October trip to Cali for MTB

[homemadesalsa]

So we have been hearing about the range of great riding in the big bear state, so are planning a 2-week trip from mid-October on. We are more XC than downhiller types, love long rideable days, some chunk/ technical is fine/ desired. Looking for advice from the collective.

Tentative plan so far:
Driggs to Tahoe/ Truckee: TRT/ Flume/ Strawberry. I've ridden the Flume and Kirkwood TRT to just before Toads. What else? Any decent guerilla van camping sites to hit?



Tahoe to Nevada City to Downieville to Quincy: what to ride here? suggestions for van camping, hot springs, good brew pubs, etc.

A couple days with my brother/ his family in San Carlos, then to ride/ visit w old friend in Santa Cruz. She knows that riding pretty well, so we should be covered there.

We just found these: http://www.bikemapdude.com/tahoegoldpack.html

Join us for a day or so?

Here's our rig:

[WestCoastPDR]

Pm me with your email. I'll send a map to get to a awesome camping spot looking out on big blue. Free but you need 4x4 and clearance of at least a stock grand Cherokee which doesn't say much as they are mall rated. This spot is not in Cali but the trt is 200 feet below the edge of the site / vista


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[mmmm...pow!]

For Tahoe riding, I would hit up a ride on each shore, then head to Donner summit for five days of killer riding, with each ride being pretty distinct from the rest.
West shore - From Tahoe City, bike path on west shore, past Ward Creek look for singletrack on right, follow it up to Stanford Rock, take a right on TRT to Ward Canyon and on to Paige Meadows and finish in TC. Around 20 miles
North shore - From TC, ride hwy 28 east to Carnelian Bay, left on Agate Rd. to Tripoli, left on Carnelian Bay Ave. (fireroad). Climb till you hit pavement, take a right, in 100 yards take a left on TRT, follow to TC. About 18 miles singletrack, plus maybe 7 on the road.
South shore - Climb Cold Creek to TRT, over Freel Pass, down either Armstrong/Corral or Toads. Biggest climb/descent in the area
East shore - There are shuttle options from spooner (or you can try to arrange your own), but can be ridden from the top of 431. TRT to Tunnel Creek, down to Flume past Marlette Lake, back up to TRT and back to 431
Donner Summit - Hole in the Ground. Around 15 miles. Starting at Donner Lake interchange off 80 and riding up Donner Lake Rim Trail (and back down at the end) will add another 16 or so miles.
Tamba website has a good map for South Lake area, Tahoe Adventure Map is pretty good for the rest of the basin and Truckee if you want to lengthen or shorten any of these rides. No hot springs in Tahoe, some close in Genoa, Carson City, or Sierraville, all developed with a fee. For Dville, just shuttle the Downhill and/or Pauley Creek to Second Divide if you want to do more pedaling, and North Yuba trail from town for more xc.
For camping, free fs campgrounds at Luther Pass, Blackwood Canyon, and Watson Lake (no campfires or showers), all should be mostly empty. PM before arrival, I'll be doing plenty of riding then.

[homemadesalsa]

Thanks Mmm pow and West coastpdr for the beta. Will give a shout as we get closer to time to leave.

Anyone else?

[SchralphMacchio]

what's your itinerary? Cali Avi workshop is on Saturday 10/17 in South Lake Tahoe and I should be up there for that. dishwasher-dave is organizing it, might be able to hook you up. Bring some extra TAR season reviews

I was planning on riding 10/18 around the South shore area ... TRT and Armstrong is a great trail. Hit me up on email or cell - it would be great to catch up if the schedule works out! I'm free the following weekend as well, depending on where you guys are at!

Weather is up in the air that time of year. Normally we are in Indian Summer in Northern California during October which means blistering hot days (minimal or offshore winds) and cool nights, but the warm pacific is getting into a pattern of sending storm fragments up north ... Many places are rideable at the start of a rain or shortly after a rain and most places are so dry right now that they'll dry out immediately. Overall with your long trip window you should be able to ride a lot of places unless it just opens up and pours continuously.

Tahoe has a lot more riding than people realize, because there are so many areas as mmm...pow pointed out. You could easily spend your entire trip there. TRT from Mt. Rose Highway to Flume is spectacular, not sure if you hit that last time you did Flume. TRT around South Lake Tahoe is also spectacular ... the Cold Creek / Armstrong loop described earlier is a Tahoe classic for sure. Collectively, we can definitely hook you two up with tour guides and riding partners.

Some things not on your list:

Auburn State Recreation Area - south of Downieville and on your way down to the Bay Area. You can put together a long day of trail riding here. It's definitely below snow line in October and worth a hit between Downieville and San Carlos. Some very nice breweries in the area as well (Auburn Brewing and Knee Deep).

Wine country - not sure if you and pancho are into wineries, but there is quite a bit of riding there, and also could be done before heading to San Carlos for a day or three. Boggs State Park was a classic but that whole area is burned up with a recent huge fire, so no Boggs. Napa Skyline Park is nice for climbing and chunky descending, not super long but you can loop certain sections to make for a longer day. The park is south of the heart of wine country, so it's even possible to do a morning ride and afternoon wine tasting (there's even showers and camp spots at the park if your Sprinter van doesn't have a shower setup). Also PM jibmaster about wine country riding ... he's been doing midweek long XC rides in northern Napa area, and he can chat with you about interesting ski touring areas around here.

Personally, one of my favorites in Sonoma Valley (next valley west of Napa) is Annadel State Park, and you can put together a pretty long day of riding the trail system there. The place is full of 29" hardtails and offers great riding for those who like to mash on the pedals while climbing or descending. Plus then you can visit Russian River Brewing Company after your ride and get some Pliny the Elder beer on tap.

San Carlos / Santa Cruz ... I know you have local guides but here are some things to do your homework on anyways:
-Skeggs / El Corte de Madera - lots of climbing options here, not too chunky, old growth redwoods and fine to ride early into a rain or shortly after a sparse rain.
-Demonstration Forest / Nisene Marks ... you can put together a monster day here if you want, climbing up from Aptos, dropping Demonstration for 1 or more laps, climbing back up the ridge and dropping Nisene Marks. LONG days are easily doable here if you have the energy for it.

Hit me up offline! Would love to catch up!

[Mr. Toad]

If you're hitting Downieville, drive a little further north to Graegle. Stop at the only bike shop in town and get the beta on some great, uncrowded, scenic rides up there. Stop by the Brewing Lair for local micro brews and a BBQ on their lawn.

[homemadesalsa]

Shralp! I was hoping you would weigh in.

We can't commit to the avy workshop as that's a driving day for us. Can maybe meet you guys for a beer afterwards though. Will you be somewhere near the LTCC site? And you're going to get a stack of the new TAR sent in the mail, so won't need to count on me.

We WILL be looking to ride on the 18th, though. Would love to do TRT/ Armstrong- what an amazing section! I will pop you an email.

And Mr Toad- we just ran across Graeagle. Those look amazing. On the list now. Thanks!

[SchralphMacchio]

All I need to say is, homemadesalsa rips on a bike!

Hero trail conditions in South Lake Tahoe yesterday, I'm glad we got to show homemadesalsa and panchosdad some awesome riding conditions in California. Just the start of an awesome trip to be, I am sure!

[homemadesalsa]

All I need to say is, homemadesalsa rips on a bike!

Hero trail conditions in South Lake Tahoe yesterday, I'm glad we got to show homemadesalsa and panchosdad some awesome riding conditions in California. Just the start of an awesome trip to be, I am sure!

Thanks Shralp! Sounds like you made it home in one piece. You rip pretty good your own fine self! Great to get out w you and Travis.

Go ride Tahoe- amazing stuff here. We hit up the backdoor entry to Christmas Tree yesterday and spent a night up at the Big Meadows CG (that is a cool spot), then today we grabbed a shuttle up to Tahoe Meadows. Rode the TRT around Marlette Peak, across the Flume Trail and back to Tunnel Creek. Hole in the Ground tomorrow and then to Downieville.

Hero dirt after the rain. Great hospitality so far everyone, thanks!

[TahoeJ]

If you decide to hit up wine country / Sonoma and want to check out Annadel as Schralph advised, PM me. I'm there at least 2 times per week and can give you some good loop options if I'm not able to get out that day. If you put it together right there are some 20 mile loops where you'll get 5-6 different downhill runs (plus some fun little sections in-between). Sadly the recent storms missed us so no hero dirt at the moment.