Sierra Cascades – 9/08/2013 – South Lake Tahoe to Sorenson’s

 

Note that Sorenson’s is a resort, not a town.

Last night at happy hour I told someone of adventure cyclist and author Willie Weir’s concept of a “travel sponge.”  If you travel enough, your sponge will become full and you want to go home.  I was almost there.  We have a few days planned in San Francisco after the tour and I wish we didn’t.

After a great dinner on the pier I returned home and read email.  A disturbing note from my daughter (too complicated to explain) dictated that I need to go home – now.  I called American Airlines and got the only seat left on any flight Sunday from Reno to Dallas.  This is not the way to empty your travel sponge.

It was a peaceful morning on Lake Tahoe but I had a sleepless night trying to figure out how this retreat was going to work.  Everything fell in place:

• The small bike store across the street finally opened at 9:00 (their web site said 8:00) and they would pack and ship my bike to Dallas.
• I found a shuttle service from the casinos 1.5 miles away direct to the Reno airport.
• Brenda and I quickly re-arranged luggage and I put my rear rack on her bike.  ‘Gave her more tubes and tools. I gave Chuck some advice about packing Brenda’s bike at the end of the trip. 
• We hugged and we were off – my for an airplane and her continuing the bike ride.
• We’ll try to continue this blog jointly and remotely but already she’s discovered that Sorenson’s doesn’t have adequate cell service.  Walker, where they’re riding today, may not either.

On a completely different subject, last month I provided BAC photographs to a lady working with one of our members on a magazine article.  I has no idea what the article was going to say so just sent the best photos from our archive; I didn’t indetify the loaction, the bike ride, the subjects or the photographers.  So I was amused and please to finally see the article. The lead photo was not only from the Texas Hill Country that Brenda and I organized bit I’m the first rider in the photo. HERE IS THE ARTICLE

WHO’S RIDING? (BRENDA’S BIOS)

PATRICE VAN VLEET (Littleton,Co) was born in Heidelberg, Germany and lived there 6 years with her German mother and American father. From the beginning her mother spoke to her in German and her father spoke to her in English so she learned both languages simultaneously. Then the family moved to France for 5 years, mostly in Paris, where she also became fluent in French. To this day she and her mother, now living in California, speak German to each other. Another 2 years spent in Switzerland, then she moved to Santa Clara, CA. She graduated from San Jose State with a degree in Business and spent 15 years in corporate America working in different capacities before starting her own graphic design company in 1994.  She operated the business until 2006. She has been married to Glenn Guenterberg for 30 years. Their first BAC trip was in 2004: then they led trips to the Black Forest and Alsace in 2006. Her other hobby is tele-skiing