I love summer!!!

I almost need a vacation from all the fun I've been having lately. My days off, despite the fact I get four of them, always seem to come to an end too quickly and back to work I go. Lots of early mornings hitting the road or the trail.

For the 4th of July I got double lucky. I was already up early on the dreadmill at the gym when I got the call that I wasn't needed at work!! Woohoo, my run was already nearly done. I headed from there to hit the last 50 minute of master's swim. By 8 am I was done with everything I had planned on doing for the day, so I loaded my bike up and headed to what I hoped would be the least crowded roads I could find. My initial plan was to ride the Gold Lakes loop from Sierraville, but when I got to the turnoff in Bassetts I couldn't decided which way to go. I had never ridden to Downieville and wanted to see what the road was like. I had no clue that the road dropped 4000ft over 17 or so miles. It was a slightly busier road than Gold Lakes and the road surface wasn't as smooth, but it was a sweet ride. The climb back up to Yuba Pass is a perfect gradual gradient.

Yuba Pass above Sierra Valley 6700 ft.

The Sierra Buttes!!

Proof that I made it to Downieville.

On my next day off I headed to my favorite local run trail with the intent of running from Mt. Rose Meadows to Marlette Lake and back. It's mid July and I was itching to get on this trail. The snow has melted a lot since I was up here a month ago, but in the shade there was still 4-6ft of snow. After bushwhacking for an hour and losing the trail numerous times I called it a day and headed back to the car. Maybe it will be open in mid August?!?

There is still a bit of snow on the trail.

Mt. Rose Meadows

I had never been on the Tahoe Rim Trail on the other side of Mt. Rose so I took a chance that maybe the south facing slopes would have less snow. The view was totally worth getting thwarted by the snow once again. Bliksem had a great time, and while I didn't get to run the whole time, I got a fun session done.

Above Tahoe at about 9000ft

The next day I tried out the section of the TRT from Tahoe City. Only a couple of snow banks left there, and the rest of the trail was open to Watson Lake. Sweet riding!! I can't describe how much fun I have riding my mountain bike. Can't wait to head back here and explore the trails a bit more.

The view wasn't bad either.

The real reason I haven't been blogging is that my days have been filled with rides and runs. The next day I got to ride old highway 40 over Donner Pass and try standup paddle boarding. Perfect way to end my days off. Back to work as tired as ever and in need of a vacation.

Rainbow Bridge above Donner Lake