Description: Advocacy. Bikes. Community.
NOW that Monitor Pass has opened for the season (thank you Caltrans!) it seemed like a good time to post up a few hints on riding one of the most iconic passes in the California Alps.
ESPECIALLY because while we await the opening of Highway 4 between Lake Alpine and Centerville Flats (Ebbett’s Pass), it’s a great training ground for any ride at altitude, including America ’ s Most Beautiful Bike Ride (just under a week out!), Tahoe Truckee Gravel (forest fun five weeks out), the Deathride (seven weeks from Saturday!) and the Mammoth Gran Fondo (a September cap off to the summer).
MONITOR is monolithic compared to say, Ebbetts, which is longer, yet more gradual. Similarly, Carson has some flat spots and so allows for some breathing room. Monitor. Not so much. The views are breathtaking, though, especially in the early morning hours when heading east and dropping down from the pass.