Tuesday, June 4:  Sacramento, California to Auburn, California
Distance:  52.5 miles
Total time:  6 hours 33 minutes
Riding time:  5 hours

Another great day of riding through California.  I wore my Ireland jersey in hopes that my DNA would see me through the first big hills.  It did:

Today's ride was really two separate rides.  First, a lovely, easy ride on the American River Bike Trail, one of the oldest and longest purpose-built trails in the U.S.  It dates from the late 1890s when gentlemen would ride their high-wheel penny farthings on it.  It was a leisurely ride with great scenery, like this:

This being California, we did experience a landslide or two that turned our biking into a portage exercise:

We stopped for our only SAG (service and gear) stop at Folsom Lake, with a "nice" view of Folsom Prison.  This is Michael from Ohio, outside the wire:

The second part of the ride was seventeen miles of mostly climbing, to the town of Auburn in the foothills of the Sierras.   It was very hot - my Garmin says we had a high temperature of 99 - and that made a moderate climb into a grueling one, at least for me.  Tomorrow we have one of our toughest climbs - over the Donner Pass - so today was just a warmup.

I got my first flat tire today, but luckily I noticed it during the rest at the SAG stop.  The crack America by Bicycle team fixed it for me, Jamie from Maine waited for me, and we rode the hills together.

We took advantage of the short day - I  believe today's 52-plus is the shortest day of the entire ride - to relax by the pool and do laundry.

More tomorrow after the climb.