DAY 3

ROUTE:Sacramento to Aubrun,CA	DISTANCE:51 miles	WINDS:Amazingly calm!
WEATHER:Beautimous! Sunny and cool.	TERRAIN:Flat early, then morphing into hills	CLIMBING:1150 feet

Day 3 is in the bag and it was the toughest so far, but not nearly as tough as tomorrow. Word is that tomorrow is the worst climbing day of the whole trip. Oh boy. :::rolling eyes::: The biggest hill I ride in Myrtle Beach is the dip getting back into the Bob Evans parking lot, so the 8,230’ of elevation we encounter tomorrow has me more than a little nervous. Today was a good day. The weather was awesome…sunny and cool, with the temps climbing to the mid 70s by late morning. We got up and loaded the vans at 6:30, then headed to breakfast at a place called Lyons. Someone got their wires crossed, and instead of being limited to a couple of choices, we were able to order whatever we wanted off the menu. J I had scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast. I’m gonna weigh 900 pounds by July 27. The first 30 miles today were on an incredible paved bike path. It followed the American River and was divided for two way bike and pedestrian traffic. We passed lots of riders, walkers, runners, and dog walkers. Towards the end of the path, it began to slowly gain elevation, but we still managed to get to the 30 mile point by 9:30. We were only riding 51 for the day, so we were looking good. At the 30 mile SAG, a former ABB rider met us and brought peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He also brought some intimidating thoughts about tomorrow’s ride. Nice. J We left the sag and the bike path, and the topography changed dramatically. Sudeenly we were looking at long, steep inclines. I’m already feeling a ton stronger than I did on day 1, so I didn’t have any trouble. The only thing you can do on climbs like those are to drop into your easiest gear and get into a groove. On the steepest grades of the climb, I was only doing about 6mph. Of course, everybody else was doing about the same…you just can’t fight gravity too awful much! We finally crawled into Auburn, CA, at about noon…still a really early end to the day’s riding! After a shower, I went into downtown Auburn with my new buddies Fast Frank, Jerry, Dan the man, and David. We did a little shopping, and then found a diner for lunch. I had a grilled cheese sandwich and fries for those of you paying attention to my food intake! This diner was really small and really Mayberry-ish….I asked where the restroom was and they directed me through the kitchen. I must admit that walking through a restaurant kitchen to the bathroom was a new experience for me. J I’ve been having a little trouble doing this website because I’m a techno-idiot, but Roy is trying to talk me through it and hopefully I’ll get the hang of it soon. Stick with me…I have some great pics that I hope to figure out how to publish soon! Thanks for the emails that some of you have sent. How ‘bout the rest of you?? Just kidding! Just think about me tomorrow as I brave the chilly temps and and ugly ground angles!

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