Sierra Cascade – 9/02/2013 – Burney to Hat Creek Resort

 

Today was one of the shortest days of the tour, even if it was uphill all the way.  It was a gentle hill compared to most we’re ridden; the only problem was traffic.  Labor day weekend is coming to an end and every RV in the country seemed to be on highway 89.  Once again no shoulders on this road and I was scared.  Two 18-wheelers and one RV came way too close.  HERE IS TODAY'S ROUTE.

We’re staying in towns with minimal facilities.  The normal restaurants in Burney were closed yesterday so we had Chinese take-out, what appeared to been enough for 30; there are only 18 of us.  Tonight we’re not even in a town so the tour leader will cook dinner (I volunteered as souis chef and cooked the steaks to great acclaim.) and tomorrow’s breakfast.  We can make PB&J sandwiches for lunch if we want.

I didn’t take a single photo on the road today.  But here are two photos which show one of the aspects of being on the road on a bike: Laundry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miles = 31, Elevation gain = 1,595.                                                        Total miles = 862, Tot Elevation gain = 48,941

WHO’S RIDING? (BRENDA’S BIOS)

ANDY POGGIO (Livermore, CA) Andy worked for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for 30 years as an Engineer in Computational Physics and Electromagnetic Wave Theory. He has been married to Peggy for 32 years and they have 1 daughter and 2 grandchildren. For many years Andy owned a sailboat and participated in races but now says he doesn’t have the time it takes for managing the boat and crew so has sold the boat. Both he and his wife enjoy taking photographs but Andy particularly likes manipulating the images digitally. For personal enrichment he reads financial and economic data. He says this helps him better understand the world around him. He and his wife love watching and attending sporting events. His favorite 3 are hockey, football and baseball

LORETTA GOETSCH (Seattle, WA) Loretta has now been retired for 5 years but during her career she worked for the University of Washington for 36 years as a research scientist, primarily in Genetics, but spent her last 6 1/2 years researching botany. She is one of 6 children and grew up on a farm in Wisconsin. She has sisters who are twins. Today she is active in plant societies and personal gardening and is an active participant in the Cascade Bike Club. She leads tours for them and also daily rides. She loves to travel with biking and hiking as her favorite modes of transportation. In the winter she stays active skiing.

 

Due to the Rim fire, we’re changing plans after South Lake Tahoe.

The original plan was tp Hope Valley (Luther Pass), Walker (Monitor Pass), Lee Vining (Devil’s Gate and Conway Summit), Tuolumne Meadows (Tiago Pass) and on the Yosemite Valley (2 nights).  Brenda and I have done this ride before; it was Alison’s Sierra Light ride.

The revised plans are to Hope Valley (Luther Pass), Bear Valley (Ebbett’s Pass and Pacific Coast Grade), to Murphy’s (2 nights) and then bussed to Yosemite Valley (2 nights).