Carson Valley NV, June 22, 2015 – This Saturday June 27th the Alta Alpina Challenge will kick off its annual cycling challenge ” Riding the Wild Sierra”. Cyclist of all ages and levels will set out to conquer some of the best road course climbs in the United States.
However with this weeks break out of the Washington fire, questions have risen regarding the availability of parts of the course. As of Monday June 22, officials from Alta Alpina remain optimistic ,after speaking with authorities, that the ride will be able take place as scheduled and that weather patterns should blow smoke out of the area for the weekends events. Obviously with only 10% containment as of Monday things could change rapidly so Alta Alpina has started developing contingency plans and alternative routes if necessary for Saturday. At this time the event is scheduled as is and they hope all the registered riders and any others that wish to still build their own cycling challenge this weekend will join them for this fun annual event.
The Alta Alpina Challenge is a unique cycling event. It does not fashion itself as a winner take all race, but instead it sets out five variable courses and challenges & lets riders choose the challenge they are up for or asks them to create their own.
Every rider is challenged to set a personal goal based on his or her own individual abilities.
Choose your favorite pass(es) or pick one of four popular routes. Alta Alpina would like every participant to achieve their own personal goal and our members would be glad to assist in selecting an appropriate ride for your abilities. Riders can also opt for a personalized course consisting of an arbitrary combination of passes. Please contact us for more details.
The Alta Alpina Challenge is a personalized event. Every rider bib is personalized based on their choice of ride. Rider’s collect special pass stickers on the bib and the result can be framed as a souvenir of the accomplishment!
The Alta Alpina Challenge is a celebration of the cycling lifestyle and is a designed to help create not only a challenging set of rides for experienced riders but to also introduce and encourage new riders to find fulfillment and enjoyment in riding in our local region. Here is an overview of the five personal challenges preset for the riders this Saturday.
The five challenge courses include:
The Foothill fun ride or Wild Sierra Foothill Fun Ride
“Fun in the Foothills” – Starts and Finishes at Turtle Rock Park in Alpine County.
Three ride options in this challenge include:
Carson River Canyon Ride – 15 Miles – 1 Rest Stop – Start 10:00am to 2:00pm
Diamond Valley Ride – 19 Miles – 1 Rest Stop – Start 8:00am to 10:00am
Carson Valley Ride – 37 Miles – 2 Rest Stops – Start 8:00am to 10:00am
Lunch will be served at Turtle Rock Park after the ride.
These rides are not completely without challenge. The 19 and 37 miles options include a two mile climb on Emigrant Trail and the 15 mile option features a two mile climb from Markleeville. Neither is steep so as long as you have a bicycle with appropriate gearing and you take your time you’ll conquer these hills.
If you won’t be ready to ride any passes by June 28 or you’re looking for an option for the rest of your family to ride while you tackle some passes, then this challenge with limited elevation gain is the right option!
Wild Sierra Metric
Diamond Valley – Emmigrant Trail – Luther Pass – Blue Lakes
This is a beautiful metric century on some of the most popular Alta Alpina routes.
- Start/Finish at Turtle Rock Park
- 64 miles
- 5000 feet of climbing
- Featuring these roads and passes in the order listed:
- Diamond Valley
- Emmigrant Trail
- Luther Pass (East)
- Blue Lakes Road
Respect the opening/closing times of each rest stop as you go and return to the starting line before the course closes at 7:30pm.
Wild Sierra Century
Kingsbury – Ebbetts – Monitor
This is a tough century on some of the most popular Alta Alpina routes.
- Start/Finish at Turtle Rock Park
- 110 miles
- 11000 feet of climbing
- Featuring these roads and passes in the order listed:
- Kingsbury Grade aka Daggett Pass (East)
- Ebbetts (East)
- Monitor (West)
Start the first half at 7:30am, return to the start for lunch and start the second half between 10:30am and 3:45pm.
Respect the opening/closing times of each rest stop as you go and return to the starting line before the course closes at 7:30pm.
5 Pass Challenge
Carson – Ebbetts – Ebbetts – Monitor – Monitor
This is a tough century on some of the most popular Alta Alpina routes.
June 27, 2015
- Start/Finish at Turtle Rock Park
- Over 16000 feet of climbing in 134 miles
- Five Passes on the course:
- Carson Pass (East)
- Ebbetts (East)
- Ebbetts (West)
- Monitor (West)
- Monitor (East)
The course features six fully stocked rest stops, one checkpoint with water, and lunch and dinner at Turtle Rock Park.
You can choose a start window of 7:00am, 7:30am, or 8:00am.
Each rest stop has opening and closing times that must be respected and checkpoints will strictly enforce cut-off times intended to keep everyone safe.
8 Pass Challenge
“The World’s Toughest Double Century”
- 20,300 feet of climbing over 198 miles
- The most scenic double century ever on the best pavement
- Start/Finish at Turtle Rock Park
- Eight Passes on the course:
- Kingsbury Grade aka Daggett Pass (East)
- Luther Pass (South)
- Carson Pass (East)
- Blue Lakes Road
- Ebbetts (East)
- Ebbetts (West)
- Monitor (West)
- Monitor (East)
The course features nine fully stocked rest stops, two checkpoints with water, and lunch and dinner at Turtle Rock Park.
There will be a bag drop to the top of monitor for lights and warm clothing (both required after 8:58pm). You can bag your items at the start or when you get to the top of Kingsbury.
Each rest stop has opening and closing times that must be respected and
Alta Alpina Cycling group is focused on helping everyone have a great experience with this 
annual cycling event. realizing every rider is performing at a different level and typically have a set personal goal they have create a trip planner to help everyone design their personal challenge or get assistance from a ride planner in the group.
To help us assist every participant in achieving their personal goal we recommend that you use this Ride Planner before registering. The Ride Planner can help you design a ride that you can complete within the time limits. To find out about a particular ride option, check the boxes for the course destinations you’d like to visit then click the “Calculate” button at the bottom of the page. To get a prediction of your time to complete the ride you’ve selected, provide estimated riding speeds and/or your time on a known course and the click the “Calculate” button. For additional assistance in picking the perfect ride, please contact our ride consultant.
The Alta Alpina Cycling Club(AACC) is a road and mountain bike club in the Lake Tahoe, Carson Valley, Carson City, and Markleeville areas whose primary focus is to promote cycling and to create an environment in which cyclists of all ages and abilities can enjoy the sport and socialize with other riders.
There are many activities for all ability levels. For the recreational riders there are organized rides most every weekend both mountain bike and road. For the more competitive riders there is a spring race series with categories for beginners as well as for the more experienced riders.
Club rides are open to non-club members. We encourage you to join us.
Hotline Number – 877-845-2453 (877-845-BIKE)
Past Rider Testimonials: Thank you all very much for such a wonderful experience this past Saturday. The ride, the support, the staff, the volunteers, the food, all phenomenal. What a pleasure it was. It was very obvious the ride was assembled not only by riders, but people who ride the Sierras…Thank you all so much…..See you next year !!!
Edward
I wanted to thank you and all of the fantastic volunteers for a great 8 Pass Challenge. The route is beautiful, the road surface it “sweet” and the support is excellent. I do not know about the other riders but it turned out being hotter than I expected which only enhanced the challenge. Along this line I wanted to give special recognition to the rest stop crew at the top of Monitor Pass. They were ready for the heat with iced towels for the riders and plenty of ice for the water bottles. As soon as you rolled into the rest stop they had an iced towel on your shoulders and they were filling your water bottle with ice. Great support, initiative and advance planning. Thanks.
Trey
Because of the Washington Fire in Alpine County please stay connected to Alta Alpina updates on their facebook page for any needed changes or adjustments to starting places and routes.
