Tioga Pass Bike Tour Yosemite National Park: My snowy bike trip over Tioga Pass

What: Bike Tour

Where: Yosemite National Park

When: 2021/05/22-23 = two days

Why: Some years the park opens this road to byclies only after they finnish cleaning snow in the spring. Making a perfect time for a ride in the splendor of the Alpine country without the noise and danger of sharing the road with cars.

Distance: 160 miles. 80 miles each way. 14,200ft of gains biking east to west. 6,000ft of gains biking West to East.

El Portal to Crane Flat GAIA GPS Topo

Crane Flat to Highway 395 GAIA GPS Topo

Conditions:

On Saturday 05/22/2021 the weather was cold and snowy above 5,000ft. The snow was off and on all day. Thick like sleet most of the time. Temps were in the 30s. The road was warm enough later in the day that there were no majore frozen spots.

On Sunday 05/23/2021 the weather was cool and windy. Temps above 5,000ft were in the 40s to low 50s. Partly cloudy. Temps below 5,000ft - 2,000ft were much warmer! 60-80s degrees fahrenheit.

Lighter pack: Pack with 3.5lbs food came in about 10lbs total. The bike was 17lbs without bags. Sleep system 3lbs. Insulation layers 5lbs. Total weight of everything 35lbs.

Useful Pre-Trip Information:

Check the weather across the route and pack accordingly. It can be snowing at the summit and 70 and sunny at the valley floor. The park is confusing in terms of opening the pass to bikes only before cars. The web site might say its open and park staff and park signage might say something different. How one chooses to navigate this conflicting information is up to them.

There is very little cell service on the summit road. There is a Radio at summit toll booth and some staff live in Tuolumne meadows in early spring. I mention these as they could be useful in the event of an emergency.

Photo Album:

Four film playlists are broken down as follows:

Day 1

Day 2

Food Pack

Gear Pack

The Report:

Two days and 20,000ft of road bike climbing over 160 miles in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in California.