Dedication of latest phase of Lake Tahoe Bikeway

Another section of what is becoming the premier bikeway circling Lake Tahoe was dedicated in a ceremony behind Lakeside Inn on Wednesday. This new shared-use trail connects to Rabe Meadow with access to Nevada Beach and Round Hill Pines Resort.

"The TTD (Tahoe Transportation District) is pleased to have been part of this project," said Carl Hasty, District Manager of TTD. "Bike trails are thought of as a 'nice to do' project in many areas, but in Lake Tahoe they are important."

The dedication was held just hours become almost three hundred of the worlds top cyclists came to town for the Amgen Tour of California. Kristen Klein, President of Amgen TOC and Executive Vice President of AEG Sports stopped by the ceremony before heading back to Lodi for the completed of Stage 4 of the annual southern to northern California race.

"I'm excited to be back in South Lake Tahoe," said Klein. "The whole world gets to see what cyclists and everyone else loves about Lake Tahoe. This is a very supportive community that supports cycling."

"Here I get to share yet another part of cycling with you," added Klein.

Beside Hasty and Klein, speakers included Carol Chaplin, Executive Director of Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, and cycling advocates Mike Bradford, President of Lakeside Inn & Casino and Curtis Fong, Founder of Bike the West.

For his 30 years of bringing cycling events to Lake Tahoe, Chaplin said of Fong, "He has a significant impact on bringing the Tour (Amgen) here."

"Bike paths were a dream and a 'what if' and now we have this," said Fong. "I hope this bike trail around the lake will be called 'America's Most Beautiful Bikeway' in my lifetime."

"I knew that if I built it, they would come," Fong said of his America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride held annually at the lake.

Mike Bradford said that he is very proud of the organizations behind the bike trails completed so far, including Tahoe Transportation District, Nevada Division of State Lands, Nevada State Parks, Federal Highway Administration, Nevada Department of Transportation, Q&D Construction, Lumos and Associates, Matzoll Development Consultants, AECOM, Ascent Environmental, LSC Transportation Consultants, Alta Planning, United States Forest Service, Douglas County, Washoe County, Carson City, Washoe Tribe, South Shore Transportation Management Association, and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

"All of this is coming together," said Bradford. "Cost of trails is huge, but the benefit is bigger."

The new stretch of bikeway begins at Laura Drive and 4-H Road, heads through Rabe Meadown, over to Nevada Beach and ends on Highway 50 after Round Hill Pines. The next local phase will be from Lake Parkway to Laura Drive behind Lakside Inn, hopefully through a small part of Edgewood Tahoe according to TTD.

More information on the bikeway: tahoetransportation.org/current-capital-projects/americas-most-beautiful-bikeway