

We always keep a few "carrots" to motivate us to finish the ride strong.  In this case they were in the form of Sierra Nevada Torpedoes!  For the record, after a granola bar and a GU at the turn around I preformed a lot better on the return trip.  The Preacher still had the stronger legs though.

Interestingly, this new bike is his first 29er.  His downhill skills definitely improved compared to his full suspension 26er.....so whether it's the geometry, wheel size, or suspension, this bike is definitely his friend!  So anyway, that was my weekend exploit.  Hope yours was just as much fun!

Pancake feed at Reno Bike Project!

Sorry, another crappy cell phone pic.  This was the scene at RBP this morning for free pancakes, bacon, sausage, and coffee!  Good times and a great way to finish off bike to work week.  Now just remember that you can keep riding even when it's not "officially" bike to work week and you're all set!

Gonads and Strife Poker Run.....it's time to ride!

If the Mayor can bike to work (or breakfast)....so can you!

I missed it (because I can't keep track of things), but I heard from an old buddy (thanks Mr. Clark) that it did happen.  The Mayors both rode bikes yesterday and met for breakfast down at Rail City.  Here's a little blurb from KTVN:


KTVN Channel 2 - Reno Tahoe News Weather, Video -

It might not seem like that big of a deal, but Mayor Cashell hasn't always been too into the bike movement.  To even see him getting out there (he's not young and recently had heart surgery) is a step in the right direction.  So a big thumbs up to both Mayors for being a part of Bike to Work Week!  And an awesome side note, they used the Moon Buggy from the Academy of Arts, Careers and Technology here in Reno!

Driving Trends, which way do you think they'll go?

Here's a little graphic from the most recent publication of Transportation in America.  Basically, the trend in the last 8 years shows people are continuing to drive less even as the GDP per capita has been rising.  The real question is which color is the new "trend"!?

I'm guessing there are two factors to the trend, 1) Baby boomers are retiring and driving less, and 2) young people just don't care to drive as much.  So I'll bet on somewhere between green and red.  What do you think?

River path upgrade!

Ok, so I skipped the first day of bike to work week....cause I played hooky from work yesterday.  More on why later.

The big news today is the river path closure is already over!!  I mean most of them last for months so I am really shocked.  This one was apparently done in a single weekend and here are the results!

This section was notorious for knocking a few fillings loose due to all the bumps from the tree roots.  Now it's pretty darn smooth.  I hope they put down a good base beneath the new asphalt so it stays in good condition for years to come!  So kudos to the City of Reno and the Tahoe Pyramid Bikeway group for getting this new section in so quickly!
 

River Path Construction.....with real detours and signs!!

Well, it must be the good weather and the increased use (I mean next week is bike to work week)....so the river path is under construction again.  Besides the inane timing, they are working on a section I would describe as the bounciest, most root infested, narrowest portion of the trail (behind the automobile museum).  And they have actually posted a clearly signed detour that leads you out around the museum on Mill and back to the trail (it's exactly one block), so kudos to the company involved. 

Here's what it looked like this morning (sorry, crappy cell phone pics):