Day 2: Vallejo to Sacramento

Today’s Highlights:
Our second 70-mile ride was great. We had a little delay getting started due to the personal attention the lone cook at the little diner paid to each and every person’s breakfast. Some riders waited almost one hour to get served, but it was yummy. We finally got on our bikes at 7:50 am. After a short ride through town, we turned east into the American Canyon. It was a nice steep climb through ranch country. After cresting the hill, our decent was accompanied by a strong tail wind. We coasted down at over 30 mph with no effort. The rest of the ride was flat and we continued to enjoy a tailwind for half the ride, averaging over 17 mph.

The first rest stop was set up at the Jelly Belly factory. Some people took a tour. I didn’t hang around long because I wanted to get to Sacramento early. From there, we traveled through a flat valley dotted with huge farms. California grows a lot of food! After 40 miles, the wind shifted and we had to pay back some of the help we received by pushing against a headwind. Fortunately, the last ten or so was again helped by a tail wind.

We rode several miles on bike paths along side freeways, which was not very scenic, but still a good ride. We also rode through the UC Davis campus.

After crossing the Tower Bridge, we entered Old Sacramento. It is a very interesting place to visit, with old cobblestone street, wooden boardwalk, and period architecture. After a brief visit there, I rode the last mile to the hotel. I spent most of the day riding with Bud, Ken and Mark.

This evening, my sister June visited me. We went back to Old Sac and toured around some more. Checked out the Delta King and a few shops. Evangeline’s (my granddaughter’s name) had a lot of oddities for fun and strange events. June joined the group for route rap and dinner. We eat at the New Blue Sky Chinese restaurant, recommended by Andy (one of the riders), and it was outstanding!

Looking forward to another nice ride tomorrow. It’s getting hot here.

Pictures Of The Day:

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Statistics:
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