Epic Rides: TheCommute Day 4
We’re coming for you Berryessa! Photo by James Adamson – dropmedia.tv
Starting last Sunday, a group of three intrepid mountain bike explorers lit out from North Lake Tahoe heading west through hundreds of miles of known and unknown singletrack, double track and the occasional bike lane on their way to the ultimate destination of San Francisco on a ride dubbed simply “TheCommute.” Our very own Angry Singlespeeder (AKA Kurt Gensheimer) is one of those explorers and we will be posting mostly visual updates throughout the week as the group makes their way west with the towns of Nevada City, Auburn, Folsom, Davis, Cache Creek, Calistoga, Novato and finally San Francisco pencilled in on the route.
Below are photos and descriptions of Day 4’s segment from Folsom to Cache Creek Casino in Brooks, Calif. You can look at their Day 4 Strava Tracks here.
Cashing in our gold from the high country in old town Sacramento before we push on into the unknown. Photo by James Adamson – dropmedia.tv
The Commute Day 4
We all knew going into day 4 that it was going to be a lot of pavement between Folsom and Cache Creek Casino, but we didn’t bargain on 90 miles of it, an especially painful day on a singlespeed mountain bike. Actually, not all of it was pavement. Wild Bill Murray from Folsom Bike guided us through some fun singletrack before we hit the paved American River Trail to Sacramento.
Once on the ART, things got weird. First we had a posturing tandem rider come speeding at us yelling “move over you f*cking retards!”. Then a homeless guy came riding up beside us, let out a “woo hoo!” then yelled “get the money! Get the muthaf*cking money!” To cap off out ART experience, we rode right past two heroin addicts that looked like they just shot up. It didn’t help that I got stuck between to giant boulders where they were lifelessly laying.
Photo by James Adamson – dropmedia.tv
Once out in the countryside, the oddities continued. Old mattresses, furniture and trash were dumped on the side of the road and a stolen crotch rocket motorcycle was mostly submerged in an irrigation canal. There were some pretty moments too. Old Sacramento was beautiful, and as we approached the west side of the Central Valley, Berryessa Peak came into view, a mountain we will climb first thing tomorrow. Now we are camped in a peaceful walnut grove after a fresh cooked meal all thanks to Murphy Mack, who drove up from San Francisco in the SuperPro team bus to support us for the night. Tomorrow takes us into wine country and some of NorCal’s finest trails. – Kurt Gensheimer
View all of “TheCommute” daily entries here.
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