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 SIERRA SAMPLER bike trip 2011
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Tuesday, Sept. 20 -- South Lake Tahoe, Calif., to Topaz Lake, Nev. -- 60 miles
A local rider waited with us.
Janet & Roy from California, and Arthur from Oregon
 Climbing Luther Pass, we got stacked up waiting for the flagman to let us through.

George M. from Massachusetts was
all smiles on the descent to Woodfords.
Is that a smile or a grimace?
Monitor Pass was the hardest climb of the trip.
It's the first climb on an annual one-day sufferfest
called the Tour of the California Alps,
better known as the Markleeville Death Ride.
.

We saw rain clouds in the distance
as we
descended,
but no rain
reached us.
In Nevada, we had one more hump in the road.
Topaz Lake
After a break in Markleeville, we headed for Monitor Pass and began climbing
alongside the East Fork of the Carson River.
The climb is about eight miles long
at about a 10 percent grade. And it was hot!
The views
were worth
the effort.
Lunch was at the top of Monitor Pass,
elevation 8,314 feet.
A long,
sweet descent
We camped at the Topaz Lake county park. It was the first night we didn't have to lock up food
in bear-proof metal boxes, but coyotes
sounded very close in the middle of the night.
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SIERRA SAMPLER bike trip 2011
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