This is How We Roll

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It seems that cyclists—no matter who they are, where they live or what kind of bikes they ride—will always find a way to get together and pedal. This pair of Tahoe bike clubs brings plenty of two-wheeled fun, while also contributing to their local communities.

Slow Rolling on South Shore 

Chief roller Mark Cutright is pretty clear about the Slow Rollers mission statement: It’s a group for folks who like to ride their bicycles and have a good time. This party on wheels welcomes folks on all sorts of cycles—recumbent bikes, tall bikes, mountain bikes, road bikes—but the most popular Slow Roller pick is the beach cruiser.

Cutright, previously a member of Carson City’s beach cruising club, the Pedestrian Killers, founded the South Lake Tahoe organization about eight years ago. Slow Rollers counts a dozen active members and an unlimited number of participants who show up at events. But rather than gathering weekly, the group puts most of its time and energy into a few key rides, like this year’s Spirit Parade, a five-mile costumed cruise in May that celebrated the Amgen Tour coming to Tahoe.

The Slow Rollers Poker Run is the club’s annual June fundraiser to benefit the Bikes for Children program, which provides bicycles for low-income children in the South Lake Tahoe area. Cyclists stop at five different locations where they pick up poker cards for the chance of a winning hand and Pabst Blue Ribbon (one of the group’s main sponsors) swag at the après barbecue. Interested in riding with this light-hearted, fun-loving group? Visit www.slowrollers.net for more information.

In gear with North Shore Gals 

If you’re looking for the ladies in North Lake Tahoe, there’s a good chance you will find them in the saddle. The Tahoe LUNA Chix is one of 27 teams nationwide sponsored by LUNA Bar, the nutrition bar for women. The LUNA Chix mission is to empower and encourage women through mountain biking, road cycling and outdoor sports while raising money for the Breast Cancer Fund (BCF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing cancer by eliminating exposure to carcinogens.

The Tahoe LUNA Chix offer a rigorous April through September schedule of ladies-only group rides, races and skills clinics for all ability levels. At the core of the group is the Tahoe LUNA team, eight women ranging in age from 18 to nearly 70. In contrast to the Slow Rollers’ PBRs, riders fuel up on LUNA products like energy bars and chews that are provided at every event.

Signature events for the LUNA Chix include a women’s only triathlon clinic in June at West End Beach on Donner Lake. The annual clinic, which focuses on swim starts, transitions, nutrition on the bike and getting through the run, is geared toward helping women compete in their first (or 50th) Donner Lake Triathlon, held this year on July 17, or the Lake Tahoe Triathlon, on August 27.

The Tahoe LUNA team will also be hosting a ladies race night to benefit the BCF at Northstar-at-Tahoe on July 7; cost is $15 to enter.

For more information or to ride with the Tahoe LUNA Chix, visit www.teamlunachix. com/tahoe_mountain_bike. By Wendy Lautner. TQ

Category: Outdoors, Summer