I had previously posted a little story about Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.  Based on your emails, sounds like you enjoyed reading about it.  As I said, this was one of the best trails I had ever ridden.  Well, now here is a little story about the BEST trail I have ever ridden.  It is called the Tahoe Rim Trail. 

I won't spoil it by telling everything – too much hype is not good.  All I can say is that I have been to mountain bike heaven and it is known by the name of Tahoe Rim Trail.  If you make a personal list of "things to do before I die", make sure you add this to the list.

According to the locals, there are even BETTER trails than this.  Can't wait until next year.  A little geography.  Lake Tahoe is at 7000ft elevation and is a deep mountain lake.  In cross section it's like a letter "V" filled half way with water.  From the edge of the waterline, the lake gets very deep very fast.  Likewise – the mountains surrounding the lake get very steep very fast.  The Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) is a series of connecting trails (all singletrack!)  that circle on a rim above the lake.  The entire trail is over 85 miles and is never more than about 1 mile line of sight from the water.  There are a few sections that are closed to bikes (some of the real popular areas near small towns that also serve as access to other smaller mountain lakes).  There are also some sections which have parallel trails cut in to the woods so that hikers, horses, and bikes each have their own route.

The section of the trail that was recommend to me by the locals connects Kingsbury Pass to Spooner Lake.  It's not on the map and not in any trail book.  Now, I said this was the BEST trail I have ever ridden.  But you should know that it does NOT have many of the elements that we would normally think are required to make up a great trail.  There are no screaming kamakazi downhills.  No jumps – no place to get air.  No real obstacles to navigate over/around.  I would almost say the trail is "non-technical".  So how in the world could it be so great?  Well, first you must consider the general area and views.  The entire ride is on a singletrack cut through pine forest.  You are under this canopy of green with patches of clear Tahoe sunshine polka-dotting the trail.  The visual views are absolutely stunning.  The lake is in view nearly all of the time.  The air is crisp and clean and you get the idea that all this was put here just for you.  I saw only one group of 3 riders in 2 hours.  The second thing was the trail surface itself.  Hard to describe it.  Like hardpacked dirt/granite.  Just totally groomed and cut into a gentle sweep of trail.  Not really tight woodsy singletrack (like the farm), but not all that straight either.  It was the kind of trail that you almost could not even hear the sound of your tires on the ground.  Really gave the feeling of "floating" along.  A few little climbs and obstacles here and there but for the most part nothing that really stands out in my mind.  Other than the climb out from the trailhead would have been very doable on singlespeed.  I really can't remember if I changed gears much or not.  Can't even remember if I drank water or not.  Can't really remember ANYTHING, because this trail just puts you into a trance.  It's like nothing I ever experienced before.  Like ZEN mountainbiking.

Over the past year or so, I've really come to appreciate how diverse our sport is and how each different type of riding has it's merits.  I wondered why in the world would someone would want/need a 40 lb. downhill bike.  After riding in Whistler, I know.   I wondered why someone would pay mega-bucks for a superlight Ti hardtail which would be destroyed at someplace like Moab.  Now I know that this type of bike would be perfect on the Tahoe Rim.  I thought these Singlespeeders were crazy – until I tried it and fell in love.  Freeride bikes – maybe there is really something to it.  Tandams?  Unicycles?  Who knows?  It's all good.  It's all doable.  It's all available.  Just focus – commit – and RIDE.

Dave (August 2001)