Location: South Lake Tahoe, California
Don, the kind man whose mother-in-law's house we got to stay in the previous night, had warned us that there was some bad weather coming in and we would have to hurry to make it up to Lake Tahoe without getting snowed in. That had us a bit worried because we knew we would not be able to cover the anticipated 72 miles (116 km) by the time the storm was expected to arrive unless we had good tailwind. The other problem was that we needed to go grocery shopping which would waste more time, especially because we thought we had to ride all the way up to Carson City to find a big store. So we just got on the road early in the morning, hoping the storm would hold off until we had arrived at our Warmshowers host's house in South Lake Tahoe.
To our delight, the strong wind that morning was in our favour so we reached a town called Minden in much less time than expected. The dark clouds on the mountains looked intimidating but we were hopeful that with the help of the wind we could beat the storm to our destination. To our great surprise there was a huge newly opened grocery store right at the outskirts of Minden. Great, now we do not have to ride into Carson City to get food. More time saved!
As James shopped I guarded the bikes and started a conversation with one of the store's employees. When I told him we were headed up to Lake Tahoe via highway 50 he was surprised and suggested the much shorter Kingsbury Grade road which directly across the valley. I was a bit skeptical because we had not seen this road on any of our maps but the man ensured me that it was a perfectly paved road and that it is kept open during the winter. Hm, that would be fantastic because that would cut a full 20 miles off our route. At the Burger King down the road we got some Wifi and checked the Google maps for the local area and yes, Kingsbury Grade looked like a much better option. We still had some doubts whether the road would be open in the winter so we asked one of the ladies coming out of Burger King if she knew anything about this road. She said she had just driven down on that road from Lake Tahoe this morning, there was no snow on the road and there is even a bike lane all the way up! Great!!! By now the dark clouds had moved in even closer, the wind had become stronger and we knew we better hurry. We quickly checked if our hosts in South Lake Tahoe had left us any messages. Yes they did but it was not what we wanted to hear. Something had come up and they had to leave town thus were not able to host us today. Shoot! We cannot camp in this crazy storm. We quickly contacted some other Warmshowers members in the area but nobody replied. Well, we could not waste our time any longer otherwise we will not be able to get over the pass to Lake Tahoe today so we just set off. There might be an empty barn up there where we can shelter for the night and there are always churches to ask at as a last resort. It was a bit annoying to not know where exactly we were headed but we were sure everything would be fine. God must have other accommodation plans for us. We had tried our best to arrange something but it was not meant to be.
It was a beautiful ride up this newly paved road. The wind was still mostly in our favour. Near the top though the wind was so strong that we had to push the bikes for a while. Then it started to snow. It was cold. Finally we reached Daggett Summit. A pick up truck had stopped on the side of the road and when we came close the driver rolled down the window. He asked if we needed anything or if he could give us a ride into town. We stubbornly refused to get a ride but we asked him if he knew of an empty barn or a similar place where we could shelter from this weather. He said we could come to his business' showroom and spend the night there. Wow, how nice. We said we would meet him there in about half hour. It was an unpleasant half hour. The strong wind whipped the wet snow into our faces and made the descent into town rather painful and by the time we arrived at Randy's showroom we were soaking wet.
Randy made us feel so welcome and we were so grateful to just be inside. He had another surprise for us though. He had booked a room for us at his friend's motel just down the road where he thought we would be more comfortable than in the business showroom. We ensured him that we had no problem staying in the showroom but he insisted that it was a pleasure for him to treat us. He told us that he is a cyclist too and knows what it feels like. He also said to call him in the morning and if the weather is still bad tomorrow we can come back to his showroom. Wow, thank you Randy!
Shortly after, we and our bikes were comfortably tucked away in the little motel room, out of reach of nature's elements. Our wet clothes were drying by the heater and there was hot tea in our cups.
What a wild day. It was amazing how everything had played together so well. The unexpected grocery store along the way, the man with the advice for a shorter route, the lady's confirmation that this route is bicycle friendly and now Randy who treated us to this comfortable, warm place to spend the night. We had put our best effort into planning this day but God knew better and sent us good wind, an unexpected grocery store and several encounters with the appropriate people to guide us the right way at the right time. The bit of discomfort near the end just made everything else seem so much better too.
THANK YOU LORD FOR YOUR UNMISTAKEABLE GUIDANCE TODAY!
