By Kathryn Reed

Money for bike trails or their maintenance was reduced by $10,000 on Friday by the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Facilities Joint Powers Authority board.

The money is going to the Tahoe Paradise Resort Improvement District. Two of the three JPA board members are also on the TPRID board – El Dorado County Supervisor Norma Santiago and Judy Clot. South Lake Tahoe City Councilwoman JoAnn Conner is the third JPA member.

At the annual financial meeting of the JPA board on July 25 there was an agenda item to up the TPRID allotment to $60,000 this year, a $10,000 increase. At the January board meeting TPRID will be tasked with bringing a proposal as to why it should receive even more money from Measure R funds beyond the stipulated $50,000 and this additional $10,000.

Voters in 2011 approved Measure R to replace Measure S, which was passed in 2000. South Shore residents on the California side pay $18 per year in property taxes for the measure. It sunsets in 2030.

Measure R allows old bike trails to be overhauled, like this one in South Lake Tahoe. Photo/Provided

Measure R loosened how money could be spent.

The key changes from S to R included giving ball fields $500,000 upfront. This is because the number of fields that Measure S was to build was never going to happen. The new wording allowed improvement to existing fields. It also allowed existing bike trails to be rehabbed. Bike trails would get more money after the fields got theirs, including any excess that would arrive via increased property taxes and/or bond refinancing. It was a gamble the bike community was willing to take – that there would be sufficient money.

The resolution says, “If funds remain after all of the above authorized and necessary funding has been provided for renovation of separated bicycle trails as provided in Facilities paragraph #5 and all of the above authorized and necessary funding has been provided for maintenance of bicycle trails as provided in Services paragraphs #3 and #4, such funds may be used, with the concurrence of the Bicycle Advisory Committee, for other bicycle related facilities, services, and/or programs within the CFD that promote and/or enhance bicycling within the CFD.”

Here is a copy of the resolution.

It does not say Tahoe Paradise or any other entity can tap into the funds.

Chuck Nelson, president of Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition, read a letter to the JPA board last week admonishing it for taking money from the bike community, especially without consulting the Bicycle Advisory Committee. The committee makes recommendations to the JPA board about how Measure R bike money should be spent.

John Upton, the lone staff member for the JPA, agreed the committee should have been consulted and said it would be going forward.

However, he and the three board members – especially Santiago and Conner – got into a debate with Nelson about what Measure R really says. Santiago and Conner were adamant that they could spend “extra” money however they want.

“Why does there need to be constant argument that the bike community is being cheated?” Conner said in a heated voice. “I really wish we could look at the bigger picture. I’d like to see an attitude of cooperation rather than argumentative.”

Upton, Santiago and Nelson were on Santiago’s one-time KTHO-AM 590 radio show prior to the 2011 vote. During the more than 20-minute show the three discussed where “extra” money goes. Bikes was the answer — at least at that time.

Despite the tiff over where money should be going, there are several bike projects in the works.

Shay Navarro, who is on the Bicycle Advisory Committee of the JPA, gave an overview of the work being done throughout South Lake Tahoe. This includes work behind McDonald’s at the Y, the trail behind Motel 6-Meeks, and near Harrison Avenue. Replacing the Trout Creek and Upper Truckee River bridges are also part of these projects.

All of the work should be done by the end of August.

If the work comes in under budget, the JPA board voted to spend $10,000 on a pilot snow removal program the bike committee wants to embark on. The committee plans to ask South Lake Tahoe for matching funds, of which Conner said should not be a problem to secure.

Santiago said the county is finalizing a contract to have snow removed on the Pat Lowe bike trail in Meyers.

She added that county staff is looking at a way to connect the Pat Lowe trail to the corner of Pioneer Trail and Highway 50. There is about a 200-foot gap that needs to be filled. This would be across California Tahoe Conservancy land, which Santiago said would not be a problem. (She sits on that board.)

“Caltrans is saying (they) don’t want you to do it because then (they) would have to put in a crosswalk,” Santiago said. “I say screw them. We have a connectivity issue.”

Caltrans this summer is slated to put in a crosswalk that goes north-south across Highway 50 at that intersection. Extending the bike trail would require one going east-west on Pioneer.

Santiago said the Sawmill Road bike trail and Lake Tahoe Boulevard enhancement projects should be done by the end of the grading season.
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Notes:

The JPA board will continue its July 25 meeting to Aug. 1 at 9am in the downstairs conference room at Lake Tahoe Airport to discuss the annual audit.

By Ian Austen, New York Times

PÉRIGUEUX, France — In terms of technology, Greg LeMond, the three-time Tour de France winner, was a pioneer. In an age when steel still dominated, LeMond rode bikes made of carbon-fiber composites, then an exotic material mostly used by the military.

At this year’s Tour, carbon fiber is the only material used for bikes, and it has also replaced aluminum in wheel rims. The strength, lightness and the design flexibility offered by carbon fiber have ensured its dominance. And its most extreme form, the special aerodynamic time-trial bicycle, was on display Saturday in the 20th stage.

But there has been a catch. Unlike steel or aluminum, carbon fiber does not bend in crashes. Rather the bikes and wheels frequently shatter, often hurling riders to the road and, many fear, increasing the severity of injuries.

“Anyone in a team who’s being honest with you will tell you how frequently their bikes are breaking; everybody knows,” said Mark Greve, a physician and assistant professor of sports medicine at Brown University who studied injuries to 3,500 competitive cyclists. “Few people in the public appreciate how many bikes a pro team will go through in a season, because they break for one reason or another. The bikes, they completely explode.”

Having conquered professionals, who ride frames that retail in the United States for $5,000 to $6,000 with forks, carbon fiber is making its way to increasingly affordable models available to the more casual riders.

Read the whole story

The Tahoe Fall Classic on Sept. 13–14 is the third and final race in The Tahoe Cup race series.

This 22-mile point-to-point race from El Dorado Beach in South Lake Tahoe to Kings Beach State Beach is the longest inland distance paddleboard race in the world. It is expected to draw hundreds of competitors.

SUP demos are provided throughout the weekend compliments of SURFTECH and lunch is provided by Men Wielding Fire.

Registration is available online.

There is a $300 cash purse awarded to the first paddler to finish. Awards will be given to  men’s and women’s first, second, and third place finishers in the Open (including youth, under 18 and masters 55-plus), Outrigger OC1 division, and the Elite Series $20K CASH PURSE Race.

In conjunction with the Tahoe Fall Classic, the inaugural North Lake Tahoe Ukulele Festival takes place on Kings Beach at the North Tahoe Event Center.

The Tahoe Rim Trail Association’s annual backcountry camps at the Marlette Peak Campground are Aug. 1-3 and Aug. 16-17.

At this year’s camp the TRTA aims to reconstruct the Marlette Peak Trail so it can be opened back up to equestrians and mountain bikers.

Participants will camp out, work, be fed and get to experience a camp camaraderie.  The TRTA is seeking volunteers to assist with trail work including widening tread, clearing brush, and building rock retaining walls. In addition, the camps need kitchen volunteers to help the camp chef’s prepare hearty meals.

Go online for more information and to register.

Ta-Hoe Nalu is the longest running and largest SUP race event in the United States.

This family friendly event features distance and beginner races, a live concert, sand castle building contests, and more than $10,000 in cash and prizes. It is Aug. 15-17 in Kings Beach.

Attendees may participate in workshops, dine at the full-service food and beverage court and be part of Saturday’s opening ceremonies featuring Polynesian dancers from Halau Hula ‘O Leilani at 7:30am.

Registration opens at 2pm Aug. 15 and racing begins at 8:30am the next day. Sunday’s five-mile race kicks off at 9am and the weekend wraps up at 4pm with closing ceremonies.

Truckee will celebrate the opening of the Legacy Trail to Glenshire with a community bike ride on Aug. 8 at 4pm.

People may park their vehicles at the Regional Park at 3pm and then take a shuttle to the event.

Youths 12 and younger will receive a prize if their bike is decorated.

At 2pm there will be free bike safety checks.

The Reno-Tahoe Senior Summer Games is Aug. 4-10.

The games are dedicated to promoting and implementing fitness programs and activities for people 50 and older. Registration deadline for the pickleball bracket is July 25 at 5pm. Registration for all other games will remain open until Aug. 4.

Events include archery, table tennis, horseshoes, basketball, badminton, billiards, fishing, darts, golf, and swimming.

To register, or for more information, go online, call 775.657.4602, or email mahanb@reno.gov.

Tahoe Rim Trail Association received a grant from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to help to determine the numbers and types of users on the Tahoe Rim Trail.

Volunteers are needed at all of TRT trailheads on July 26 to interact with the hikers, bikers, and equestrians and ask them questions.

The aim of this project is to collect data that will be used to encourage and improve alternative modes of transportation to the TRT trailheads.

Go online to register.

The 2nd annual Meyers Mountain Bike Festival is Aug. 10 in the Divided Sky parking lot.

The festival kicks off with a Triple Crown Ride covering 30-plus miles and a 5,200 elevation gain. Registration is at 7:30am. The $25 donation supports the Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association. Clif Bar will have water and fueling stations along the ride. All riders will receive a poster and T-shirt printed and designed by Rise Designs in Meyers, plus a raffle ticket.

Shuttles and demos will also be offered from 10am-2pm from the parking lot at the Divided Sky.

Starting at 3pm, there will be a celebration of mountain biking. Included are a beer garden, food, kids zone, and live music.

Zephyr Cove Tennis Club is going Hawaiian with its Aloha Hump Day mixer on Aug. 6.

The best dressed will win a prize.

Play starts at 5:30pm. The doubles mixer is for adult players of all abilities.

Cost is $10 for club members, $15 for non-members, and $5 for spectators (meal only). The price includes a barbecue, raffle prizes and lots of tennis.

Participants are encouraged to bring a side dish or dessert, as well as beverage of choice that does not come in a glass container. No advance sign-up is required.

Zephyr Cove Tennis Club is on Warrior Way off Highway 50 in Zephyr Cove.