Carl's Bike Blog: San Francisco (sort of) to Davis

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

San Francisco (sort of) to Davis

So on Sunday I rode home (Vallejo Ferry, back to Davis) from Heiko's 40th Birthday party, pie fight, scavenger hunt, and bonfire, (very fun but that is another story.)

I missed the 12:40 ferry so I did not arrive in Vallejo until 3:10.The last time I did this I missed the ferry too, and did the ride froom Richmond. That was a mistake so this time I waited for the next ferry while sipping coffee and enjoying the sunshine on the bay. There was an awesome tailwind up from Vallejo to Napa and I enjoyed it. It was a hot slog up the mountains out of Napa though and I thought I was gonna die, misjudged my eating a little and was really struggling with the heat. So I took a break and enjoyed the view a bit, eventually a cool breeze came up and cooled my overheated body down. So I got back on the bike and enjoyed the foothills through the evening light, beautiful. In the Google earth screenshot you can see where Hwy 121 sneeks over the mountains and down into Wooden Valley. In this picture it looks like the approach from the east is steeper but it sure did not feel that way on Sunday.

Nice to get in a longer ride (about 75 miles) probably my longest yet this year. I took some comfort that Lance Armstrong described this ride this past winter as the hardest day he had had on a bike. Of course he was talking about the cold weather, but it's nice to know that it is a tough ride. I need to catch up to Joe King who did the Livestrong Century yesterday (Go Joe!) and the Mt Tam Century a few weeks ago. Maybe we will have a group of riders do the hundred mile route Saturday this year.

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NCAC

The 2013 NorCal AIDS Cycle Route!

The NorCal AIDS Cycle route has been designed to allow the participants to experience some of the best scenery of Northern California by traveling through the service area of many of our benefiting agencies. Not only does the route pass through some of Northern California’s most stunning country side but it also encompasses many of the beautiful small towns that lay nestled in the foothills and northern valley. Each day will bring you new sites and introduce you to new areas.

Day 1 (101 miles) Begins in Folsom where the first half of the day is spent exploring the rolling terrain of the foothills near Lincoln, Loomis, and Linda. Riders will travel up the first climb of the 4-day ride, Sierra College Boulevard. Lunch is served in the town of Marysville. The afternoon takes our riders back into the foothills to enjoy the scenery of many small farms and ranches before finishing the day at Gridley in the heart of the Northern Valley.

Day 2 (103 miles) Sends our cyclists up the middle of the Northern Valley to the bottom of the famous Table Mountain in the small town of Oroville. From there, cyclist will travel back into the foothills before ending up in Durham for lunch. The remainder of the day is spent cruising along the banks of the Sacramento River with the last rest stop at the Sacramento National Wild Life Refuge. The day ends in the agricultural town of Williams.

Days 3 and 4 – The Weekender

Day 3 (79 miles) Begins on the flats and breaks away into rolling hills followed by a seven mile climb out of the valley. From there, it’s a mostly-downhill ride along Cache Creek as it empties out into the Capay Valley. We’ll ride by the newly expanded Cache Creek Casino Resort before stopping for the night in Woodland.

Day 4 (50 miles) The easiest day of the ride and final stage is completed with a flat 50 miles from Woodland to Winters to Davis and then back to Sacramento where are cyclist will be met at the State Capital of California by a roaring crowd of friends, family and supporters.