South Lake Tahoe

Inertia

This morning Jen and I will pull our growing anchor and cut ourselves loose of the embrace of South Lake.  A month goes by pretty quickly and before you know it, the comforts of living under a roof start to soften you up a little.  Climbing, swimming, hiking and a nightly hot tub start to sound a little more enticing than ten hours a day in the saddle.  But our journey is not over and if we wait a whole lot longer the nipping chill of winter will be chasing us south.  I have a feeling that we will be back here before too long and it is with a bit of regret that we pack our bikes and say goodbye to family in the great Tahoe Valley.

Progress

South Lake Tahoe is a bike town...kind of.  Plenty of folks kitted out riding expensive road bikes and this is undoubtedly one the best mountain biking destinations in the United States.  There is however a pronounced absence of folks just using their bikes to get around.  Lack of infrastructure can partly explain this phenomenon; freshly constructed bike paths lead to nowhere and rural bike lanes vanish into four lane arterials as one approaches the center of commerce...WTF!?!?  The strong culture of the automobile however, is the larger culprit.  The bicycle does not seem to be accepted as a viable transportation option here in the great Tahoe Basin despite a relatively low volume of traffic and reasonable distances between residential areas and urban amenities.  

The slogan of this great city is Keep Tahoe Blue , an ethos and effort to preserve the clarity of Lake Tahoe.  It seems a little ironic to me that the most common place I see this catchphrase is stuck to the bumper of a car.  I wonder what impact  just 10% of all local transportation occurring on bicycle would have on water quality over ten years?  

Progress is coming to this town, but like most places change comes slowly and is stymied by powerful individuals.  Despite the overwhelming evidence that bicycles are good for the physical and economic health of communities,  there are those who resist the advancement of the bicycle to equal status as the automobile as a transportation tool.

Front Door Adventures

South Lake Tahoe is an amazing place.  Set smack in the middle of the Sierra Mountains on the shore of the largest alpine lake in the United States, access to a pluthera of outdoor activities is second to none. World class climbing, skiing, hiking, bouldering, fishing, mountain biking, road riding, paddle boarding and much more are all readily available to the enthused participant, and to a large extent approachable without the use of a car.  This place is ripe for the Front Door Adventure and Jen and I have done more than a little exploring by bike while in town.  I hope to be back here on two wheels before long.     

The Amazing Guy

As we prepare to leave this morning I am dragging me heels just a little.  Our layover here has provided both of us some much needed rest and the opportunity to do many fun things other than ride our bikes.  But more than that, our stay here has allowed me the opportunity to become closer to Jen's side of the family and hang out with the most amazing guy I know.  There is something magical about  a four-year-old who approach the world with a joy, optimism and sense of adventure that adulthood seems to strip from most of us.  The highlight of my day is most definitely waking up in the morning to an adorable smiling face and recycled jokes about who found the easter egg.

Man, I really love the Amazing Guy and miss him already.  

Kloshe Konaway

Kloshe Nanitch

Matt