OKAY, I’m taking some liberties…It’s not ALL ABOUT the 42nd Tour of the California Alps. Fishing access (a delayed Fishmas celebration is in the works) is important. Getting over Monitor Pass into Markleeville is vital for our little town’s businesses, and saves travelers to Tahoe tons of time. Our OHV friends can’t get to some of their favorite 4-wheel drive trails. Either can the “beelers”, as in snowmobilers.
Road Everywhere Were Hammered This Year






THAT we all know. From a cyclist’s perspective we’re champing at the bit to get some training in on those passes that are currently closed: Ebbett’s, Monitor, Sonora, Tioga, and from a Deathrider’s perspective, we’d like to be able to hit up Pacific Grade, too.
SOON, very soon…Per our friends at Caltrans District 10 “Paving is now tentatively scheduled for May 8th and 9th, weather permitting. Highway 89 would open sometime after the 10th. SR 4 is currently closed at the Junction of 4/89 with no ETO. Crews indicate that they will not be able to give an ETO for Ebbetts for several weeks.”
WELL I can imagine! Based on what Monitor looks like and based on the experience of 2017, when Ebbett’s opened approximately two (2) weeks prior to the Deathride, it’s going to be interesting to, 1) clear all that snow (thank you Caltrans), and 2) find out what’s under that snow.
IN 2017 a chunk of road about a mile below Cascade Creek was damaged. The D-10 crew came through, though, and we were able to hold the event that year.
THIS will be the 42nd running of the Tour of the California Alps. It’s never not been held due to road conditions. Pandemic – yup. Fire – indeed. Roads – nope. These guys and gals know these mountains, even these latest winter-of-22-23-crazy-conditions, and so I have faith that the crew will come through.
“Training Options?”, You Ask.
WELL, in terms of the the pain cave, I recommend Fulgaz, as it has lots of climbing options, from all over the world, including Mont Ventoux, Alpe d’Huez, and all five (5) of the classic Deathride climbs. They just wrapped up (today was the last day) the Virtual Deathride. Lucky me, I just finished it today, the last day to do so. Tired legs after doing 4 outta 5 this week, including the last three (3), Monitor East, Ebbett’s North and Carson Pass, three days in a row. Zwift is certainly another option.
AS far as outside, at least here in Alpine and El Dorado counties, Kingsbury Grade and Luther Pass are open. Luther has some fairly nasty potholes, FYI. And speaking of potholes…Pioneer Trail in S. Lake Tahoe has recently been renamed by the locals. Its new moniker: Pothole Trail. Here’s hoping that changes soon.
DIAMOND Valley and surrounds is an awesome area to ride and having ridden it, and Emigrant Trail, and out to Genoa and back, recently, I can tell you those roads aren’t too terrible.
LOOKING for something more formal? Then be sure to take advantage of Alta Alpina Cycling Club’s training series.
NEXT weekend it’s two (2) passes (Kingsbury and Luther I heard) so sign up if you haven’t already!
AACC also holds weekly races, too, if you’re so inclined. The club does races in and around the area, with TT’s, road races, and crits “mixed and matched.”
OH, yeah. And water, we’ve got lots of water.
FLOOD concerns. Like a lot of the state. And, country. More than concerns in many places, as we’ve all seen.
AS of today, we haven’t seen any flooding but it’s possible the West Fork of the Carson will crest in Woodfords. TBD of course.
THE eternal optimist in me likes to think only about the fishing yet to come, the amazing wildflowers that will soon pop and the swimming holes later this summer.
D Nile is d longest river in d world. 😉
HERE are a couple other links to good sources of road info.:
- Caltrans District 10 Twitter feed
- Caltrans’ Quickmap
- NDOT’s NV Roads
NO doubt that Caltrans and NDOT will be busy for the foreseeable future. Be sure to give them plenty of room to work and an attaboy or attagirl, too. If it wasn’t for these fine folks putting in a shit-ton of hours we likely wouldn’t be seeing pavement for quite awhile up here in the heart of the Sierra.
RIDE on and ride safe, and we’ll see you soon!