When I first started blogging back in 2004, my intent was just to keep a diary. I didn’t expect any readers besides myself and a couple of friends, and I thought it would be a good way to track where we had been. Even though Bike Carson has evolved tremendously since those early days, it’s still fun to go back and see what happened.
While putting together this 2009 Year in review post, I was amazed at all we did and all the fun we had in 2009. I hope you enjoy reading this post as much as I enjoyed putting it together. It made me smile as I dug through the archives and stirred up the memories. I’ve included links to the original posts throughout the year in review if you’d like to dig deeper. Enjoy!
JANUARY
January of 2009 was one of the mildest Januarys in recent memory. I even got to wear shorts on one ride! The highlight of January though was the ride we did out at Iron Mountain. Riding out in the deserted areas of Nevada makes me think of the Old West, and I came up with a frontier tale of our ride that day, Pecos Potter Rides Again.
FEBRUARY
February was a little colder than January, and we had more precipitation. Still, most of the snow stayed high, and we did plenty of trail riding.
The new bridges were installed on the Mexican Ditch Trail back in February. This extended the trail all the way to the Silver Saddle Ranch.
MARCH
We received a big snow storm back In March, but we all kept riding. In my memory, this snow storm took place much earlier in the winter. And you would think it did by the pictures! January got here a little late in 2009 I guess. These pictures are taken from the post January in March.
Scott Russel in Deep March Snow
The snow eventually began to go away again though, and we got our trails back. It was March when we finally got to start riding the Creek Trail again!
Creek Trail opens for the season!
APRIL
In April we took advantage of the mild temperatures and explored the deserty El Dorado Canyon. We had a big group that day and had a lot of fun.
We all got a kick when one of our winter riding shots was published in Dirt Rag!
The sheep were back again in 2009 conducting natural fire suppression. Sheep Watch 2009
Sheep Crossing Combs Canyon Road
The snow had receded enough by April that we took our first adventure up into the higher country in our post Exploring Lakeview.
Also in April, Lester and Scott M raced at the Seat Otter Classic.
MAY
There is so much to talk about in May. It was Bike Month! We had back to back bike events for two solid weeks, including Bike to Work Week. Here are some of the highlights…
We rode with the Mayor to Work
Kids Ride on the Mexican Ditch Trail
Movie Nights at the Bike Shops
Bike to Work Week Party at the Firkin and Fox
2nd Annual Tour of Carson and BBQ at the Bike Habitat
The Bicycle Commuter Corporate Challenge was a huge success in 2009! Redrock Family Dental won first place for percentage of employees participating, and the U.S. Geological Survey office dominated the mileage category, claiming victory with an unbeatable 612.5 miles. The big news, however, was the overall results. Challengers completed 1,240 trips by bicycle or by walking, and there were 3,978.25 miles walked or ridden through the week! It was also reported that 60 free bus rides were given to bicyclists throughout the week by JAC. Those are some great numbers!
Highest percentage of employees participating in the 2009 Corporate Challenge
Martin Krieg pedaled through Carson City on his attempted Cross Country by Hi-Wheeler ride. Although he didn’t make it as far as he would have liked to due to funds and continuous thunderstorms, he still pedaled his reverse hi-wheeler from the Pacific Coast to Salt Lake City. It looks like another attempt will be made in 2010!
Martin Krieg Pedals through Carson City
JUNE
June was a rainy month. We had more rain than Seattle, and the local flora was going nuts.
Tom riding by some tall Mules Ear
We finished June with a bang! Friends from the Bay Area and as far away as Michigan joined us for a Tour of Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park.
Tour of Lake Tahoe NV State Park – Marlette Peak
JULY
In July, Summer was in full swing. Muscle Powered had the Bicycle Valet at the downtown Farmers Market going all summer, we were out riding our road bikes, and we were getting up to Lake Tahoe as often as possible.
AUGUST
The most memorable bicycle trip of the year for me was my first ever overnight camping trip by bike. The family and I rode out to Washoe Lake State Park, stayed the night, and came home the next day. It was a great adventure, and I hope to do more bicycle camping trips next year.
Bicycle Camping at Washoe Lake State Park
Kona Ute fully loaded with Camping Gear
Another fun ride in August was the ride from Carson City, up Six Mile Canyon to Virginia City. It also turned out to be my longest ride of the year. The pictures in this post seem a little odd…we looked overdressed for August!
Six Mile Canyon to Virginia City
When the weather was scorching down here in the valley, we did a lot of family activities up at Lake Tahoe.
Taylor Creek on Lake Tahoe’s South Shore
SEPTEMBER
The big event in September was the Carson City Freeway Ride. Hundreds came down to ride their bikes on the newly created freeway that was not yet open to cars. Several of us assisted NDOT with a bicycle safety inspection at the beginning of the ride.
Bicycle Safety Inspection Station
The weather was outstanding in September, and many long rides out to Washoe Valley and back were done on the lunch time rides.
FA – A long, long way to ride!
OCTOBER
Fall arrived in October. The cooler weather brought a lot of reptiles out to sun themselves, and we got to see a lot of snakes. Bicycle activism in Carson City grew to new heights when we packed the conference room at the RTC meeting to support the inclusion of bike lanes on Roop Street. The new multi-use path from Governor’s Field to Moffat Open Space opened in October, creating a new link in the city trail system. It is now possible to ride from Governor’s Field to the Silver Saddle Ranch, all on off street trails!
NOVEMBER
Night Riding was big in November. The temperatures weren’t too cold during the month, there was early darkness, and the fall seemed to last forever. We had a big assortment of riders on each night ride throughout the month.
One of the best rides of the month was the Snowy Climb to South Camp Peak.
Snowy Climb to South Camp Peak
Riding the new Longview Trail in November
DECEMBER
Winter got here early in December. It was cold, and the snow stayed after it fell. It was a month of snowy rides and studded snow tires.
We got one last ride on the dirt before the snow started flying in the Ride Before Winter.
The last ride on dirt of December
There were bicycle commutes during -4 degree F weather!
Our first big hike-a-bike of the winter was The Snowy Trek to Silver City.
What an amazing year! It’s just awesome to look back at all we did, and think of all the new friendships that were made. Thank you all for reading Bike Carson and making Carson City the great cycling city it is!
-Jeff Moser
And a Glorious time was had by all!
Today was a great start to riding in 2010.
Or a great start to 2010 walking depending how you look at it! What was the mileage today? Pictures are up on Flickr…
18.17 miles in 4 hours 12 minutes…I bet Lance couldn’t go that slow.
lance would have somebody shoveling the trail.
looking back you had a great year. glad we could be there to share a small slice of it with you. hopefully, 2010 will give us another chance!
Great year, great photos to document it. I hope you can do it all again — and more — in 2010. Happy New Year, fellow bike blogger!
I think I was supposed to shovel the trail.
It was a great year, Jeff! You’ve really created a cycling community with Bike Carson. Thanks, and keep up the good work.
Lester, thanks for the beer.
Great review Jeff. We all appreciate the work you put into the site. Even people in New Zealand can get a little slice of Carson cycling.
Thanks, all! What will 2010 bring??
For those of you who aren’t aware, Antoine designed the Bike Carson logo. Check out the nice summer they’re having down in New Zealand right now!
http://ibikenz.blogspot.com/