Monday, June 2, 2008

Fairfield-Sacramento

I failed to mention in yesterdays post that a few of the riders were very beat after the the first day’s ride. My second roommate Jeff showered and crashed until dinner. Went to bed after dinner and slept until we woke him for breakfast. My training and preparation has paid off. I feel great after two days. Credit goes to my RABA friends, son Matt, and brother Dennis who were frequent ride partners since the start of serious preparation in January. I don’t want to get overconfident since we have to go over the Sierra Nevada range on June 4. There will be an 8900 ft mountain pass that we ride through and then later the Rocky mountains.

Today we had a much more relaxed departure schedule. Breakfast was at 6:30, and then luggage loading at 8:00. Most of the riders departed shortly after 8:00 AM.

The route today took us from Fairfield to Sacramento, a distance of 57 miles and the side trip into Davis made it 60 total. We were all excited that it would be relatively flat terrain. Based on my GPS, we actually had a total accumulative climbing elevation of 1289 ft for the day. That’s a piece of cake compared to the first day accumulative climbing elevation of 5049 ft. As you know San Francisco has some hills! Today the wind was from the SW at 15-20 MPH and we were riding NE. That’s cool!

We rode through Central CA where they grow all the produce that ends up in many of the grocery stores back East. I saw fields of Wheat, Peach Trees, Tomatoes, and other crops I couldn’t readily identify.



We also went through Davis CA which is a University town with several bike shops and lots of street side cafes and eating places. I stopped with our riding group for lunch and to check out the bike shops in case we needed to pick up some important items.

We arrived at the hotel in Sacramento at about 2:30 PM. The temp at ride start was about 60 degrees and finished around 80. It was great to get in the room, get a shower and drink some ice water.

I always look forward to the comments that you have left. It a real gift, thank you! I feel honored to receive them from you. I believe that I will be able to face the physical challenges that come and accomplish this dream. This is a big adventure and I’m happy to share it with you. Today I thought of my friends at Dominion as I pedaled across CA. Hang in there and be sure to have dreams for the future. Your day will come.

If you aren't familiar with how to post your comments on my blog, it’s easy. I’ll ask my blog administrator to post a concise procedure on the blog that you can read and follow (thanks Mark).

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Jay
Go Man Go! We are really happy you are enjoying your adventure and doing so well. We have been watching the bikers here in UT struggling up the steep inclines in the East Canyon but it is nothing like you are experiencing.

matt said...

It has to feel good to see all that preparation pay off. We'll see how you feel after the Sieras.

How many people are in your riding group? Does it tend the be the same group each day? Is the pace allowing you to savor the scenery?

Keep it up!

Anonymous said...

Jay, please tell Rick hello for me. I wasn't positive from the picture, but I met him (along with Monica and Phaedra) in the MS 150 last year. I confirmed it by looking at Rick's name on the narrative he sent. Now sing, "It's a small world after all........."

Anonymous said...

I am loving reading your entries! I think many of us are experiencing your adventure with you in some small way! We'll post some instructions tonight for folks new to blogging.