Day 3, Tuesday, June 7, 2005
Sacramento, CA to Auburn, CA - 51 miles, 12.6 mph, 3h 41m 59s
Up at 6 AM, 7:15 load luggage, 7:30 breakfast, 8:45 on the road. Weather this morning was cool, clear and calm and it just got better by mid morning and turned into another great cycling day. Breakfast at Lyons Restaurant was very slow but it was OK because today was a short 51 miles.
For the 33 miles we rode the American River Way - Jebediah Smith River Bike Way, all the way to Folsom Lake. It was a beautiful winding path below and above the American River. In the early 1900's giant earth moving equipment dug up this area and sifted, looking for gold. The dug up rocks were deposited all over the area in piles (see pic). As the excavation progressed, it created the American River. The whole area now serves as a run off for excess water that comes from the melting snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There has already been some early rain and snow melt this year and the dams were opened to relieve some of the pressure from up stream. If this is not done, populated areas could be flooded. Therefore the water is released and the lower area is flooded - that's where the bike path is. This has recently been done and the bike was under 1 - 2 feet of water. It has since dried up but yesterday they have begun flooding it again. My pics of Folsom Lake show the snow capped Sierra Nevada Mountains where the snow melt is coming from. Right now the lake is at its highest safe level. It is 50 feet higher than normal. The 'bushes' in the water that you see in my pics actually are the tops of trees that are over 50 feet tall!
All cyclists hung out at the SAG at Folsom Lake for a very long time, it was such a beautiful spot. The remainder of the ride was a long climb to Auburn. This was a good warm up for tomorrow.
I arrived at the Comfort Inn about 1 PM. Don and Harriet, Donna's aunt and uncle, were to meet me around 2 - 3 PM. They live a short distance from here. I had a window of time so did a clothes wash and cleaned my bike. They arrived about 2:30. It was great to see them - we chatted for almost 2 hours in the hotel lobby. They brought me some of Don's home made trail mix and some fresh strawberries from their garden (delicious). After they left, I cleaned up, wrote my journal, went to route rap and dinner at 'Sizzler'. I had a two large garden salads, steak, potato, rice, 3 large Pepsi's and 3 ice cream cones.
My camera card reader failed yesterday. This prevents me from transfering pics from my camera to my computer. I was able to get out tonight and get a new one at a local Staples.
|
|
|
|
|
