Bueller…Bueller…anyone,anyone…?
Do I need to pre register if im only goin on friday?
Yes you will need to register.
not really. Northstar is a public place but you wont get the bulk rate lift ticket of $25 bucks. i think i read that its a standard $35 for a lift ticket. if thats right then it breaks even anyhow.
You might as well support the CMW initiative with that money though.
yep. like i said, it breaks even anyway. if it was $20 like last year i dont think i would have registared since it is a public place,im staying in a hotel and its going to cost $25 bucks this year just to ride on the first day.
So I have some 5 dollar off coupons for northstar I guess there is no way I could use it to make it 20 dollars?
Updates…
For Jagur and Dudley:
We have showers at the cabins. How much did you get the Truckee Inn for? Guess it doesn’t matter too much as their Saturday is full. I wonder if hotels do what airlines do–overbook their beds?
Cabin:
Anyway, we are about to book one cabin, which is now full. A second cabin is a possibility, but I would much rather have someone who will stay in it be in charge of it. In other words, a second cabin is up to a group of people to arrange. It should come out cheaper than hotel as long as you have enough people. Check out Martis Valley Vacation Rentals:
That’s where our first one will be (at Northstar).
The cabin I’m about to book should cost the 14 residents about $101 each for the weekend (3 nights). Anyone who needs to stay on Sunday night can get a hotel in Reno for pretty cheap (Sundays are way cheaper than Friday & Saturday). The Reno Hilton, which is very close to the airport, is $45. Priceline should net you something even cheaper.
When it’s done and booked, I will notify the cabin guests of the final details.
For Jeff Groves and others working out rides:
If you are still trying to arrange your rides, please start a new thread for this, with a useful title such as “CA MUni Weekend Rideshare.” A few others are working out rides as well. If you can get to Sacramento or Reno, I’m sure we can get you to MUni Weekend. Same goes for Gilby, who is coming into Sacramento.
Please Pre Register:
The reason to pre register is the same regardless of # of days riding. Less hassle at the beginning of the day waiting for me or others to handle paperwork. Please preregister if you can.
Registration only $10.00:
Paying the registration fee is not about what’s more convenient for you. These events do not happen spontaneously. There is a lot of effort involved, and costs are incurred other than the ones that get listed on the form. Think of it as paying for the priveledge of riding with such a big group. If you don’t think it’s worth $10 to do that, please ride the same trails on a different day.
For $20.00 maybe you should expect a little more, like a group dinner, but we don’t have anything worked out for that yet. If we do, it will be pay-as-you-go (or don’t).
Directions to locations:
I’m going to put up detailed driving directions for the main venues, and hopefully some useful maps. Don’t worry! First I’ve got to get the T-shirts ordered…
Re: Updates…
DudleyDoRide found a killer deal called the “stair climbers special” i guess the motel in Truckee doesnt have an elevator so there was a discount for this room on the top (3rd) floor… we can climb 3 flights for $65 a night divided by 2 anytime! as for Saterday night we have decided to drive farther away twords home (after hanging out where ever the partys at) on saturday night and get a place in Reno since Truckee is totaly booked for saturday night and everywhere else in the Tahoe area is over a $90 a night.
this working out quite nice…$65+$65+75 (maybe even cheaper than $75 for Saturday ultimatly) divided by 2 = $102.50
Re: Re: Updates…
What? I thought you promised me smelly feet in my face and taking over the shower because Salem rules over Seattle. Hope that doesn’t mean you’re bailing on the Sunday rides at Lloyd’s. I was counting on borrowing your Summit to wreck myself on his stunts.
Here’s how we can settle it: you bring your tools and I’ll bring mine, and we’ll have a “Dremel-off” competition on my Sun double-wide. Independent judges, points for both style and technical difficulty.
Re: Re: Re: Updates…
dont worry we’ll crash your cabin on Saterday night before we drive to Reno but yes we are not doing the Sunday ride because of work on Monday (just like last year)
hey, you now those nice pic’s that Showard posted awile ago of a Summit/KH hub that was totaly takin apart and had the nubs removed? that was mine, i sold it to him months ago.
For Jagur
If Reno is not on your way home from MUni Weekend, you should head the other way down 80 and try Auburn or Sacramento. Reno hotels are at premium prices on Saturday nights. I don’t know if Auburn/Sacramento are much better, but they should be an improvement on Reno for a Saturday. Almost all the Auburn motels are right along 80 as you pass through.
#1 Cabin Booked
I have reserved the cabin for the first 15 people who requested it. This was all the requests we had at the time, though a couple more have come since yesterday. More about that below.
This cabin is at Northstar, which is only a few miles down the road from central Truckee. Our total cost for the cabin will be about $948, which will come out to approx. $70 each. One person will be charged less for sleeping on the floor, and another guest will be on the floor one night only, so he’ll pay something even less. I’ve yet to do the math on that. Anyway, here is the cabin:
http://tinyurl.com/6387c
I will not get the web site updated until sometime next week, but when I do I will have directions and further details. Your cabin fees will be payable on arrival.
Second cabin?
The original plan was to book two of them, but the requests just weren’t coming in that fast. If we were to book two of them now, it might cost everybody twice as much. As MUni Weekend is now less than two weeks away(!), I am going to leave the second cabin up to you. In other words, if anyone wants to arrange the second one, I can help with the communications with people making requests, and pass them along to you.
Your best bet will be cabin K-005 from Martis (same place as the first one):
http://tinyurl.com/44grh
If available, this cabin shows a daily price of $275. Since this is the price shown on the page, request this price if they quote something higher (same thing happened with first cabin). Room for up to 12!
At the moment there are two people who have requested cabin space above and beyond the first one. In addition, we have a few guests who would prefer to stay Sunday night also, so maybe this is an option for cabin 2, and those people can come over to you.
Contact me if you are interested in working the second cabin.
The trails are amazing!
We’ve got some incredible trails lined up. Now I’ve actually seen them. Here’s a brief report. I hope to add more to the web site real soon:
Tahoe Rim Trail:
We rode this trail on Saturday. Lloyd Johnson has ridden it on a bike many times, but this was his first time on a unicycle. He recommended this ride over Mr. Toads or the Flume Trail. It’s a winner. Though Mr. Toad’s is still a great wild ride, this new trail is also top-of-the-line. As for the Flume Trail, there is no comparison.
We had a group of six on the trail, Lloyd, me, Scott Burleson, Zack Baldwin, Jess Riegel, and Jack Hughes. Everybody is now a big fan of this trail. It has nearly everything the Flume Trail has, and more:
- It is a little bit shorter, at 11-12 miles.
- It has nearly the same spectacular view of Lake Tahoe.
- It also has a spectacular view of the Nevada side, namely the Washoe and Carson valleys.
- Both of these views are from higher up than the Flume Trail.
- There is less climbing than the Flume Trail.
- And last but not least, it’s a lot more technically challenging!
The Flume Trail is all about scenery. The Tahoe Rim has the scenery, plus lots more to ride over. And rocks and logs to play on all along the way. On the downside, you do have a longer descent at the end of the ride. My knees were hurting (due to lack of riding since Unicon) on all the downhill at the end. Both trails actually finish on the same dirt, Tunnel Creek Road. We will end up at the Ponderosa Ranch parking lot.
Note: The Tahoe Rim Trail is actually about 162 miles long, going all they way around the lake. Only a few sections are open to cycling, and we’re just riding on a small one of those, near Mt. Rose.
I will try to get some of the amazing pictures we took posted to my site, or here, real soon.
Northstar:
This is not your father’s Northstar. Since 2000, the last time MUni Weekend was there, they added a few trails. These are some of the hardest trails I’ve ever been on. You want super-hard trails? You’ll get a choice of several double black diamonds. Our old favorite from MUni Weekends 1997 and 2000, Flameout, is still just as rocky and challenging as ever (single black diamond). It’s still not recommended if you don’t want a challenge. But these new trails are just over the top. Steep downhill, lots of rocks and drops, and even a few manmade wooden objects.
One of the guys commented that this should be the best MUni Weekend ever. Certainly we have some of the most challenging and beautiful trails. Plus we will introduce the Street competition on Sunday.
We also secured a location for a group dinner on Sunday. This will be the Cottonwood Restaurant and Bar in Truckee:
For $20 per person, we will have a section of the restaurant to ourselves, for buffet dining and an awards ceremony. More details to be provided on the web site.
John,
First of all, thanks much for checking these out, although it doesn’t sound like it pained you too much, what with the rave review!
You say less climbing than Flume…sorry, I don’t know how much climbing is required on the Flume. So, any idea how much climbing in the absolute?
Also, it sounds like it’ll be a shuttle ride…is that the case or is it an out and back? Are you still planning an easier option for Saturday?
Thanks. Looking forward to the weekend!
Jerry
Misc. stuff.
John,
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How cold was it at the beginning of the Rim trail ride? Do you recommend gloves for the beginning since it’s in the a.m.? How was the range of temps for that day of the ride?
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Did anyone use up any of their water and if so, is there access to any on the trail to filter and embibe?
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Did you guys sunscreen up before the ride?
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Can you offer an inside and outside duration time on the rim trail? I suspect with many riders, and playtime, the riding will be extended.
Sounds way cool!
good questions Rod
the water and the heat expirance please?
We didn’t get up there until around 11:00 and the weather was perfect. Morning temps are in the 50s, but if you stand out in the sun, it’s not even cold. The high that day was probably in the 80s. Morning temps could be as low as the 40s (overnight may dip into the 30s). I doubt gloves will be needed in September, but you should have warm clothes with you for the early mornings and evenings.
You must pack in your water. The big lake is in view during much of the ride, but you don’t actually get to it until the end. Most of the trail is 2000+ feet above the lake (which means 8200’ or higher). Not sure the actual altitudes, but we get up above 9000, which is higher than Mr. Toads Wild Ride at 8900.
I wear a 2 litre (100 oz) Camelbak, which is more than enough for me unless it’s really hot out. Nobody ran out. If they did, it was because they didn’t bring much. I had plenty left at the end of the ride. Weather and time on the trail are big factors in that. We played around a lot, and took a similar amount of time that will probably be taken next weekend.
Heck yeah. The higher you go, the more intense the UV. It’s very easy to burn up there. Good point!
I’m thinking we will meet at the trailhead at 10:00am, but the schedule is not set in stone yet. The duration of the ride is really up to how fast the group wants to progress, or how much time they want to spend hopping on rocks. If I get my pictures posted, you’ll see some of the numerous “play areas” along the way. Even at a pretty slow pace, including stopping for lunch, we should be out by 4:00. Note: this is slow enough for hikers, or slow riders, to keep up.
For jpcycler:
The Flume Trail has around 900’ of climb in it (all before you get to the flume part, which is downhill). This section of the Tahoe Rim has a climb near the beginning, but only a few hundred feet. Much less than the Flume. There are ups and downs throughout the trail, but mostly just enough to keep you honest. All the big downhill is at the end, where people with brakes will be happy they brought them along. That’s Tunnel Creek Road (same exit as the Flume Trail), a sandy road that just goes down and down, with beautiful views along the way.
Yes, the Rim is a shuttle ride. I hope to get directions posted before the end of the week. The alternate ride I’m going to recommend is the same ride, with a turnaround. This way you get to see some of the same scenery, ride with the big group, and still enjoy a real nice ride of whatever length you want. You may have to walk up the climb, but a lot of the more fit riders will probably find themselves walking as well… 
The other advantage of doing an out-and-back is that you can help with the car shuttling as well.
Alternate activities for non-riders:
If you have someone with you who’s not riding, or want to skip a day, there is a lot you can do in the Tahoe area. The big event going on next weekend (other than MUni) is the Reno Air Races. This is an extremely cool event, and I was disappointed to find out we’d scheduled on the same weekend. You see actual racing, plus air shows, plus airplane displays at the field. It’s less than a one hour drive away.
There is the Ponderosa Ranch, which pays tribute to the Bonanza and Ponderosa TV shows of the 60s (and 70s?). People taking a shorter ride on Saturday might go there, because that’s where the Rim Trail ride will finish.
There is Reno, with the usual casinos and such. There is also a whitewater kayaking park right in the middle of the downtown. Also in Reno is the National Automobile Museum, with a large collection of a wide range of cars dating back to 1893 or so, and up to Big Daddy Ed Roth’s Beatnik Bandit of the 60s.
And of course there is Lake Tahoe, surrounded by scenery. A drive down to Emerald Bay is like walking through a postcard.
Those are just a few of the choices. That’s enough of writing here, got to save some for the web site…
Re: The trails are amazing!
darn, we were hoping for a Saturday night thing like last year. we will be going North and staying in Susanville after the Rim trail so we wont be around on Sunday. going to Susanville will cut off 2 hours of drive time when we wake up Sunday.
i’ll have to put somone in charge to accept my award :o
Sorry about the Sunday group dinner. We were stuck with Sunday for the competitions, so it only follows to do the awards after that. I know a lot of people will be under pressure to get out of town that day.
Sunday is a mountain bike race at Northstar. Saturday is the only legal day we can ride the Tahoe Rim. So there you go. Otherwise I would have switched Northstar and Lloyd’s.