After yesterday’s little adventure, it was great to sleep in until nine.  Another clear day had dawned while I slept on & we eventually got out the door & went for a little drive west & then north around Lake Tahoe.  With summer starting (pity no one told the snow) the road was crazy busy & finding parking spots at Emerald Bay & Eagle Falls was quite difficult.  I’m quite looking forward to leaving the Californian traffic behind in a few days’ time.  We had lunch sitting in the sun on the shore, watching boats zip around.  I spent the time alternately trying to work out where I rode the day before (behind the opposite shore) & missing water-skiing on Lake Tarawera back home.  (But as it’s the middle of winter in the southern hemisphere, now’s not a good time to be in/on that lake.)

Back in town, I was keen to push the pedals around a bit – so headed out on a short ride close to town. With nowhere near as much climbing (or snow) as yesterday, I was quickly up riding the Powerline Trail, which was mostly undulating through beautiful forest. There were short glimpses of gorgeous views, but having too much fun riding I didn’t stop to get any pictures to share. I next wound & climbed my way up Incense Trail.

I was surprised to see a young bear run off down the trail a hundred metres away from me. Somewhat concerned at seeing a bear so close to town, potentially meeting its mother, & being alone & bear-spray-less, I started making a lot of noise (I did learn a thing or two in Canada) as I continued on. At the intersection with Corral Trail I was pleased to meet another rider to send ahead as bear-bait! We chatted a bit & the ride down Corral was great fun with lots of little jumps on the side of the trail. It was mostly road back into town, so that was quick. Even in my tired state, this ride shows just how slow yesteday was. Today I rode slightly less distance than yesterday, but in less than a third of the time (not much climbing & no snow made all the difference).