Bike the West has been monitoring the Mosquito Fire burning to the west of Lake Tahoe and came to the difficult decision on Thursday to cancel the 2022 America’s Most Beautiful Tour De Tahoe. They had been hoping to get back on track after COVID and the 2021 Tamarack and Caldor fires.
With cycling being a heavy cardio activity, the bad air quality from the fire would hamper riders, said organizer Curtis Fong. The Mosquito Fire grew to over 13,000 acres on September 8, 5,000 of those acres burning in under two hours. There is no containment at this time.
“At this point, we’ve decided to cancel the ride, and wanted to get this information out as many people had travel plans or reservations for the Tahoe area,” said Bike the West on their website and social media.
1500 people had registered for the 18th annual event. There will be updates on Bike the West Friday: https://www.bikethewest.com/.