Steve's Mountain Bike Page
Turlock, California

"The Punisher"
Tahoe Rim Trail: Kingsbury Grade down Mr. Toads Wild Ride
Lake Tahoe CA/NV, September 16, 2006

You never know when the riding season at Tahoe is going to end so I wanted to get in at least one more Punisher ride this year. But I'm kind of slow and few people respond when I post a ride. So I got K-Max to secretly post the ride for me, and he induced about 23 people to join him (me). It probably also helped that he provided lodging for most of them too. Well, a cold front moved in Friday and early Saturday morning (9/16) the temperature was near a record low of about 25 degrees, at the lower elevation in town. But everyone seemed well prepared and we only felt a bit cold while waiting to get started.

The Punisher is "only" 25 miles but it starts at 7,500 feet and you climb over 5,100 ft. at up to 9,750 ft. elevation. It has several tough hike-a-bikes and then culminates with the quite technical Mr. Toads Wild Ride downhill. Despite the low temperature, the ride was quite pleasant, since there was little wind and the high elevation sun felt quite warm. The first nine miles is mostly climbing and the layers of clothing were quickly shed. Tahoetic joined me in my tortoise strategy of continuing on while the others took breaks, so we managed to stay at or near the front of the pack for most of the ride. On the first major drop down Freel Pass I did an endo on a narrow section with a good drop-off to the side, landing on my back like a turtle, right on the edge of the drop-off, with my head toward the down slope. That's often quite a difficult position to get out of by yourself and I knew my bike was hanging over the edge. So rather than risk losing it, I just stayed on my back for a minute or so until Jasmina came by and pulled me and the bike to safety. After stopping on Toads to take photos, at least half the group caught and passed me, and my performance down Toads left much to be desired. But I've done worse.

Somebody had a pretty good fall on a tree stump near Star Lake, hurt their ribs quite badly, and they were accompanied down a bail-out by another person. I'm sorry I do not recall their name and I did not hear the outcome before I left. I hope he is OK. The cold sapped much of my battery strength and it appears after 3 1/2 years of serious abuse, my camera is on its last legs anyway. So I did not get as many photos as I had hoped. But I believe several others had cameras, so perhaps they'll post when they return. Thanks everyone for a great ride, and especially K-Max for putting the ride together!

Click on an image to enlarge it

First break	Jasmina	On the trail	Chum	Break at Star Lake
Break at Star Lake	Lake Tahoe	On the trail	Lake Tahoe	Plim near 9,750 ft
9,750 ft.	The trail	Another break	The trail	8Trak
K-Max	Jasmina	Grinding uphill	Hurleyskis	Victor
Rensho	Chum	Hurleyskis	Watching the jumpers	Endo recovery
Rensho	Star Lake	Last climb before Toads	8Trak down Toads	After the ride

Elevation profile courtesy of Dan'ger

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