Originally Posted by
Zapdaba
My question is, can Tahoe also wow me with road rides that start at the lake level?
Absolutely. How many miles do you want to do?
The
west side of Mt. Rose is good and has a shoulder.
Donner Pass is great. The scenery is fantastic and traffic tends to be low. Those are probably the two most popular.
Both sides of
Kingsbury are fun (especially the east side), Martis Peak (
https://www.strava.com/segments/613598) (road surface kind of sucks, but there's a great view at the top from the fire lookout that makes it worth the ride),
Luther Pass (fast descent and has shoulder), and if you want more the Death Ride passes are within a short drive.
Riding around the lake is overrated, IMO. The Nevada side is more bike friendly than the CA side. The CA side has a lot of bike/ped paths that are separated from the road that are a pain in the ass to ride on. Emerald Bay is great, but the rest isn't any more scenic than other roads in the area. You might as well ride on Pioneer Trail, N Upper Truckee, and S Upper Truckee near South Lake Tahoe, for example, instead of 50/89 between Stateline and Emerald Bay.
That's just the tip of the iceberg. Let me know if you want more specific routes.