Day 4-Still Climbing.....

Miles Completed Today: 38
Total Miles Completed: 225
Miles To Go: 3475

We spent last night at Indian Grinding Rock State Park in the Sierra Nevada foothills and woke up at 7:00 AM to try and get an early start. But after driving back to Consunme River where the guys stopped yesterday, and replacing tires and tubes on bikes, they never got on the road until 11:00 AM. It's another 57 miles to Carson Pass at the top of the Sierra Nevada, so likely we'll stay somewhere before there and then make some serious mileage tomorrow and the next day on the eastern slope.

Update: A late start around 11:00, one flat on Sean's bike, and a brutal three thousand foot climb limited the pace to around about five miles per hour from the Cosumnes River to Cooks Station twenty five miles away on HIghway 88. From Cooks Station they climbed another 1,000 feet and we camped along the Bear River Reservoir at 6,000 ft. Bear River Reservoir is tucked deep in a canyon and it bears a striking resemblance to Yosemite Valley not far away.

Day 3-The Sierra Nevada Beckons

Miles Completed Today: 48
Total Miles Completed: 187
Miles To Go: 3513

Today begins the slow upward slope of the western slope of the Sierra Nevada starting in Folsom and leading all the way up to Carson Pass. It will take seventy to eight miles to reach the pass, but it is expected Pat and Sean will go about fifty today. Fortunately, the weather has cooled considerably with temperatures in the eighties, and there is a nice breeze. Sean's bike developed a minor issue as a result of the river crossing yesterday, and it took awhile to fix this morning, but they succeeded, so he's able to use his lowest gears on the hills today. By 1:00 PM they reached Rescue, CA and headed on to Placerville.

Update: Placerville was reached at 5:00 PM and then they pressed on to Somerset where they hooked up with Chris in the SAG vehicle. Since the meeting place was at the top of a long hill, Sean and Pat coasted another two to three miles and stopped at Consumne River. It proved perfect as everyone walked down and cooled off in the river before heading over to Indian Grinding Rock State Park for the night.

Day 2-The Heat Is On (Again)

Miles Completed Today: 69
Total Miles Completed: 139
Miles To Go: 3561

Pat and Sean resumed the trek at 9:30 AM in Winters, CA and made quick progress reaching Davis and the university in about an hour. After a quick rest at UC Davis, they headed on toward Sacramento and soon ran into their first dilemma; a river with no visible crossing. Backtracking, asking the locals and a fisherman for directions, and perseverance eventually paid off after three hours, but they forded the river a la Lewis and Clark style carrying their bikes across the river.


Based on the progress and blistering heat again today, they will stop at Folsom State Park, assuming no other insurmountable obstacles. The good news is that tomorrow temperatures are forecast to drop and we'll be going up in elevation too, so things ought to improve.

Update: The guys reached Folsom at 8:30 PM by winding along the American River through Sacremento on a specatular bike trail. We "camped" in the van for the night.

Day 1-And They're Off!

Miles Completed Today: 70
Total Miles Completed: 3630
Miles To Go: Less Than 3701.7

After a good night's rest in Vallejo we got up early, loaded the bikes on the van and headed across the bay to the Golden Gate Bridge. We decided last night to add an extra 1.7 miles to the route so the guys could bike across the bridge from north to south and then hit the first leg of the route, which begins at the south end of the Golden Gate. We took some photos for Flag Day on the north side, and then they headed out.

By 1:00 PM they had crossed San Francisco, boarded the ferry, and reached Vallejo where the temperature was 30 degrees hotter than at the bridge. Ouch! At 6:00 PM Davis was within their sights. They're still shooting for Sacramento, but the mercury's over 100 further inland, so we'll wait and see.

Update: The final finish line was Winters, CA, about ten miles west of Davis. Temperatures over 100 took their toll and it was after dark by the time the guys reached Winters.

The Day Before

We loaded up the SAG vehicle as tight as could be this morning with food, maps, bike equipment and a million other things and then drove up to the Bay area.

We have checked in to a hotel since campgrounds and RV parks are sparse around San Francisco. It will also provide for a final good night's sleep before starting the 3,700 mile trek to Yorktown, Va. tomorrow. Pat and Sean are making some final tweaks to their bikes as you can see. Yes, inside the hotel room, but don't tell anybody! We'll kick off early in the morning at the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Pat & Sean will ride south across the bridge, make their way across San Francisco to the docks, and then hop the ferry to Vallejo. From Vallejo, they will proceed east winding through country roads and bike paths with Sacramento being the final destination. . Chris will shadow in the SAG vehicle, hook up with them for lunch, and then drive ahead to Lake Folsom State Park. Wish us luck!

God's Speed to the King's Of The Road, The Pedaler's Of The Pavement.

Countdown To Launch, T-2 Days

Everything is coming together and the team will "launch" in two days. The van's been tuned up, Pat and Sean have their bikes ready to roll and will be heading to California soon. Pat has created some web pages discussing the genesis of this idea (KingRico.googlepages.com/thedream), as well as an equipment inventory list ( KingRico.googlepages.com/biketrip) of everything needed, hopefully, to cycle from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast.

More blogging practice

The van's been picked up and just needs a bike rack before it's ready to go. Getting more familiar with the blogging now and posting more practice photos.


One or two more posts and it should be down pat.