[Ridgetop]

After just getting over a week of the flu, a temperature, and having my wisdom teeth pulled I decided I had to get some warmer weather riding in. My wife and my friend Joe jumped at the idea of riding the Sacramento Delta country since it was supposed to be in the upper 60's. That sounded like warm tropical weather to us . So, spending the night in Elk Grove we got up on Saturday morning and headed out from Franklin, CA (proudly established in 1856) and rode through the town of Hood and headed south along the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Mokelumne Rivers where they all converge together. The ride is almost completely flat, and except for a stretch of about 7 miles, was about 75 miles of almost no cars and lots and lots of wildlife to see. This was a perfect ride for me as I still wasn't feeling too well and the idea of climbing into the Snowy Sierras just didn't seem like too much fun. For those people who live in, near, or are visiting Sacramento I think this is must do winter ride to just get out and stretch your legs. One warning though, we encountered obnoxious dogs at five different spots. All but one was friendly but they still forced us to stop due to their running right in front of the lead rider. They've got it down to perfection. . .ugh.

We did 75 miles of the 95 miles on this map. http://centralcaliforniacycling.com/IH_95_Mile_Map.html
It's too big to post here.

Anyway, starting about 11:00AM we headed toward the town of Hood and Randall Island. Lots of catfish fisherman and no shortage of birds and stuff. Heading through Hood you ride through the town of Courtland off to Hogsback Island where there are some bathrooms to use if necessary. Nice quiet warm roads with lots of fruit trees. Watch out for those mad tractor drivers .

 

[Ridgetop]

On towards Isleton

We then rode on to the town of Isleton. They have food here for those who want it and the little Cafe makes for great food when you are on the last leg of the return journey. I guess the place must be famous for its crawdads or something, but it's pretty quiet around there. Not sure what happened to the great cruise ship I stumbled upon . Lots of sheep and goats to baaa at as you ride by. Had to dodge this rather large critter also. The newer more expensive homes along the delta here are built on stilts in case a New Orleans scenario takes place. All the living quarters are built above river level.

 

[Ridgetop]

Back into Isleton

The loop ride then comes back through the town of Isleton. We stopped for lunch before continuing on. I forgot to take pictures of the food. Guess I was too hungry or something. Had some great Chile Verde though.

 

[Ridgetop]

And then the return Leg

Lots of dead stuff on the return leg. Not sure why, but at least four skunks decided to end it along the way. One pigeon also. No trees, no buildings, nowhere for a pigeon to live. ..not to mention about 1 car an hour and he still got run over. Now that's bad luck! We got back just in time to watch the sunset next to the cemetery where we parked. Since I felt about dead at this point I guess it fit the mood.

 

[Mr. Versatile]

Nice pics. Looks like a nice easy ride.

 

[FatTireFred]

Isleton... way back when (mid to late 70s?) the levee broke and the town flooded... you didn't see any wayward whales in the river, did you?

 

[jd3]

It's so nice to have the option of driving a few hours and having totally different weather and terrain. I have to drive 4 hours just to see a hill. Nice report.

 

[treebound]

Nice report. I never made it to ride down there when I lived out west there.

How'd you like riding over the steel grates on the bridges? How'd the bikes handle it?

The pic with the moon and tree branches is very nice.

 

[Ridgetop]

Riding over the grates when they are dry is no real problem. Wet. . well that's another story. The biggest thing they do is move the bike back and forth an inch or so. Strange feeling but no control issues.

 

[Ridgetop]

The ride is pretty darn easy overall. We usually like to try and extend it out as far as possible given daylight restraints. I just wasn't feeling well enough to get that extra 30 miles out and to get out of bed early enough to do it.

 

[Ridgetop]

No, no whales. . We looked for stuff in the river as we rode though. Not much to see unfortunately besides birds and sunken boats.

 

[turkishvan]

Im thinking the elevation change for this route is like...ah...32ft total vertical gain, right? Must be nice.

 

[lx93]

Another "congrats" on the pics, very nice, w/ some creativity as well.

Normally, CA roads are much smoother, right? Some parts look rather "crumbly". Or maybe just around Monterey, where I was stationed, had nice roads to please the tourists?

 

[Ridgetop]

The dikes and surrounding land aren't too stable anymore. I think some seepage is occuring here and there along with the normal saturation. These roads are a lot rougher than many of the CA roads I've ridden.

 

[MTT]

Looks like a great place to ride. Complete report with road kill!

 

[CleavesF]

Yeah I second that... poor skunk. I ran over one of those one time, they're pretty cute. Too bad they smell.