Put Up Your Skis and Bring Out the Bike
by Curtis Fong “the Guy from Tahoe”
Just like that . . . Winter turns to Spring and Spring turns to Summer. . . .
Plenty of snow left in the mountains and Heavenly will remain open Fri-Sun, and through Memorial Day, May 27, conditions permitting. Access will be by the Heavenly Gondola . . . Squaw will remain open, daily thru Memorial Day, May 27, then weekends, Fri-Sun till July 1; and finally Wed-Sun, July 3-7 . . . Mammoth Mountain will remain open through July 7 as well. Season passes at your favorite resorts have been on sale, so purchase yours while prices are the lowest —
And with that, we move on to the bicycling season!
Day Trip; Seven Troughs Range and Ghost Towns
Nevadans love to explore remote hard-to-get-to areas of our beloved state. A combination of a pioneering spirit, an abundance of accessible public land, and the potential for natural and cultural historical discovery is the perfect recipe for getting outside to explore your state.
The Seven Troughs Range falls into the category of being in the middle of nowhere and full of natural/cultural historical richness. When exploring the notion of getting there and back in a day I realized it is about at the limits of what I can do on my bike. Perfect!
Ely is probably the greatest bicycling destination you’ve never heard of, with miles of mountain bike trails easily accessible and two sterling events. Fears, Tears, and Beers the original and longest running Enduro Mountain Bike Race in the USA, is scheduled for June 8th this year. The race begins with bicyclists careening through two local casinos before climbing into the surrounding hills and racing to the top of the mountain. Then they turn around and race down again, timed through a variety of sprints and twisty downhills, and these times add up to determine the winner.
The surreal Race the Rails – Bikes vs Trains takes place September 7th this year.
When the steam locomotive is on its mark and ready, the engineer sounds the whistle and opens the throttle. Mountain bikers and road bikers set out racing — not against time or your fellow riders but one of history’s most powerful inventions! Mountain bikers take a challenging 10 mile course through the mountains; road bikers speed along 25 miles of pavement. First one back wins. Great Basin Trails Alliance hosts this unique event and invests 100% of the proceeds into the trail systems in White Pine County.
Gravel Grinding season is open here as all lower elevation trails are open. Most of Cave Lake SP trails are open, Sacramento Pass by Great Basin National Park is sweet technical riding in the shadow of Wheeler Peak – pedal to ghost towns, hot springs, Garnet Hill or along the Pony Express Trail.
