Ride

Route is a big clockwise loop from Shaver Lake up and around Huntington Reservoir primarily on high-Sierra pavement with some biggish descents and climbs. There’s a spirited forest-road offshoot from Tamarack down Dinkey Creek. Amongst the spectrum of gravel rigs are many road bikes on slicks.

Quiet packet time and breakfast as the sun kicks up over Shaver Lake. Nice peaceful scene… Once we get rolling there’s some time to warm up before the wicked descent into Camp Sierra. A mix of hubris, confident skills, and self-preservation; big slicks and disc brakes on the Revolt felt good.

My GPS tracking bonked out early on the timed 10% Big Creek Climb segment, a failed opportunity for cranking out some bragging rights. Up on top of that mountain of granite we got to enjoy a meandering, rolling ride around the Huntington reservoir. Partly very pretty lakeside forest, but much of the eastern shoreline is barren, decimated from the massive 2020 Creek forest fires. Hard to shake the looming feeling of unease and fragility under the massive scale of this place.

Somewhere along the long climb up away from Huntington, I pulled ahead of riding buddy Jay. Waited to regroup at the aid station up top at Tamarack. And waited… An hour, no signs of Jay, no cell signal… I did notice the support ambulance drive by but hadn’t thought much of it given how mellow the riding had been. At some point had to make a call and press on, sorry buddy.

Through the forest on Rock Creek toward Dinky Creek, the epic high Sierra views were a persistent distraction from the super dodgy massive-pot-hole par-course… their looming ragged square edges a constant reminder that I had forgotten to bring a spare tube. Eventually hit the rapid pavement of Dinky Creek and sent it home. Just into town my phone lit up with all the frantic confused messages…

Found Jay back at camp, he’d hitched a ride from the Ambulance crew having tapped out not feeling well. Took a while to get here, but the highlight of the mellow post-ride scene was Mad Duck’s Seasonal Kolsch. So good, so cold, so crisp. Best beer I’ve ever had.

Gear notes:

• Wide slicks are fine for this route… 40c a little lean for the looser fire-road gravel, bigger always better but there’s quite a lot of paved time here. Just make sure to have a backup tube, knucklehead.
• Having no cell signal sucks, and it’s always when things go sideways. Satellite radios? Long-range walkies? Need something…