Rolling Through the Finish Line!

It is with much happiness and relief that I report that the ride in Tahoe was one of the most amazing experiences in my life. The whole weekend was full of good cycling vibes and we had awesome weather! And what a bonding experience for the whole team!

Our NYC team is a cast of characters from all over the city with two goals in common… helping raise money for cancer research and completing the Century. We all slogged through the early mornings (ugh) and long hills with unphased team spirit. And thank goodness my camera didn’t go completely on the fritz so I could get a few photos along the way.

The flight to Reno was long and uneventful…although luckily I was able to get my (over-3 oz.) chamois cream past airport security at JFK by the skin of my teeth, and we did have a super bumpy landing in Reno. The bus ride to Tahoe was serene in comparison. On the way into town one of the casino signs advertised a tribute to a singer from the 70’s that we all love…you guessed it… Neil Diamond… and we started singing Cracklin Rosie… and couldn’t stop singing it all weekend. It became the anthem of our Century weekend. Our hotel was a mob scene of TNT cyclists from all over the country wheeling their bikes in all directions… quite a scene, reminding us of some kind of Grateful Dead festival for cyclists, with the hotel even providing courtesy towels for the bikes. Despite the tight schedule set by TNT for the weekend, it seemed like Marty and I always found enough time to slack off. We were perpetually late, missed the pre-ride pasta dinner (by accident) and never had the right passes, tickets, or whatever was required for entry to anything. Slackers! We relied on the good graces of others to find meeting points and follow schedules… our Brooklyn buddy Tracey proved to be invaluable in this respect. She would call and text us both 10 times a day to find out where we were and get our butts where they were supposed to be. We have to admit, the most difficult part of the weekend was waking up early in the morning every day.

The day after we arrived we went for a warm up ride on the first part of the route… up the first short but steep climb to Inspiration Point that looks down on Emerald Bay…

Tahoe is spectacular for cycling… clean air, green lake, and the intoxicating scent of pines all around. Everyone was so amped to get on the road after a week away from their bikes. Me and Marty both felt good and the climb gave us confidence for the next day when we rode the full distance. We could definitely feel the altitude… I was breathing in double time at the top of the hill! Hsiao-Chien and Horng- Shen Tu came out from San Francisco for a couple of nights to enjoy Tahoe and cheer us on.

Food Report: Of course I brought about 5 pounds of my own food and power bars to fuel us over the weekend… I always ride with dried mangos and bananas stuffed in my pockets. Otherwise the food in Tahoe was hit or miss. We had an excellent sushi dinner on Friday at The Naked Fish restaurant: fresh oysters, sesame tuna, black cod, and a tempura cheesecake and red bean mochi for dessert. Who would imagine there would be great sushi in Tahoe? We both thought the meal and service were far superior to New York sushi!

The Century: Go Team! The New York TNT team was the first team in line at the starting point… that means that we had wake up at 4:00 am to be lined up at 5:50 am to lead the pack. We started off nice and steady, and by the time we passed Hsiao-Chien and Horng-Shen they were standing out in front of their B&B in pajamas cheering us on…:). The second time up the switchbacks was a little more difficult than the day before… partly because of the anticipation, but still not a problem. The SAG provisions at the rest stops were awesome… I gorged on fresh fruit at each one. At about mile 20, Marty’s knee started flaring up a bit so we decided to slow the pace, although he never does…seems like he goes faster. The journey along the west side was really lovely in the morning, I’m not sure what the temperature was, but we had to wear layers. We didn’t start to peel layers until the detour to Truckee, which is about mile 50.

The bike path to Truckee…was lovely…calm and tranquil riding along a shallow stream. No struggle to pass others, just a sort of pleasant drifting along. The path eventually merged to a road that ended up at a rest stop at a shopping center that was a mob scene of bikes and people stretched out all over the parking lot.

Photo: Stu Goldstein

Rest stops usually lasted long enough to relieve ourselves, eat and hydrate, and then wander around for 5 mins trying to find each other which was quite a task since everyone wears the same jersey (except me). My size xtra-small jersey was too big for me, so I refused to wear it. By the time we got to mile 50, sunscreen was in order… and lots of it!

The ride back from the Truckee stop was a total slog. The reason they do this detour is that the ride around the lake is not 100 miles, so this completes the Century. I hadn’t realized that the pleasure of riding on a slight incline on the way to Truckee would turn into an annoying ride on the way back. But soon enough we were back onto route 89, making our way around the lake.

Lunch stop: somewhere around mile 70… A lovely lunch spot for hundreds of cyclists!

Thats me, Marty, and Tracey enjoying the breeze and taking a tan…

After lunch: The Hill to Spooner Pass… Now the fun starts! The hill to Spooner is a dreaded 8 mile hill. I surprisingly passed lots of folks walking their bikes here. It was slow going for sure, but very zen. I kept telling myself: no bike, no hill. They offer a rest+water stop midway up the hill, and the conversation went like this: “Hey MJ, wanna stop? I am so tired…” with the reply ” I can’t stop” and then a shrug “ok, lets go!” and off we went! Lots of shouting, huffing and puffing, but we made it to the pass and then continued all the way to the finish without a rest. Lemme tell you how fun it is to ride down from Spooner Pass! We were screaming down those hills so fast and with such relief I had tears in my eyes! Computer says that my maximum speed was 37 mph! Yow!

When the computer says mile 95 I am a very happy girl. And when the high-rise hotels of South Lake Tahoe come into view, I scream. Looking at the Lake, and the other shore, which you can barely see in the distance, makes me realize that this is a very formidable bike journey and we have done it! We are practically there! And no flats along the way!

The finish line… Landscapers rolling through…

This was a great moment. Then Marty and I treated ourselves to a 10 minute massage right away at an on-site masseuse. Then, dazed, we collected ourselves and got ready for dinner.

That night we gorged on bread and cheese fondue, before Hsiao-Chien and Horng- Shen Tu and Marty ate escargot for the first time. YUM. The snails were a preview of the good dishes that followed, shrimp scampi and pasta alfredo: we couldn’t help but indulge the heavy cream sauce. Eyes were definitely droopy and faces were red from wind and sun. On the walk back to the hotel we all caught an eyeful of the bright stars that we never get to see back home. A beautiful day for Americas most beautiful bike ride!

If you are now convinced that you should join forces with Team in Training for the Lake Tahoe Century ride next year, you may direct any questions that you have to me or Marty… we would love to have you join us in 2009!

Go Team!!

To see the complete photo log of the trip, use this link: Landscapers Lake Tahoe Century Album