The 210 mile route is mostly paved. 5 1/2 travel days and 1 rest day. The original idea was a longer loop tour but I concluded that a loop has too much climbing. Instead I planned a one-way tour that starts at 4200 feet elevation and ends at 200 feet elevation. It still has two difficult climbing days.

The tour begins in Susanville which is in the Great Basin east of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The tour ends in Chico which is in the Sacramento Valley west of the Sierra Nevada. The overnight destinations are Susanville, Westwood, Quincy (2 nights), Belden Resort, Paradise, and Chico. Lodging is reserved for May 17-23, 2024.

The eastern part of the route travels extensively through the aftermath of the 2021 Dixie fire which was the second largest wildfire in California history, burning nearly 1 million acres and the small town of Greenville. 

The pointy detour on the western part of the route travels 17 miles through the aftermath of the 2018 Camp fire which was the deadliest and most financially destructive wildfire in California history, burning nearly all of the city of Paradise which had 26,000 people before the fire. Zoom way in on Paradise and switch the map to Satellite view to see that most lots have no buildings and no vegetation.

Both fires were ignited when wind-blown trees fell on power lines owned by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). The company went into Chapter 11  bankruptcy due to liability claims from the 2018 Camp fire and a series of fires in 2017. After being found liable for $25.5 billion in damages for starting the 2017-2018 fires, I can't comprehend why PG&E didn't shut down power lines during the 2021 wind event that started the Dixie fire.

The tour route stays in the northernmost Sierra Nevada range but has views of Mt. Lassen, the southernmost volcano in the Cascade range. The tour begins on the 25.4 mile unpaved Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail which crests the Sierra Nevada on a gentle 2% rail grade, mostly in the roadless Susan river canyon.

The middle of the route goes down the North Fork Feather river in a remote canyon. I hiked the nature trail to Indian Falls and saw many steel Western Pacific Railroad trestles built 1906-1909. The rest day in Quincy gave me time to explore the town's large historic district. I had a reserved riverside soak at Woody's Feather River hot spring on the way to Belden Resort, a ghost town founded in 1905 for construction of the Western Pacific railroad.

In Chico I visited the Sierra Nevada brewery tasting room for lunch and 2 celebratory beers. I had never been there even though Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA is my favorite beer.

Heart

1

Comment

2

Link

Kelly IniguezI wonder if you get a free beer if you wear the jersey while at the brewery?
Reply to this comment
8 months ago

Wayne EstesTo Kelly IniguezI should get a free beer for wearing the jersey AND pedaling all the way from Susanville for the beer.
Reply to this comment
8 months ago

Log in to comment or reply

The tour ended with a morning out and back trail excursion 5 miles up the canyon of Big Chico creek from the University to Upper Bidwell Park. After lunch I rented a U-Haul 10 foot box truck and drove 110 miles to my parked car in Susanville.

This tour is 3 years after the Dixie fire and 6 years after the Camp fire. I didn't see smoke or fresh black ash, but it was my first time to deliberately travel through the aftermath of large wildfires. The objective was to see the varying degrees of destruction and renewal in the natural landscape and in human communities.