We arrived in Tahoe on a beautiful Sunday afternoon and settled on a campground on the south end of the lake on the Nevada (east) side.  The campground is appropriately named “Nevada Beach” because it’s located right on the shores of the lake and only a stone’s throw from the hustle and bustle of South Lake Tahoe.  The Nevada casinos are only 2-3 miles away, but you’d never know it when you’re hanging out in the pine forests of Nevada Beach.  We could immediately sense that this place was completely worthy of at least a couple of nights, and our overstuffed agenda of mountain biking, exploring, and beer warranted a minimum of 72 hours.  Our first mountain bike ride was supposed to be on the Tahoe Rim Trail above 8,000 feet, but we arrived at the trailhead only to find that the trail was closed to mountain biking on odd-numbered days.  It was a soft introduction to the many unnecessary rules in California, although technically the trail is located in Nevada.  Apparently rules know no boundaries and maybe that’s just a sign that they are so full of rules in California, that they spill over into its abutting states.  Go figure.  Instead of being mountain bike punks, we chose to obey the rule, and we retreated to a leisurely, counterclockwise drive around the lake in search of new terrain.  After we made a complete full circle of the lake, I found yet another epic ride almost back to where we began near South Lake.  Great reviews on MTB Project and several other punks in the parking lot talking about how great the Corral Trail was.  We ascended up a steep, but paved, road for a few miles, only to learn that we were making our way to a fully buffed, downhill-only trail.  Loosely translated, that means huge berms, tabletop jumps, and rock fields that elevated the pucker factor.  Needless to say, Maryjo was thrilled with my selection, a seemingly endless selection of epic and thrilling rides.  All said, the downhill was truly amazing, albeit not totally our style.  We ran into a couple of hardcore downhillers on the way down, and we chatted it up as we studied one another’s gear.  I am happy to report that my fully rigid single speed stuck out like a sore thumb on that trail, and it took only a millisecond before one of the downhillers said “wow, you must have skills riding that bike out here”.  Milliseconds later, I replied with “nope, absolutely not, I am just dumb”.  As I looked at Maryjo, complete with smoke coming out of her ears and with eyes as big as saucers, I was not surprised to learn that she agreed with my assessment.  Interestingly enough, it only took her about 3 or 4 hours to get over it, like she does with all of my epic rides, and perhaps coincident with her 4th glass of very expensive white wine.  My motto is “epic rides build character” and now she’s a better (although bitchier) rider than she was before.  As our good friend Romeo Echo once said in Jackson Hole, “suck it up, fucksticks”.  One of the classic quotes of all time.  Where art thou, Romeo?  We miss you, please come out and play with us.  Anyway, back to the riding.  We (I) picked another classic ride the next day over at Spooner Lake, because after all, what could be so hard about a ride originating at Spooner Lake?  Well, this one was an uphill grind ALL the way, terminating at another Lake up in the mountains called “Marlette Lake”.  What an awesome spot up in the middle of nowhere (there I go again), but we earned the views that day.  My legs were certainly toast, but I am sure Maryjo had plenty more gas left in the tank on her fancy geared bike, along with a whole bunch of swears.  Yup, more testament that I’m actually dumb and not skilled at all, and yet another 3-4 hour attitude adjustment, and Maryjo was right back by my side like a golden retriever.   All said and done, we thought the riding was pretty good in Tahoe, but more suitable for those that like to be shuttled to epic downhill.  The brewery scene is alive and well around Tahoe, and we managed to adjust our attitudes over a couple of craft beers here and there.  We especially loved the little sour brewery in South Lake called “Sidellis”.  We also stumbled upon a celebration of the lifting of prohibition at one of the local Safeways in town.  Yes, true story, Sailor Jerry for $22, almost half of what we were accustomed to spending.  As we cashed out, the couple in front of us asked “where’s the party?”  We felt like rumrunners, but it felt great saving money for the family, and we might just have enough rum to power this journey for a few more months, or at least 1-2 weeks if the “epic” riding continues.  Maybe rum builds character?   We did the touristy thing and visited Inspiration Point.  What a beautiful spot, albeit infested with too many rude tourists of the foreign variety.  We also spent a few hours over at Sand Harbor on the east side of the lake.  What a tremendous and beautiful spot with a beach and a boardwalk along the rocky point.  We also took the opportunity to do a combo polar plunge in the lake as an elderly couple watched us in amazement…new-age hippies in your fancy euro van!   Gin-clear, cold water with incredible white sand that seemed to go on like a Bahamian salt flat.   We absolutely loved Tahoe and we vowed to return someday.  We even talked about spending a winter in Tahoe once our road odyssey ends, that’s how much we liked it.  Real estate prices and endless rules will preclude our setting up shop in the area, but man, the place is beautiful and full of like-minded people.  I feel pretty confident that Tahoe will indeed remain blue for the foreseeable future.  Cheers!