Grind On.
- Jul 30, 2016
- 3 min read
grind on.
FLUME TRAIL, LAKE TAHOE
On the actual day of my birthday, I had wanted just one thing for myself.
And that was to mountain bike Lake Tahoe's Flume Trail, which is known
to be one of the most scenic and picturesque trails in the Tahoe area,
maybe even in all the west coast. I know for sure that this is the most spectacular one I have been on, hands down. The trail skims the west
shore of Lake Tahoe, with just the most elaborately dramatic views of
the lake, the pine forests and the mountains in the distance.
It would also turn out to be one of my most challenging moments on a
mountain bike saddle, coming close to this at Spooner Lake last year.
The first three miles of the climb were difficult but manageable,
but the last mile (especially the last .2 miles) was excruciating.
It was just a little past noon and it was a hot day. The trail was sandy, and tackling that bitch of an ascend nearly got the best of me.
They say that the last mile is always the worst. And I can attest to
that again and again. I had no goals to finish this trail in x hours, but
I did tell myself that no matter what, I WILL NOT WALK MY BIKE.
I am so proud of myself because even though I would stop here and
there to catch my breath, I will tell you that there are times on that last
mile when I would look up at that steep, sandy trail and I would groan.
I won't lie - there were moments when I was so tired I just wanted to
walk away and say, "Screw this!!"
But I persisted, encouraged by The Dutch yelling at me:
"It's all mental. COME ON!"
I made it to the top eventually and it was an amazing downhill ride from there. The views did not disappoint and spending the day here
doing this was the best birthday gift I could have ever given myself.
HERE ARE SOME QUICK STATS ABOUT THIS RIDE
We did the point-to-point route, starting at Spooner Lake
and riding down to Tunnel Creek Trail.
Total mileage: 13.3 miles
1,221 feet of climbing, pretty much all in the first four miles
(That makes this a category 2 ride.)
After the first 4 miles, you will crest and reach Marlette Lake (hallelujah!).
From that point, it's a sandy teeter-totter for the next 9 miles.
IF YOU GO
This ride literally isn't for the faint-hearted.
This is a ride requiring a lot of endurance so I would recommend that you
are in good physical condition when attempting to mountain bike the Flume Trail.
I wear a heart monitor when I ride (thanks to The Dutch, I got a Polar M450 with GPS as a present!)
and I find it helpful to know my heart rate threshold, know when I'm approaching it, and
be smart enough to pause and catch my breath before my legs seize up from lactic acid.
I keep hearing from people that this is not a technical ride. While it's true that
there are not any death-defying switchbacks, I will say that apart from having the
endurance, it is a requirement that you know how to use your bike and that you've
ridden some challenging trails on your mountain bike before. Knowing which
gears to use on those climbs will save your life, as is knowing how to negotiate
downhills on sandy trails which is pretty much the entire 9 mile stretch down.
You must ride a bike you know and understand. And I would only
recommend riding a bike with hydraulic brakes on this trail.
I guess what I'm getting at is if you're new to mountain bike, I would
encourage you to train on some easy to intermediate trails and make it
your goal to tackle the Flume Trail later when you're stronger and more confident.
I've shared some tips on how to ride stronger on a mountain bike on
Sierra Trading Post's blog here.
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