South Lake Tahoe, CA to Folsom, CA — 100.5 mi, 6580 ft
When I first began the Spokes experience, I thought of it as a 75-day trip. An adventure that I got to embark on and experience with the team. As it comes to an end, I now realize that 75 days of a journey is no longer a trip – at that length, it truly just becomes life. With life comes different seasons, and as such, taking inspiration from last year’s blogs, I present to you the Seasons of Spokes.
An obvious mark of the season the team is in now is the wonderful Airbnb that we woke up in, generously donated by Nunu’s family. This last month, as we have passed through Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and now California, we have been spoiled rotten by our families, who have kindly provided Airbnbs and hotels for us to stay in as they visit us. Aarushi’s family kicked us off with an Airbnb in Colorado Springs, followed by my family getting us a hotel in Parachute, then Nate’s family getting us an Airbnb in Bryce Canyon, then Caroline’s family getting us an Airbnb in Zion, then Carmen’s family getting us an Airbnb in Cedar City, and now, finally, our last Airbnb in South Lake Tahoe by Nunu’s family. Hence, Airbnb and Family Season! To say we are grateful for our families and supporters is an understatement. You guys let us bike across the country in style 🙂
Of course, this morning’s lazy wake-up in a beautiful home is a far cry from some of our earlier seasons of Spokes, including our Sleeping on the Side of a Ditch Season, our Biking at 2 AM to Escape the Heat Season, our Begging Churches to Sleep on Their Floor Season, and our Camper Top Fell Off So We Lost Camping Equipment and Our Stuff Smells Like Sh** and a Tent Broke but We Still Have to Camp Season. I think the different seasons are what make the trip extra special!
The beginning of our 100-mile ride from Tahoe hit us with an immediate climb uphill. Compared to some of our previous climbs, the gorgeous views and tree-studded mountains made it seem less daunting than usual, and the 8,000 ft descent awaiting us at the end of the day motivated me to start pedaling.
This entire summer, I have been in a Stop Every Half Mile of Climbs and Rest Season, but this time, Aarushi and I were swept into a deeply emotional conversation during our climb, which *surprise surprise*, made the time absolutely fly by. Aarushi and I were ecstatic that we didn’t stop to rest on our climb, only for the other team members to inform us that they’d been climbing without extra rest stops for the entire summer. I think my method is more fun, but to each their own.
California terrain is so beautiful, and especially with only 2 days left of biking, it really made me reflect on the many intense terrains and situations we have had the privilege of biking through. From Barren Land with Dust Devils Season, to Dog Apocalypse Season, to Fires on our Path Season, to National Parks Everywhere Season, and now to our California Gorgeous Forests and Lakes Season, it really feels like I have seen such a huge spectrum of America’s beauty.
At our first rest stop, we were met by our favorite driver duo, Carmen and Caroline. This specific driver combo is always a great vibe, and their snack haul elevated them from a 10/10 to a 12/10 rating. Seeing them brought me back to another time this combo drove together, which was our horrible bike into Capitol Reef, where I biked alone for most of the day and was so miserable that I made up an imaginary friend to keep me company. Carmen and Caroline’s snacks also marked the transition out of our recent Liquid Diet Season, where we had been consuming only sugary drinks to get our carb count for the day rather than eating actual food. Now, Aarushi and I got to eat yummy sugary snacks instead! Shoutout to the Fudge Stripes – my new favorite snack of the summer.
After our pit stop, we were up for another big climb, and this time the lake views were so beautiful that the climb flew by, no yapping needed. Maybe California is amazing and beautiful? Spoiler: California Ultra Mega Awful Wind Season is yet to come, so I have mixed feelings on California.
I saw Carmen and Caroline drive by while I was taking a scenic photo quite close to the end of the climb, leading me to think that I was biking extra fast! In reality, as I quickly learned, they had gone back to Lake Tahoe to get yummy coffee from the coffee shop we had visited the day before. Thank you, Caroline, for this summer’s Tatiana and Caroline Share Coffee Taste Buds Season, which definitely fueled my coffee addiction.
In the next segment, the world decided to slow me and the team down even further. Somehow, I got caught behind two separate traffic stops, where they decided to start construction and make the road one-directional seconds before I got there on my bicycle. Both times, I felt mildly goofy, as I had to pedal extra hard to keep up with the slow-moving one-directional car caravan while passing huge excavators working on the mountainside. Because of this slowdown, by the time I got to the next rest stop, Nunu, Drew, and Nate had already zoomed down the extreme downhill and were a whole additional rest stop ahead. Aarushi was waiting for me, so she and I quickly grabbed our waters in a pull-off of the forest, and let Caroline and Carmen go catch up with the group.
After our break and rest, we began our 8,000 ft descent into Folsom, and simultaneously watched the scenery drastically change. What started as lush forests turned into completely barren trees, scorched and blackened by fires. I felt like we reentered our Nevada Fire Season, except instead of biking toward active fires, we were now directly in a fire’s aftermath. A few times along the route, we saw small fire teams working to either put out small flames or to place preventative measures along areas that were still untouched. This was the first time in my life that I had seen huge swaths of land burned, and I felt like it gave me a new perspective on the wildfire news I’d been seeing lately. With Aarushi and Caroline both being from California, at our next rest stop mid-burned forest, I got to ask the two of them more questions about their experiences and hear more about the huge operation that goes into managing wildfires and the countless people affected by them every year.
After a funny yap session, I continued on my ride, flying through an insane landscape of charred trees extending in every direction.
Suddenly, what had begun as a ride of captivating nature turned into a ride of the most evil drivers of the entire trip, with people yelling and honking at me and cars trying to drive me off the road. This marked the beginning of my fight with California, since even though it was a downhill and the nature returned to lush forests, I couldn’t even enjoy it with my attention focused on the aggressive cars.
By the time we got to our second-to-last rest stop, I was honestly starting to bonk. It had been a long day, and I hadn’t eaten enough, so with the map in front of me enticingly offering a downhill, I decided to take a short rest and get back on the road. Of course, the mean cars haunted me the rest of the way, so the rest of the ride to our final rest stop, a Jamba Juice, felt like an absolute trudge. On the bright side, I remembered that a former Spokes member, Rebecca Lizarde, was planning to meet us that night in Folsom!
At the Jamba Juice, the rest of the team was already happily drinking their juice and reminiscing on how nostalgic and sad it would be to finish Spokes. I feel like it really kicked in that we only had 2 days of Spokes left, and that soon this would be all a distant season of the past… but no need to be sad too soon!
After resting for a few minutes and realizing that my bonk wasn’t going anywhere, I decided to pack it up early at the Jamba Juice and start heading to our destination, especially knowing that the rest of the team would catch up to me.
I wish I could say that these last few miles were full of wonderful reflection on Spokes, but honestly, with an extremely sore butt and a little too much bonk, I was a healthy mix of happy and sad for the end. The summer has been truly fantastic, and as we entered the foothills of California surrounded by a beautiful sunset and grand houses, I felt immense pride for the distance we had traveled and the sights we had seen.
At our destination, we were met by Aarushi’s warm family friends and Rebecca, who excitedly joined us for dinner and a great conversation. Similarly to meeting Kate earlier in Colorado, hearing the experiences of a former Spokes member made the trip feel even bigger and long-lasting, truly a trip that spans across generations. We got to reflect on both wonderful moments of our trip and great highlights from trips before, feeling the gratitude of the opportunity to embark on this journey and to meet the people we have.
As I finish writing my last blog, I hope that I am able to not only remember this incredible summer, but also continuously seek new and exciting experiences that let me keep capturing the feelings that Spokes offers. I hope that Spokes becomes a season in my life that is similar to Spring, a joyful time that keeps coming back around, year after year.
Thank you, deeply and truly, to everyone who has read our blogs, to the team that went on this tremendous journey with me, to the hosts who have made our journey incredible, to the kids who so energetically attended our Learning Festivals, to the alumni who have helped us navigate this incredible experience, and to my friends and family, who I love so deeply and whose love lets me live this life in a way I would have thought unfathomable. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
All of my love forever and always,
Tatiana Vassiliev ❤
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