Epic Ebbetts!

Markleeville has got to have some of the best road riding in the World. World class. Sigh. I did bring my camera--unfortunately I didn't check the batteries and they were dead. In any case, there is no way to capture the beauty of this place on film. Even Ansel Adams would be challenged to do that--still, next time we go I will check the batteries first.

After a couple of weeks of building a decent base of "cycling legs", I set out to do both Monitor and Ebbetts today. Just to be safe though, I rode up Ebbett's first, (in case I only did one). The climb begins at about 5000' and tops out at 8730' (where you cross over the Toiyoba Forest and into the Stanislaus Forest. ). Ebbett's is surrounded by two higher mountains, Raymond Peak (11,010') and Highland Peak (10,934') and the road that is carved into the side of the mountain is pristine. The snow is melting and I didn't even see any until I got passed 7500'. There are waterfalls everywhere. The only sound I heard was the rushing water down the mountain and a random bird chirp! It's amazing to go from the high desert to the Alpine climbs.

About 700 feet from the top, there is an Alpine Lake nestled into the mountain rock which is still frozen and has snow on top---but I was riding in shorts and a jersey (of course, climbing uphill keeps your body temperature up) and there were waterfalls of snow melt pouring in. Once I passed the Smokey the Bear sign, I descended a bit to about Pacific Grade Summit, and decided to head back up and then down.

At the bottom of the pass, I saw Mike heading up (he did both sides of Monitor as a warm up). So I figured I had some time and decided to fill up on water and try Monitor. These two passes are so different---yet right next door to each other..Monitor is like a "moon climb" and Ebbett's is Alpine. Monitor may not be as high (8315'), but it is always a tougher climb for me for some reason.

Amazingly, a couple of hours later, Mike and I arrived back at the foot of the pass within seconds of each other. We both just smiled, said "good timing", and followed it up with "this place RULES!". Thoughts begin to pour into our head about buying a Euro-Van so we can come and camp on the passes and ride forever. And of course we're entertaining the thought of buying a house sometime again, somewhere around here! We really like it!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Northern Nevada Love

It's like everyday, I wake up and feel like I am on vacation! Not sure if it's the West, the mountains or the perfect weather, or what. The air is so clean that you can smell how clean it is. Mountain air. When we first arrived here we were thirsty all the time. It's the elevation combined with the dry air (it averages between 5% and 20% humidity), I guess. But now we're more like camels and don't need to drink so much.

I think getting out and riding everyday also helps you acclimate to the thinner air. The only time I notice the elevation now is when I'm out walking the steep terrain with the Scrap---I can climb out of the saddle on the bike and don't get thrashed anymore---4 hour rides are no problem---and the climbs are everywhere! It's like a cyclist's Disneyland!

I don't think I will ever get tired of waking up to these mountains that surround us. They're everywhere I look. The sun rises over them in the East and then sets in the evening to the West. There's no "plop" into the Pacific Ocean---it just sets over the Sierra's. But there is no haze or smog and everyday there is blue sky above, with the pink and orange hues in the morning and the evening.

Mike and I are headed to Markleeville again tomorrow. The next best thing to "being there" is to Thank God for our Mom's on top of the big California Alpine Peaks! Happy Mother's Day! Happy Saturday.

I could eat a horse!

A sure sign that the riding is good where I live is that I have that "hungry all the time" feeling. I love it! The weekends are chock full of hours in the saddle and the evenings are spent eating a bunch of food. Today I rode towards Virginia City. I still haven't gone all the way over Geiger Pass---but I am getting my climbing legs back at last!

Now when I say that---I'm still not fast on the bike. Never have been and probably never will be. I just like to go uphill for hours---and that's a good thing. You're almost always going up hill in Reno. I wish we lived a little closer to the passes sometimes, but I am not complaining one bit!

There's this one ranch I pass on the way towards the two passes that has an unusual variety of livestock. Llamas and ostriches. And four cute pregnant burro's. I can't wait until the baby burro's are born. I will have to remember to bring carrots next weekend.

Mike cooked his famous pasta with artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and loads of garlic and olive oil and we ate a big fresh loaf of sour dough french bread. Life is good in the mountain desert!

And how about that Kentucky Derby! Happy Sunday!