55 miles, 2500 feet of climbing
It was another beautiful California day today, not a cloud in the sky. We started out at 7:30 am this morning in an attempt to beat the heat. The Americas River Bike Trail was wonderfully beautiful this morning as we pedaled along for the first 30 or so miles all the way to Folsom Lake. We stopped by Folsom Prison and asked to take a tour, and they told us that they did not offer tours of the prison to the public due to safety concerns. I then took the guard aside and discreetly informed her that I knew the Warden personally having spent some time at the prison years ago due to a very unfortunate set of circumstances that I won't go into here. The guard's eyes lite up as if she had realized that I was part of the family. She made some calls, and we were in. The tour didn't have the same fun atmosphere as the Jelly Belly Factory tour we did yesterday, but it did break up the day of riding nicely. Some highlights from the tour were the, "Convict For A Day Photo Op" where they take your picture and photoshop you into a bright orange jumpsuit complete with a prisoner number, a large display of restraining devices that they use on a daily basis at the prison and the "It's Your Turn In the Barrel Game" which I will not go into here for obvious reasons. They have a cute little gift shop right by the front gates, and I bought a picture of Johnny Cash performing at the prison in 1968. I also picked up some fake handcuffs and a shank, both made by inmates. I asked if I could briefly visit with a few of my friends who currently reside at the prison, but I was told that one was in solitary confinement until next month, "the hole" as we called it, and the others were out in the yard for their 1 hour a week of exercise time. So I just shouted and waved to them from up in one of the guard towers.
After that, it was up Folsom Auburn Road to our hotel in the historic town of Auburn. It is a town of about 15,000 people known for its California Gold Rush History. I stopped by the local bike shop for a spare tire, some tubes and a cycling hat to keep the sun off my noggin.
Tonight its dinner at Sizzler! I haven't been to Sizzler since the Disco Era, it should be fun.
Everyone in our group seems to be doing fine on the road. The Brits all cycle together, and they say they have almost adjusted to the 8 hour time change from the UK. Zak the youngest member of our group, I think he's maybe 30 at the oldest, rides with them and fits right in because they are all studs on the bike.
Tomorrow we climb up to Truckee, CA. I will be in my lowest gear 98% of the time, you can count on it. I can see each member of our group passing me now, effortlessly gliding up the mountains as they take in the sites. But this is not a race, I'm not 50 anymore, and frankly, I'm in no hurry. As the famous 20th-century philosopher Sir Mathew Robertson once told me, "A man's got to know his limitations." Or was that Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry? I get those two confused. At any rate, let's see if I can stretch those limitations just a bit tomorrow as well as for the next......49 days. So I'll see you all at the hotel.......when I get there.
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