The day started bright and kept getting better and better. After waking up a bit on the early side, I had a couple of cups of coffee on the lovely front porch of Maria's home, listening to the birds, and admiring the beautiful surroundings of this quaint neighborhood. It was delightful.
After breakfast which was prepared by Maria and consisted of a delicious combination of veggies, eggs, and seasoned turkey, served with tortillas, I decided to tackle my first major hike: Empire Mine State Park - literally blocks away from the house. This hike took me a good 2.5 hours and was mix of wide service road and single track trails. I worked up a good sweat moving briskly through the various mining topography, wrapping it up with visit to the park's visitor center.
Empire Mine Blew My Mind! The entire region of Grass Valley literally sits on top of the network of tunnels, shafts, and chambers that comprise Empire Mine; the deepest portions of which extend down almost 2 miles below ground. The entire network was flooded when the mine was closed. What an incredible operation it must have been.
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| Original mining equipment |
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| The main Shaft where miners began their work day |
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| Mining Yard - A mini city really |
After exploring Empire Mine, it was quickly back to the house to clean up, change, pack up, suit up, and roll. I made an 11th hour decision to continue on the hwy 49 and make a stop in Downville - home to what is described as some of the best mountain biking ever. So made my way through a fantastic part of 49 (lots of sweepers, a few nice hairpins, smooth and uniform asphalt, gorgeous views of the Yuba river the whole way, and only a few cars. Arrived at Downville which is a tiny mountain town situated right on the river and quickly made my way over to Downville Outfitters to inquire about renting a bike and jumping on the shuttle ride to the higher elevation. I made it just in time and got a hold of the last bike available. Luck!!
Let me just state for the record that this 3.5 plus hour mountain bike ride is now the best ride of my life! It was incredible. The trails went on and on, lots of variety, single smooth, cool understory, stream crossings, rock hopping, bumbp jumping, bike carries (both up and down), steeps, slopes, and shoots galore. It was also the most strenuous ride I have ever done. I ran out of water, even after cooling off in the crystal clear cool flowing waters of Yuba. It had me a bit worried to be that exhausted, that thirsty, and that freaked out. Oh yeah, I also almost got bit by a rattle snake. It happened so fast. Heard it, saw it strike out of the corner of my eye, and the thing nearly bit my bike tire. I honestly couldn't tell if I had ran over it or if it was just sitting on the side of the trail.
After returning to Downville and downing almost a liter and a half of water, it was time to pack back up and head onto to Lake Tahoe. And, just when I though the day could not get any better, here comes a cool and smooth ride through the Tahoe Forest on what looked to be a newer part of hwy 49. It was like butter, taking turns just a tad more spirited than earlier in the day but also feeling a sense of ease and being more relaxed - or maybe I'm confusing it with the feeling of exhaustion. In any case, got into South Lake Tahoe a bit later then anticipated, to arrive at a less inspiring AirB&B then I was used to. Oh well. It's only for this one night (a quick one I hope) and then it's off to Mammoth Lakes for more Sierra Adventure.
Until next time....
-MB
What a long day of riding this first one turned out. I think I was in the saddle a good 7 hours total! But man....that highway 49 is some road. Lots of twisties - hairpins galore! A good number of sweepers, and enough straights to keep the Harley guys happy. Newer asphalt on almost the entire length - although there were black snakes in quite a few areas - something tells me that they were intentionally added to the surface of the road to keep the bikes from getting too crazy. And I sure could feel the rubber responding to them and not in a good way. Throughout the day, the 49 seemed to be either totally wide open (no cagers), or stacked up with weekenders trying to find some outdoor fun. It was a hot one today - mid 90's for most of my trek and I sure felt it under the riding gear. That said, I really enjoyed many of the stops along the way north. There were certainly quite a few places one could stop so I had to be quite selective otherwise it would have taken me even longer today.
I decided to take up Maria's recommendation and dine at Diego's - Latin American restaurant. "No good Mexican food here in Grass Valley" (according to Maria). But Latin American? OK then....Turned out to be a good choice. I was able to get a nice quaint corner table and do a bit of reading, thinking, texting. and of course eating once my food arrived. 
