Lake Tahoe~Race Around the Lake

By Joseph and Amy

On September 26-28, we took our trip to Lake Tahoe that we've been planning for months. Soon after moving to Northern California last year, Joseph expressed a desire to participate in the Lake Tahoe Marathon Week cycling race around the perimeter of the lake. He invited a couple of friends from high school who share his love of cycling to participate with him. We turned it into a reunion of sorts and had lots of fun visiting with all of our families. Joseph's mom also joined us from Utah with his younger siblings, Isaac and Celeste and helped us cheer him on.

We arrived and quickly settled into the large cabin we had rented near Zephyr Cove (where the race started and ended) and then headed down to the beach for the kids to play and to watch the beautiful sunset.

The riders......Brent Wall, Paul Frandsen, and Joseph Lee The temperatures were very pleasant during the weekend, but I don't think they were nearly warm enough for our kids to be in their bathing suits. They insisted on wearing them anyway and both of our girls jumped into the extrememly cold lake with their dad. I was surprised to see Brynn fully submerge into the icy water, and Abby kicking around with water up to her neck. They didn't seem to mind the bitter cold (they get that from their dad)....until after they got out....brrrr! I'm sure we looked like crazy parents, but they survived!
When they finished swimming, they bundled back into their clothes and enjoyed playing in the sand and on the playground with all of the other children.

We waited long enough to see a magnificent sunset and then headed back to the cabin for a pre-race pasta dinner.

It was fun to see the guys strategize after dinner. Paul had his laptop out and they were discussing pelaton etiquette and lots of other stuff about elevations climbs, nutrition, and hydration that I don't completely understand. Joseph was expecting a century type event, where things are a little more leisurely, you can enjoy the scenery, maybe even take a few pictures, but was very surprised that this race was all about speed. Joseph almost took his camera along for the ride, but Paul told him that wouldn't be a good idea. After the race, I overheard the guy who took second place, a cat-3 rider , say that it felt like a 72 mile time trial. I can't imagine what it must have felt like. The guys did an amazing job!

Here's Joseph's account of the race....

I have enjoyed fantastic cycling since I discovered the sport shortly after our marriage. First as a mountain biker in Utah and Washington during college and law school and now as a road cyclist these last couple of years. Almost all of my riding on my road bike has been on my own and I have always pushed my pace hard and enjoyed the rush and thrill of breathtaking vistas, exhilarating speeds, and leg and lung-pounding exercise. I LOVE CYCLING!!! Being a fan of professional cycling events like the Tour De France has only made my own training all the more enjoyable.

Well about 4 months ago I had this idea to enter the Great Lake Tahoe Bike Race as part of the Lake Tahoe Marathon week of events. I invited my high school friends Brent Wall and Paul Frandsen to race/ride with me, and I told them I would like us to try and accomplish the 72 mile event in under 4 hours, an average of 18 mph. Both friends were gung ho and managed to sign up for the race paying the $100 dollar entry fee before I did. I shopped online and found a big cabin to rent near Zephyr Cove where the race started and ended. Now it was just time to train! Paul jumped into training full force, riding 5 times most weeks and shedding 30 lbs. over the summer to be in peak racing condition. Brent managed 3 rides a week in Utah at elevation, and I.... well, I managed an average of 1 time per week most of the summer. Between our busy remodel at work, and a busy church calling, I did what I could. One good training ride a week early Saturday mornings. Amy was a great sport and was very understanding when I would be up and out of the house by 6:00 a.m. for 3-6 hours on a Saturday in order to get to the nearest roads with hills, which happens to be around the Lake Berryessa mountain range which I've grown to love. I live at sea level (Okay, 60 feet above sea level) and for this race I needed any elevation and altitude training I could get. (Lake Tahoe sits at 6,200 feet). In addition to those early morning Saturday rides near our home, there were a few Friday night Young Men's campouts in the High Sierra Nevada Range here in California. On each of those campouts I was afforded wonderful training opportunities on very early Saturday mornings while the youth slumbered in their tents! I'll post those pictures and write about those rides soon!

For the most part, I worked alot this summer, served in the Bishopric the best I could, and played with my beautiful Amy Jo and our kids the rest of the time.

Here are a few fun facts about the event (of course after this year's race, some of these facts have changed!)

1. This event is designed to let you see how fast you can go around Lake Tahoe.

2. The route is 72.2 miles with nearly 4,000 feet elevation gained.
3. You will receive handsome achievement awards for riding under 4 hours and 3:30.
4. And you are also competing against the field for a small purse.
5. Our current record is 3:01 held by Jeff Schalk of San Francisco.
6. We have a $500 bounty to award the person who establishes a new record.
7. Legend has it that Greg Lemond did it in 3:15 as a high school student while growing up in Reno.
8. The first 9 miles is through about 25 stop lights with a police escort for the lead Peloton.
9. Any one may ride but we do have a 6 hour time (7am to 1pm) limit for timing purposes.

When the week of the race finally arrived, I was sick... not nervous... sick with a terrible chest cold that lasted 10 days prior to the race until a few days afterward. Sickness wouldn't help me be fast! I drowned myself in fluids, vitamins, and decongestants while attempting to carbo-load the 5 days before the race. I was so excited to take Friday the 26th off from work and meet the crew at beautiful Lake Tahoe. We checked into our cabin, made a yummy lunch, talked politics and the financial crisis the nation is in, and then Paul and Brent and I rode our bikes for 40 minutes to stretch a little and get out the jitters before we headed with our wives and the kids to the lake front. Brynn and Abby and I swam in the crystal waters and it was refreshingly freezing! Aaron dabbled his toes in and Amy nervously watched us all, hoping she wouldn't have to jump in and save any of us during her 9th month of pregnancy. Lake Tahoe is clear and gorgeous! We visited on the shore until sunset and then returned to the cabin for a homemade pasta buffet - delicious!

Before bed we watched Lance Armstrong highlights from a DVD video I have showcasing his 7 Tour de France wins. Paul talked race strategy and his determination that we race hard, near the front through the police escort for the first 10 miles or so. I really didn't know what to expect. I had watched plenty of professional cycling and was awed that the group, the peleton could ride so close together and so fast! There is a 25% energy saving that comes with drafting closely behind the rider in front. Brent and I listened to Paul and said we would do our best. He had experienced peleton riding with his buddies in medical school and was better prepared strategically for what lie ahead in the morning than Brent and I were. I slept a restless but peaceful night... maybe 4 hours with kids waking up needing a drink or to find the bathroom, etc.

5:30 a.m. came and it was time for an oatmeal and banana breakfast, time to dress in our Garneau Croc's matching pink jersey's (Paul's great idea), sleeves, knee warmers, gloves, helmets, etc. Pack our spare tubes, patches, CO2 cartridges, water-bottles, mangoes and Fig-Newtons for energy and we headed off for the 3 mile ride in the dark to the start line. At Zephyr Cove Resort, where the race began, there was a buzz in the air as racer's pinned on numbers (#7247), and flourescent green stickers to the front of our bikes and helmets to signify which event we were racing in. Looking around I realized this was the nearest thing to the "real deal" that I had yet participated in. Besides the two centuries I had completed (Tour De St. George 06', and Foxy's Fall Century in Davis, CA 07') which are well supported and more casual pace (plenty of food and beverage support along the course and not officially timed), this was the first real race I had participated in. Shortly before 7:00 we were all lined up, 180 of us on a cone lined lane of Highway 50. I was next to Brent, smiling broadly and tickled pink (literally) for the adventure ahead. The shotgun fired at 7:00 sharp... where was Paul? Lucky we were in bright pink as Brent I were able to spot Paul ahead moving steadily toward the front of the pack, positioning himself according to his predetermined race strategy. The atmosphere was electric! One girl crashed right in front of Brent and I when a rider in front of her knocked over a cone. About 100 feet ahead there were both a police car with lights flashing (just like the Pros!) and a motorcyle leading the pack. The 10 or so stop lights through South Lake Tahoe City were held by police officers at each corner and we were able to fly along and through at 25 - 30 miles per hour in the massive heaving group, each rider jockeying for position, which was like a snake that sped past the casinos of South Tahoe, then curved into the dense forest along the lake shore road. I managed to keep track of Paul ahead nearly 50 feet, and Brent and I kept our eye on each other while keeping my focus on the riders and tires in front of me, touching my brakes as not to bump anyone or be the cause of a crash. This was a new and fast game that I liked! I couldn't believe the fast pace and adrenaline rush the race environment fostered within me. I wondered how long we could keep this pace in such a tight group when suddenly the road began to climb steeply upward. The riders at the front (which primarily rode for semi-pro Northern California race teams) surged forward and upward as the road switched back and forth up to the top of Inspiration Point overlooking Emerald Bay. My legs burned and my lungs seared as I attempted to pick up the pace and keep up with the leading pack. I could see Paul 200 feet ahead with a fast group going around a switchback. The larger peleton had blown up over the short and steep 12% grade, 800 foot elevation climb to inspiration point. I had managed to hang on to the tail of the fastest group in the race. (Later Brent told me that after he lost me on the climb he pulled a head of the rest and there was a big gap after him which required him to ride the next 10 miles by himself.... not an easy thing to do). Next came a 300 foot elevation descent and 300 foot rise (a "V" shape) at the top of which I had caught back up with Paul and a group of 7 before the road dropped again and I lost Paul and the 7. Rats! Quick cycling fact: a group typically rides faster then a solo rider because of the drafting effect. I pedaled in earnest to catch up and by the top of the next rise was on Paul's tail. The road then made another descend and I was off the back again before I could join the group. Double Rats!! I prayed and pedaled now 200 yards behind Paul's group and as the road went upward again I gave it all I had to bridge the 200 yard gap by the top of the rise. Because I had exerted so much personal energy trying to catch up, I was exhausted when I made it to the group. Paul recognized this and put his hand on the back of my saddle and pushed and pedaled with me for 50 feet or so giving my legs just enough of a break to tuck me into the group of 8.

From then on the theme was tuck in and hold-on for dear life! I was not going to be dropped again or it would be lights out for me! In a near straightline we hugged the white painted line marking the side of the road as we zipped along the Western then Northern shores of Lake Tahoe. I didn't dare eat, I didn't dare drink.....just concentrate, draft, conserve, pedal and for me, hold on as long as I could. When we came to a water station in Tahoe City, 3 or 4 volunteers handed us water bottles as we rode by without stopping. I managed to sip and snack on some dried mangos for energy as we wove in and out of each crystal and turqouise bay. Our group passed two much larger groups of 35 mile and 20 mile event racers, as we passed through Incline Village on the beautiful Northeast end of the lake. The pace kept picking up as we passed more racers from the shorter distance events and even caught up with some of stragglers who had dropped off the back of the fastest groups in the very front. As the road went up, once again Paul had positioned himself in the lead group going up the climb to Spooner Summit. This time I was dropped with 4 other riders. No problem, I was tired and happy and would ride strong at my own pace solo to the end. The road climbed for 6 miles before a mix of flats, small hills, and descents the last 5 miles. I crossed the line alone in 3:08.59 with Paul who had just finsihed before me, cheering me on at the finish! We joyously embraced! I was ecstatic, had completed the race more than 50 minutes faster than my goal of under 4 hours, averaged nearly 23 miles per hour, and rode probably faster and better than my conditioning level and the sickness I was suffering from! Absolute victory!!! I finished 28th out of the 180 riders, within 7 minutes of the course record of 3:01 (amazingly this year, a group of 9 which included semi-pro team racers finished in 2:59, smashing the 5 year old record!) It was a riot! I loved the experience.

I immediately called our wives and my mom to join us at the end to cheer on Brent. To their surprise, Paul and I were already done. They were with us in minutes and we cheered on Brent Wall at the finishing time clock. Amy and the girls made awesome flourescent posters to cheer on their "pink dudes". We all recieved finishers medals, a license plate cover, and we even recieved a trophy for finishing under 3.5 hours. What a fun, challenging, wonderful bike race! I can't wait to do it again next year -- and next time train more, ride more strategically, and not get sick!

Amy Jo and the kids were so wonderful to be there to cheer us on. I love my beautiful wife and kids and I love the adventure of wholesome family recreation and outdoor physical exercise. Our Father in Heaven has made some beautiful places, and the Sierra Nevada range with it's alpine crystal clear lakes is certainly among His crowning creations.

Besides a little fatigue in the legs, we enjoyed a wonderful Saturday afternoon, taking the kids to the top of Heavenly Ski Resort aboard the Heavenly Gondola ride. Our kids enjoyed hiking around and on top of the giant granite boulders and fallen pine trees. Next we drove to the top of Emerald Bay and Inspiration Point for hiking and pictures and I relived those first brutal switchbacks that blew the race apart, explaining play by play to Amy what I had gone through. We ended our evening enjoying some mexican food, then soaking in the hot tub beneath the stars and visiting with the other couples until past midnight. My wife and children are simply wonderful. Amy Jo orchestrated the food and packing for the trip so I could focus on work, and everything came off perfectly! It was so fun to plan a family vacation with friends that involved a fitness event to participate in. I will never forget this wonderful first real race, and perfect trip with my dear ones.

Joseph and Paul at the end of the race.
The kids all had a great time playing with Isaac. He helped make the trip fun for everyone!
Abby adored and doted on Paul and Amy's twin daughters, Bekah and Abby and Brent and Lindy's little daughter Lydia. On the way home she said, "I wish the Frandsen's and the Wall's could live by us!"

It was fun making posters to cheer the guys on before the race. All the kids designed their own using their own creativity and it was pretty cute to see the individualism in each poster. We have to give credit to Lindy for the more professional looking posters that we wives got to hold up. She is a creative genius and did a great job!

Joseph, Aaron and Grandma Shawny

Joseph, Isaac and Celeste....you have to look close to see Isaac, he sort of blends in with his shirt. :)
I'm so proud of my man!


We love our pink dudes! They all did awesome!

The riders who finished under 3 hours 30 minutes.



We loved being in the moutains on the Heavenly Gondola ride.

Spectacular views of the lake and the moutains.

Joseph was so proud of what great hikers the kids were. He has the mountains in his blood and it makes him so happy to be near or in the mountains.
The view of Emerald Bay as dusk approached.

It looks like snow in the mountains, doesn't it? It's actually just the granite rock of the Sierra Nevada Range.
Thanks Joseph for having the desire to participate in such a fabulous event. I love every opportunity we have to get away as a family and to enjoy our Heavenly Father's magnificent creations.