John, Kevin, Nils, Max, and Terry
On Tuesday, June 28th, Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association (TAMBA) President Kevin Joell invited me along for an afternoon ride and evening dinner with International Mountain Bicycle Association (IMBA) Events Coordinator Terry Breheny. At the request of TAMBA, Terry is in the Tahoe area looking at potential sites to host the 2012 IMBA World Summit. Two other cities in the running for the World Summit are Jackson Hole, WY and Santa Fe, NM. Terry’s itinerary included stops at Squaw Valley, Northstar, and the Hyatt Regency in Incline Village.
Snow Pass
My day started at the Hyatt. The Flume Trail Bikes (FTB) shuttle picked us up at 1:30pm and shuttled the riders to the FTB shop at Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park, Spooner Lake. Joining us on the ride were FTB proprietor Max Jones, TAMBA Vice President John Drum, and TAMBA Communications/PR Director Nils Miller.
We set a casual pace up North Canyon giving everyone a chance to chat with Terry and provide him with some history of the area and to educate him on what the local advocacy groups are doing in the region; The great work the Poedunks are doing in Reno, the Carson Valley Trails Association in Minden/Gardnerville, and Muscle Powered’s recent & past successes.
Terry, Max, and John on the Flume
The snow is melting fast, though we still encountered quite a few patches on our way to the Flume Trail. Judging by the numerous stops along the trail to take photos, I think Terry was impressed with the ride.
From here we can see the future
We descended Tunnel Creek Rd to Hwy 28 and then headed back to the Hyatt where we met Hyatt representative Kristin Larson at the Lone Eagle Grill for dinner. Over dinner we discussed our families, bicycles, advocacy, more bicycles, and listened to Max’s racing stories and his adventures of clearing the Flume Trail back in the day.
Kevin and Max using a Leatherman to cut a tree
I would be surprised if IMBA didn’t choose Lake Tahoe for their 2012 World Summit. TAMBA did an outstanding job organizing the site visit on short notice, and the Hyatt did an excellent job welcoming Terry to the hotel (recognizing IMBA on the menu was a nice touch!).
Beautiful day on the Lake