A Weekend at Lake Tahoe

One of the large bikes found all over the Lake Tahoe area

We spent last weekend staying at the Marriott Grand Residence at Lake Tahoe with our son, our grandson, and our granddaughter. Our suite with one king bedroom, a double queen bedroom, and a living room with window seats that could be turned into beds was more than adequate. The three full bathrooms also added to our comfort. With a full, well-equipped kitchen, we ate breakfast in every morning and the rest of our meals out. One especially good meal was dinner at Scusa, a fine Italian restaurant where the waitress catered to us with friendliness and efficiency.

Our granddaughter spent most of her time in the large swimming pool, and we and our grandson loved the gondola ride up the mountain slopes behind our hotel. The views were breathtaking, and even the meal at Tamarack Lodge at the top of the mountain was pretty good. But for us the best part of the trip was riding our Dahon bikes with our grandson to see the glorious mountain and lake scenery. Because the seats on Dahons are adjustable, our grandson could easily ride one of my bikes. We set off each morning to see a different area and returned tired but happily chatting about our adventures. I will be putting up a complete blog about each trip as soon as I get around to it with videos, which we are always working to improve.

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A Day at Half Moon Bay

A View of Half Moon Bay

The day was clear but on the chilly side, weather not unusual for this part of California. We parked in the state park lot at Venice Beach, where our kids and grandkids settled in for a day at the beach. Following the path to the north we rode past ocean scenery as well as houses and even a large gathering of motorcyclists, who had disappeared by the time we returned on the path headed in the other direction.

At Princeton-by-the Sea, our furthest point to the north, we discovered a new shopping center and Caffee Mezza Luna where we had coffee in a pleasant courtyard. After a rapid stroll through the shopping center, we took the trail south, passing our beginning point to go into the little town of Half Moon Bay, where we had lunch with our family. A bit before we turned off on the road into Half Moon Bay, we passed through a part of the path bordered by hedgerows, where we saw small rabbits darting across the path, giving us the feeling of being in the English countryside.  In Half Moon Bay, we met our children and grandchildren at It’s Italia for an especially good lunch.

After lunch, we rode back to the Venice Beach where we flew kites with our grandchildren. It was a perfect day.

Click here to see scenes from our cycling trip on YouTube.

Rude Driver

Someone in a luxury vehicle of German make with a vanity license plate came awfully close to hitting me this morning when I was riding my bicycle on Blackhawk Road in Danville, CA around 10:25. I believe that he was trying to scare me, perhaps because he shares the widespread dislike of cyclists prevalent today. Drivers must remember that even though cyclists are slower than drivers we too have rights to the road. My husband and I try to be as considerate as possible, always riding single file and as far to the right as is feasible. However, there are times when a cyclist must take the lane, and drivers should respect this. It is not funny for someone to drive too close to a cyclist. It is both rude and dangerous.

Bicycle Friendly Campuses

The folks at bestcollegesonline.com have posted an article entitled “10 Most Bike-Friendly Campuses across America.” You might want to take a look at this article if you are a cyclist looking for a college or if you live near any of these campuses and are looking for a pleasant place to ride. Colleges and universities usually have good bookstores, and often there are museums with perhaps interesting places to eat nearby.

We have done good rides at both Stanford and UC Davis. Stanford has the Cantor Center for the Arts, which often has noteworthy exhibits, and the café there is worth a visit. Most of the campus is level, except for some of the streets that lead past professors’ houses, which shouldn’t be missed because of the varied architecture.

Hoover Tower

The article on our ride around Stanford plus a video may be found here.

Neither the University of California at Davis nor the town of Davis has moved far from its agrarian roots, making both the town and the campus peaceful oases for today. There are bike paths all over the campus, and in the town itself one does not feel threatened by the traffic. The cycling museum downtown is worth a visit, but for us the highlight of the trip was riding along Putah Creek through the Arboretum, where there are groupings of trees and plants according to their native parts of the world.

Putah Creek from the trail

The complete article on our trip to Davis, may be found here.

We hope to check out some of the other campuses in the future, as our travels and inclinations lead us to try new cycling routes.