While this year’s annual Tahoe drive did not start as planned, the drive itself was just as much fun as in years past. We attempted to try a new route for this year’s trip, however one of the roads was closed due to construction, so we went with plan B, which was a previously taken route.
Meeting up Saturday morning in Folsom, the group was smaller than years past. We were 22 cars strong, with vehicles ranging from BMW, Audi, Jaguar, McLaren, Mustang, Acura, GTR, Porsche, and VW. After a cup of coffee, morning greetings and a drivers meeting, the group hit the road at 7:30am.
Making our way up HWY 50 for a short stint, we exited and made our way through the mountain town of Placerville. Once out of town, we hit the first of the fun sections, and the group was off and running. We like to call the first part of this section “The Autobahn,” as the road is smooth, open and lots of fun. Reaching the first checkpoint, we regrouped and headed on a scenic cruise section through the mountains, taking in gorgeous Tahoe vistas, meadows and spring flowers. After a quick restroom and fuel stop at Lake Topaz, the group was back on the road to the hill climb section. Making the tight, twisty climb up the mountain, we reached the top and started back down to the canyon run where we had to stay even more alert than usual due to the unusual number of cyclists on the road.
While we shared the road, these are not roads I advise a cyclist to be on, as the roads are narrow and there are a lot of blind turns. Fortunately, our group runs with radios, which helps to increase the safety for both driver and cyclist. After dodging the cyclist obstacles, we made it to the next regroup stop and then headed into South Lake Tahoe for lunch.
Following lunch, the group headed out toward Emerald Bay. However, shortly after we made the turn north onto HWY 88, traffic came to a slow crawl. Traffic reports indicated traffic would be a slow crawl all the way to Emerald Bay due to summer crowds and a possible accident. Therefore, the group decided to skip this stop and head home via HWY 50. However, about 3 miles outside South Lake, we came to a complete standstill. It turned out the highway was closed due to 2 accidents. Once we saw a life flight helicopter take off ahead, we knew the road would likely remain closed a while longer, and therefore turned around for yet another detour.
With the help of our radios, we were able to get everyone turned around and regrouped in order to head back into South Lake Tahoe. From there we headed home via the Mormon Trail. As we started the trek home, there was an afternoon storm brewing. The group was now playing “race the storm,” which we won as we turned south onto HWY 88. From that point on, it was smooth sailing all the way home. Despite the numerous plan changes required throughout the day, the trip was fun as always.
Be sure to join us on our next day drive, which will be to Ice House. And for even more adventure, come join us on our next road tour in October, the Fire Tour. You will not want to miss it, as this tour will be EPIC!
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