Distance: 57 miles Vacaville, CA to Folsom, CA
Elevation Gain: 534 ft
Today begins our first day where we will be moving to a new location every day.
As we were pulling out of our RV park, I noticed the screen map on my Garmin was not centering. As I rode I would ride right off of the screen, not knowing where my next turns would be. I called Garmin Technical Support and by the time they got back to me, I was several miles into my ride towards Sacramento. The Garmin man sounded real sympathetic but told me to check back in a few weeks! That left me completely on my own with no route to follow. I resorted to the map that I had on my phone. It was just hard trying to follow a map that is in your pocket. Every time I was off course I would have to retrace my course to find where I should be headed.
I continued to head north through some nut groves and saw a big bird overhead. It seemed to be circling me. My first thought was that this was hilarious. Really? Buzzards are interested in me? The bird kept coming closer and getting bigger and bigger. Soon I could tell that this bird had a wingspan larger than my arm-span! Now it was no longer a joke. As the bird swooped in closer, it landed within ten feet of me and I noticed another just like it next to it. As far as I can tell they were turkey vultures. I would have stopped and taken some pictures but I thought it was my end. Fortunately, I pedaled fast enough to escape.
My route took me through the UC Davis campus. I must admit it was a beautiful place. While I was waiting for a light to change, I noticed one of the students pointing at me. I must have been a spectacle as I was the only person on campus not wearing a face mask.
My next leg took me to I-80. The cars and trucks were going the opposite direction I was. There was just a barricade and chain-link fence in between us. I’m sure I worried them.
Going through West Sacramento was interesting and mostly an industrial area. I lost my direction only a few times and then had to back track my way until my location matched the map.
As I went through Old Sacramento and the fun shops there it was not hard to notice the National Guard in riot control garb. It made me feel happy for the friends we see in Cache Valley.
As it turned out we decided to meet at the Costco store in Folsom. After all, doesn’t everyone know where their closest Costco is?
After asking a few people, I was able to get on another bike path that I exited within a few blocks of the Costco. It was great to see Kathie again. We spent the night in the Sam’s Club parking lot next door.
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ThruUSA2 