California Diaries Day 2: December 21st

All eyes on the forecast and temperatures looked to be on the rise. Suntan cream on Christmas day…er, I think not. Good news in one respect but what’s better, cold and clear or cold and wet? Exactly. Suffocated skies loaded with dark low level cloud, crying tears over Sacramento, was not the number one weather of choice. But as with everything there’s always a positive, we merely needed to find it.

It didn’t make sense to try and hit the mountains as planned so we followed the bike trail out of town to Folsom Lake, past Granite Bay and on to Auburn Ravine. The rain was constant and dropping down into the ravine pushed the pain threshold of extremities pretty close to the limit, then again who really knows where the limit is? It was evident that this area is incredibly picturesque with quiet meandering roads that I’m sure you could easily lose hour upon hour with no more than inspiration ahead and your thoughts of the day. Frustratingly, on this occasion, it wasn’t possible to appreciate what was on offer. The mystique of the mountain road would go unchartered as we made our way back to the bike trail.

So what did we learn?

1) Yes it’s possible to ride for a number of hours with no feeling in your hands, although this ultimately results in a sad lack of route photography (sorry).

2) Spending the day in cold, rain sodden, tights works wonders for reducing knee bruising from former encounters with the tarmac.

3) Riders may complain about the weather but the bike will always remain loyal, the real sign of strength and a true friend.

And in answer to my question “who stole my blue jersey?” Well, I still don’t know but provided it’s returned by the morning then I’ll forgive and forget and we’ll say no more on the matter…ok?

Ride stats: 1,500m elevation/96miles

For Day 2 GPS info click here