Chico to Sacramento

11/16

I rode down the foothills of the Sierras from the Benanders. It was fast, down 2200' in 8 miles, but bumpy. I turned South and took back roads through orchards in the morning, mostly walnut with peaches and other fruit trees on occasion. These petered out into rice fields, canals leading square muddy lakes. Thousands of ducks and geese were wheeling in the sky. Herons and egrets abound. It was flat. It was as flat as Oberlin, only for a much longer distance. The Sutter Buttes provided some relief. I made it to Yuba City in the afternoon, ate huge mexican meal - knowing I get rice and beans draws me to the Mexican places, though Cal-Mex isn't high on my list of cuisine preferences - and was ready for bed by 7pm.

11/17

From Yuba City, I rode mostly down the Garden Highway to Sacramento. This parallels the Feather River. It was incredibly foggy, again with many rice fields. More swans rested in one patty than I'd seen altogether in my life before. The fog and the flat and the at times incredibly rough levee road were demoralizing. Saddle soreness dominated my thinking. I picked up a roadie (really a mtb-er in disguise), Brian the engineer, and he rode and chatted with me the last 10-15mi into Sacramento. I picked up my pace a bit, and got engaged in conversation, forgetting my pain. The fog lifted too, as he joined me. I'll probably see more cyclists if I ride on weekend days. Brian really helped distract me, and made the miles fly by.

I arrived in Sacramento around 3pm, and spent some time catching up with Heather. We acquired groceries and then went over to friends of hers for dinner partyings. This was the first time I broke into a circle of friends on my ride, and it was a good time. We ate well of the tofudebeast and eggplant, with Heather's friends prodding me for stories from the past. I was happier to divulge bicycle touring lore. Later we played Apples to Apples, a game we should teach Cyc. Wordy people will love it, but it has a broader appeal.

11/18

I spent a bit of the day talking to family, and arranging my visit to Berkeley and San Francicso. I napped. I ran errands, and ultimately never explored Sacramento much. This, I am told, is not a great loss. I did get more time to catch up with Heather, and that was good. It's interesting to see how we've each changed in the last ten years, and who we've become. There's still a connection, true with most of my Obie friends, that I don't find elsewhere. It has to do mostly with values. Intelligence and freakiness are a common thread too, but they seem to matter less than some shared understanding of should. We spent a bit of time talking over dinner, mostly about family and friends, and then called it an early night.

This morning (11/19) we went out for breakfast and now I'm preparing to head West.