07_27_2010 June Lake/Tioga Pass/Tuolumne Road Ride
Last year we talked about it, this year we did it: Road riding over Tioga Pass. We started at the June Lake Junction at 395, and rode around the June Lake Loop. When we hit 395 again, we noticed some commotion across the freeway (you can see it in a photo). I thought perhaps it was a fire (given the recent lightning), but it seemed it could have been a dust storm too. More on this later...
Aside from getting it in the photo, we didn't give it much thought. We headed north on 395 to Lee Vining and turned west. Just 13 miles and 3,500 feet in elevation gain would take us to Tioga Pass which lies Yosemite National Park. (note: I find that different sources offer different distances. I've seen from 11 to 13 miles quoted. All I know is that for me, it was a 70 mile day - for Dave it was a bit more as he would ride down and back up some sections).
Tioga Pass was built in two phases - the first was constructed in 1883 and the second in 1910. The pass sits at 9,945 feet in elevation and is the highest automobile pass in California. Construction we rode up- from Lee Vining to the Pass - began 1902 and cost only $63,000. Funny to think that people drive up this pass now in vehicles that cost far more than that! It is considered a monument to the skill of the state civil engineers given its route up Lee Vining Canyon (maximum grade of 8%- but about 8 miles of it). It is very narrow and has steep drops off to Lee Vining Creek below.
Up we went. The views were really beautiful - Lakes, snow, flowers, critters, birds, mountains... And happily my feet were silent during this. The line to get into Yosemite was a crazy as one would expect!
We then zoomed down 1,500 vertical feet to the Tuolumne Grill in the Meadows for some tea and a snack. This portion of the pass (and it goes much further than we took it down) was actually constructed in 1883 for $61,000. The down-riding was fun and fast, but nagging in the back of my head was the fact that we had to ride back up in a short period. Doh.
After a little break, we headed back up. Traffic was a bit worse here but it seemed to be over soon enough. The extreme narrowness of the road was evident as the large rent-a-RVs whizzed by with their amateur drivers forgetting they are driving something larger than a Celica. I think it was the most stressful part of the ride.
The next portion was the most fun - 13 miles of downhill on a newly paved road! We couldn't just go nuts though since a mistake on parts of this descent would lead to certain death as one would be launched into space over the abyss. Gusty cross-winds ensured that Dave wouldn't try to break the land speed record.
To our surprise, we had to stop two times on the way down to let the traffic get ahead of us. The grade is steep enough that truck and car brakes were burning up all around. Some trucks and RVs were heading down at what seems to have been 5mph (no exaggeration). To avoid being in the midst of these vehicles, we'd pull over and give them a chance to get some distance. In one case, we finally passed a truck (that likely burst into flames sometimes thereafter - ha!) which gave us some wide open road to zoom down.
We stopped at the Mobil for a tea. I felt good and was excited to push hard on the last 11 miles south on 395 to the June Lake Junction (we opted not to take the loop on the return trip). Given this was the third real ride my feet had been on since reconstruction, I was happy they were doing so well.
We turned the corner to go South on 395 and were smacked in the face with strong, gusty head winds. Why are they always head winds? They were brutal. While faster than me, Dave was in awe of the head winds as well. One thing to distract us from the gusts was that the dust storm/maybe fire we saw earlier that day was clearly a fire. A big fire (Mono Lake Fire). We watched helicopters drop water on the huge flames.
This last 11 miles were the toughest part of the day. When I finally pulled into the parking lot I was uncertain if I would just fall over or actually be able to get off my bike the normal way. I was wrecked. Yet, it was still great fun. And the smoke from the fire made for an extra colorful sunset at camp.
Last year we talked about it, this year we did it: Road riding over Tioga Pass. We started at the June Lake Junction at 395, and rode around the June Lake Loop. When we hit 395 again, we noticed some commotion across the freeway (you can see it in a photo). I thought perhaps it was a fire (given the recent lightning), but it seemed it could have been a dust storm too. More on this later...
Aside from getting it in the photo, we didn't give it much thought. We headed north on 395 to Lee Vining and turned west. Just 13 miles and 3,500 feet in elevation gain would take us to Tioga Pass which lies Yosemite National Park. (note: I find that different sources offer different distances. I've seen from 11 to 13 miles quoted. All I know is that for me, it was a 70 mile day - for Dave it was a bit more as he would ride down and back up some sections).
Tioga Pass was built in two phases - the first was constructed in 1883 and the second in 1910. The pass sits at 9,945 feet in elevation and is the highest automobile pass in California. Construction we rode up- from Lee Vining to the Pass - began 1902 and cost only $63,000. Funny to think that people drive up this pass now in vehicles that cost far more than that! It is considered a monument to the skill of the state civil engineers given its route up Lee Vining Canyon (maximum grade of 8%- but about 8 miles of it). It is very narrow and has steep drops off to Lee Vining Creek below.
Up we went. The views were really beautiful - Lakes, snow, flowers, critters, birds, mountains... And happily my feet were silent during this. The line to get into Yosemite was a crazy as one would expect!
We then zoomed down 1,500 vertical feet to the Tuolumne Grill in the Meadows for some tea and a snack. This portion of the pass (and it goes much further than we took it down) was actually constructed in 1883 for $61,000. The down-riding was fun and fast, but nagging in the back of my head was the fact that we had to ride back up in a short period. Doh.
After a little break, we headed back up. Traffic was a bit worse here but it seemed to be over soon enough. The extreme narrowness of the road was evident as the large rent-a-RVs whizzed by with their amateur drivers forgetting they are driving something larger than a Celica. I think it was the most stressful part of the ride.
The next portion was the most fun - 13 miles of downhill on a newly paved road! We couldn't just go nuts though since a mistake on parts of this descent would lead to certain death as one would be launched into space over the abyss. Gusty cross-winds ensured that Dave wouldn't try to break the land speed record.
To our surprise, we had to stop two times on the way down to let the traffic get ahead of us. The grade is steep enough that truck and car brakes were burning up all around. Some trucks and RVs were heading down at what seems to have been 5mph (no exaggeration). To avoid being in the midst of these vehicles, we'd pull over and give them a chance to get some distance. In one case, we finally passed a truck (that likely burst into flames sometimes thereafter - ha!) which gave us some wide open road to zoom down.
We stopped at the Mobil for a tea. I felt good and was excited to push hard on the last 11 miles south on 395 to the June Lake Junction (we opted not to take the loop on the return trip). Given this was the third real ride my feet had been on since reconstruction, I was happy they were doing so well.
We turned the corner to go South on 395 and were smacked in the face with strong, gusty head winds. Why are they always head winds? They were brutal. While faster than me, Dave was in awe of the head winds as well. One thing to distract us from the gusts was that the dust storm/maybe fire we saw earlier that day was clearly a fire. A big fire (Mono Lake Fire). We watched helicopters drop water on the huge flames.
This last 11 miles were the toughest part of the day. When I finally pulled into the parking lot I was uncertain if I would just fall over or actually be able to get off my bike the normal way. I was wrecked. Yet, it was still great fun. And the smoke from the fire made for an extra colorful sunset at camp.
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