So I walked the first part of the tour.
I had my first encounter of the tour just a couple miles from home,. The road I live on, Los Alamos Rd, is a favorite training ride for the local hot-shots due to its steepness and the lack of traffic. (It's a dead-end road.) When I saw two cyclists stopped by the side of the road I stopped to see if they were OK. I think Omar and Kyle were just resting. Kyle looked at my rig and asked if I were training for a tour. When I told them my story they were suitably impressed. Kyle himself has done some touring of a couple weeks.
My route took me through the town of Sonoma. I took the bike path behind the Sonoma Barracks, where Colonel Vallejo used to hang out when California was still part of Mexico. There's a train museum right by the trail.
I probably should have taken photos of the countryside, but I see grape fields all the time. Nothing special.
I stopped in the parking lot of a winery to have some bagel peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Then I stopped later in the afternoon to have a second lunch of grease and chicken at a Jack in the Box. I think it was about there that I missed the turn onto Broadway. I realized my error in several miles and stopped to ask directions at a roadside cherry stand. The lady seemed sharp, friendly and knowledgeable and directed me to a street through a parking lot on the other side of the road. When I got there, there were no street signs, but it soon became clear that this wasn't Broadway.
I stopped outside a bar and asked directions again. I was a little leery of accepting her directions because it was clear the lady had already been drinking at 2 in the afternoon but it turned out her instructions were spot on and I was soon back on route. Don't judge a book by its cover.
The day ended up being much longer than expected. 88 miles when I was expectiing 65. My couple wrong turns should have added only 6-8 miles. The rest was a major error in the spreadsheet that I wrote to make the route slip to get from my house to the Adventure Cycling route. I was rushed getting ready for the tour or I would have had more time to check it.
The campground at the Lake Solano County Park has hiker/biker spots so cyclists always have a place to stay, although the spot is almost a quarter mile from the water, showers, and bathrooms. I guess they figure you can ride there.
It was after 7 pm when I rolled in. I had just enough time to set up camp, shower and cook dinner before it got dark.
For dinner I had tuna noodle casserole. You add some water to the pot, add a packdet of Lipton onion soup, some whole-grain noodles, and a packet of tuna (used rather than a can to save weight). Cook untio the noodles are soft.
My ancient, cheapo Boy Scout cook kit actually works pretty well. It includes a small pot, frying pan, two metal dish/bowls, and a handle that fits all of the above. There is room inside for a plastic measurig cup, which doubles as a drinking cup, a cigarette lighter, plastic knife, fork, spoon and serving spoon and a couple other small items.
The campground is full of peacocks. If you have ever been around peacocks, you know about the extremely loud, piercing shrieks they make. Fortunately I have earplugs so I can sleep tonight.
It was dark by the time I got to bed so I'm actually writing this the next morning while I wait for my Garmin to recharge.
I didn't get out of camp until almost 10 am. This was an easier day by design to rest from yesterday.
There were a number of cyclists on the road in the Davis area. I rode with one for a short distance. He is a member of the Davis Bike Club and thanked us Santa Rosa Cycling Club members for offering to help out with their double century ride that is coming up this Saturday. It is only fair since the Davis club helped SRCC financially after the firestorm last year that burned our warehouse and all its content to the ground.
I saw several of these signs:
I stopped in Davis and had fish & chips for lunch.
The way to get across the wetlands into Sacramento is via the Yolo Causeway bike path.
It runs right parallel to the I-80 freeway.
I'm staying at the IH Hostel in Sacramento. It is the exact same building that Frank and I stayed in on our 1996 cross-country trek but it is at a different address. It's the same cool old victorian building but apparently it was moved to the other side of the street in 2001, the third time it had moved since it was built in 1885. It is now at 925 H St.
When I arrived, there were several cyclists lounging on the front porch. It turns out there is an Adventure Cycling tour going in the opposite direction and they happened to pick the Sacramento Hostel for their lodging tonight.
The guy at the desk recommended the Grange restaurant down the street
for dinner. The cheapest entree on the menu was $29, which is more
than I normally like to spend on myself. But is indeed was very good.
Last updated May 24, 2018