On Friday evening, we rode from the hotel in Rancho Cordova to William Pond Park. Then it was back to Jack’s Urban Eats for dinner. The ride departed at 6:00 so we didn’t have light issues to worry about, nor the rear tire flat that I experienced last year. Dinner was perfect with conversation and getting to know folks from Fresno, Santa Diego, and the Bay Area. The ride back to the hotel was uneventful, and all retired for the night. Total miles: 18.25.
Saturday dawned to breakfast at the hotel. We departed at 9:30 to connect with more riders at the Sunrise boat ramp on the American River Trail. After the obligatory photo and ride reminders, three groups of riders departed. The first group road the American River Trail to Beal’s Point, returning via the Johnny Cash Trail. Another group departed the trail in Folsom to ride the Johnny Cash Trail. And the third group road the American River Trail to Karen’s Bakery & Restaurant in Folsom. Karen’s is where we all had lunch, but the three groups arrived at different times so the staff appeared able to keep pace. We rode in the first group, so clocked in 30.5 miles.
The group shared liquid refreshment on the patio of the hotel before fifteen of us walked to dinner at Magnolia House at Sheepherder Inn. Amazingly they sat us almost immediately.
After Sunday breakfast we departed on the American River Trail towards Old Sacramento. We couldn’t get all the way to Old Sac due to continued flooding damage on the trail around mile 3. Most folks stopped to have lunch at Panera Bread on Howe Street. Paula, Larry, Allen and I decided to continue on to see what the end of the trail looked like. We indeed found the trail closed at mile 3, with water completely obscuring the trail. We turned around and cycled back to the hotel. On our trek we saw a colorful rooster, deer, turkeys, and numerous birds. Total miles for us: 42.5.
Photos taken by the group are available at: https://www.meetup.com/SFBARC/photos/29906372/
Here are some of our photos:
