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Twin Lakes, June 2019
Eastern Sierra: A Photographic Log
12 June, 25 miles
Time for another getaway, this time to escape a spell of temperatures above 100° F.I drove over to the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, basing myself in the town of Bridgeport (not far from Nevada), which put me in a position to do some riding up to the eastern face of the mountains, into the hills beyond the ghost town of Bodie, and possibly in one or two other locales. It's warm here, but there's a chance that sometimes I'll be pedaling through what's left of snowdrifts at higher elevations.
Upon arrival, I immediately headed uphill toward Twin Lakes for a quick warm-up ride.
Starting up Twin Lakes Road from Bridgeport. I definitely won't be going all the way to the top of the Sierra Nevada peaks in the distance.
The peaks are getting closer, despite the fact that I'm barely making forward progress due to the wind in my face.
Made it to the lake!
Still some snow almost all the way down to lake level.
A lot more snow up there.
The winter of 2018-2019 was one of the snowiest on record, with something like 212 percent of average accumulation.
I met some Pacific Crest Trail thru hikers in Bridgeport who moaned about the snow depth and showed me amazing videos of themselves crossing cold, roaring streams far deeper than normal.
Distant peaks. Won't be bicycling up there.
Won't be bicycling up there.
When I turned around to head back, I realized dark clouds had been gathering over my destination in the valley.
On my way down, with a strong tailwind, I was hitting almost 35 MPH and could have gone faster, but the Ogre is geared for climbing, not descending, so there was nothing left to pedal.
Thunderstorm hitting the Bodie Mountains beyond Bridgeport. I'll be up there tomorrow.
As I was rolling downhill from Twin Lakes back to Bridgeport, I spotted a rider coming toward me with a familiar looking bicycle.
This turned out to be a Surly Troll, very close relative of my Surly Ogre. What are the odds? Pedaling the 2019 Troll to work was local guy Jerry, who built the bike himself. We had a chat on the side of the road, and I learned he's also a long-distance touring cyclist who creates cool videos of his rides. Check 'em out on his Youtube channel.
Back in Bridgeport, later in the evening. More clouds building up.
Motel decoration. Nice shirt.
More motel decoration. Kick those clouds outta here!
Main Street (aka US Highway 395), Bridgeport, California, looking east. Note bike lanes.
Continue to Ghost Town, part 1
Summary
Date: 12 June 2019
Time: 3:00 - 5:00
Weather: 80° F, sunny, headwind up, tailwind down
Route: Bridgeport to Twin Lakes and back
Distance: 25 miles
Bike: Ogre
Riders: Solo
Comments? Questions? Suggestions? I'd like to hear from you.
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