Fall Bike Ride Along the Truckee River and Lake Tahoe

My husband is the big time bike rider in our family.  He’s loved mountain biking for as long as I’ve know him and for years prior to that!  Every year for the past 8 we’ve gone to Lake Tahoe for our summer vacations and his bike comes with us.  He’s biked the Tahoe Rim Trail almost all the way around the lake and many other great trails, but never on the Tahoe City side.  As much as he wishes the 5 of us could all take on the rocks and ledges he can, on our last trip up to Tahoe we all took a leisurely ride along the Truckee River on a paved path!

With our stay at the Granlibakken Lodge we were able to get free bike rentals for the day.  With 3 of us being of perfect height for the one-size-fits-all bikes, my son managed to make the bike work for him even if his legs were a tad short.  Also, my five year old couldn’t be left behind so the lodge came up with an ingenious solution:  use a trail-a- bike!  While one of us drove to the bike shop, the others rode the bikes over to Olympic Bike Shop to get our addition.  After a few minutes and a wrench, my daughter was ecstatic to know that she could be a big girl (no training wheels), go on the bike ride, and even have the option to coast along when she got tired.  We were all a bit jealous!Another fabulous thing about the start of our day was that my near-teen had NO whining or complaining about the trip, she accepted the plan and went with it, I could cry happy tears!

So we planned out our path which for all our sakes minus my husband’s had to be short and sweet.  We left the lodge and headed toward town (the bike shop first) and then did a quick u-turn and down the road along the Truckee River.  The colors of the trees were amazing this fall day and the weather was just about 62 degrees and ideal.  No one was sweaty, it wasn’t freezing, and the smiles on everyone’s faces just made my heart melt.  We stopped for a break near the river and skipped rocks, played a bit in the water, and just took in the mountain air.

We hopped back on the bikes and headed back toward the bike shop and then took a turn toward the lake and to Commons Beach.  Due to construction, part of the bike path was closed but we did ride a fair way down and took in the amazing scenery.  It was at this point where we parked our bikes and sat down for a picnic lunch.  Pre-packed from the kitchen at the Granlibakken Lodge, we had turkey sandwiches, chips, bottled water, apples, a granola bar, and a cookie and let me just say everyone ate everything!  Bike riding sure works up an appetite and that meal was scrumptious for a bag lunch!  To my younger kids’ delight there was a playground on the beach to enjoy while we sat and chatted.  My parent who were staying in South Lake drove up and met us for lunch.  My oldest was still smiling and I was so proud that she was such a trooper!

If you can get up in the mountains, try a fall bike ride along the Truckee River and Lake Tahoe .  This experience renewed my faith in exercise, nature, and family fun that is for sure!

Thanks to Granlibakken Lodge and Olympic Bike Shop for the bike rentals, trail-a-bike, and bag lunches to make our day amazing!