Incredible place, incredible route, incredible day. I decided to attempt this route fully unsupported, which meant buying an old raft the night before, and using it to haul my bike and all other equipment across the lake at the beginning and end of this route. This ended up working perfectly. I did have to enter and exit the water at the boat-launch, which meant paddling across the lake before actually starting the route, and then swimming back across the lake after the route.
The swim across the lake was beautiful. Clear water, and an incredible view of the mountain. I hardly noticed the weight of the raft that I was hauling, which I was initially worried about. I got the the swim exit, and just left the raft under a tree. It was hilarious seeing the look on people's faces as the try to figure out why I was swimming, pulling a raft, that had a bicycle in it.
The ride up the mountain was slow going, which allowed me to enjoy the scenery. I knew that this route was basically a race to the summit of Lassen Peak, because it was almost all downhill for the second half. So I tried to keep up a good effort on the way up. I fueled this day exclusively with hot dogs, so I had my vest packed with my running shoes, 7 dogs, 7 buns, and some ketchup packets. Also had water on my bike and one 500mL flask, which ended up being enough water for the entire day. Stopped along the road twice during the ascent to eat (dog counter: 2).
Transitioned quickly, got another hotdog, and started running, but immediately felt the elevation. Felt like I couldn't catch my breath for the first 10 minutes, so had to walk a bunch while I finished eating (dog counter: 3). Then I kept up a good pace to the summit, breathing very hard the whole time. Lots of hikers out, many who cheered me on, or told me I was insane.
Got to the summit, found a nice picnic spot, and ate another hotdog, this time with ketchup (dog counter: 4). Ketchup was a bad idea: way too acidic, especially after running hard for 40 minutes. The view from the top was amazing. With half a hotdog in hand, I started the descent, which was the highlight of my day. The trail was the perfect surface and perfect angle to just lean forward and fall-run. Legs felt super good, mind was sharp, views were insane, and hikers were accommodating. Most saw/heard me coming, and jumped out of the way. From the summit, I got back to my bike in 25 minutes. Definitely the fastest I've ever descended a trail like this.
The ride back to the lake was lovely, with lots of coasting and enjoying the views. After the last little climb, I forced myself to eat another hotdog, because I knew I still had a good amount of swimming left. Couldn't finish it, so I just stuffed it into my vest and kept biking (dog counter: 4.75). Got to my raft, chucked the bike and everything else in, dragged it to the shore, got the wetsuit back on, and headed back out into the water. Water was a little choppy this time, but not bad at all.
I was originally unsure about the swim coming first/last, but finishing with the swim was a perfect way to cool off after the biking and running. And this lake is amazing. If anyone is in the area, I highly recommend each piece of this picnic, and especially the entire thing! Super fun day, in an amazing place.