Day 2: Placerville to Cooks Station

April 30, 2010

The temperature was in the upper 30's early in the morning. Up at 7, on the road at 8:45. It was cold in the shade but not bad in the sun.

From the RV park we took Mother Lode road to Pleasant Valley road. Steady uphill with steady traffic. I expected the traffic to disappear when we got east of Placerville, but it persisted 10 more miles until we turned onto Bucks Bar road.

Our first distant view of the Sierra Nevada from a hilltop south of Placerville.

The trend is uphill but there are also two big downhills to cross forks of the Cosumnes river.

North Fork Cosumnes River crossing Bucks Bar Road.

Lunch was excellent at the Gold Vine Grill. I will miss the cosmopolitan dining when we get out in the boondocks.

Lunch at the only cafe in Somerset. The name evokes both gold rush and wine country.

Middle Fork Cosumnes river crossing Mt. Aukum road.

After Somerset is Fair Play which isn't really a town. It's just an area with dozens of wineries. No convenience stores or other services.

Some of the many wineries along Fair Play road.

Genuine rural cycling began when we turned onto Omo Ranch road. It climbs steadily with no traffic. The forest changes from oak to pine, and eventually to fir. The trees have been thinned just enough to have the occasional mountain view. Finally a great cycling road. It took longer than expected to escape the traffic.

Bil Paul climbing through oak savanna on Omo Ranch road.

The forest changes to conifers as we gain elevation.

At 4000 feet elevation we started to see snow in shady areas.

Snow-covered clearcuts on a nearby mountain.

After 15 uphill miles Omo Ranch road ends at highway 88. A couple miles up highway 88 is our destination. Cooks Station, a former Pony Express stop. It's just a restaurant now. There is no campground but I knew from other bike tour journals that it's possible to camp behind the restaurant. What I didn't know is that the restaurant is closed for the month of May. Ski season ends at the end of April and the summer tourist season doesn't start until June when the snow is gone from most of the high country. After a day of massive climbing I looked forward to a big high-calorie restaurant meal. But no such luck. We set up camp on the muddy ground. It just snowed 3 days earlier and the snow is almost all melted now. The elevation is 5000 feet and we were tired and cold. We got water from a nearby house but there was no toilet available to us. Definitely not the best campsite of the trip.

Muddy free campsite at Cooks Station, where the recent snow still hasn't all melted.

Today was a hard day. More climbing than I prefer, especially at the beginning of a tour. But camping options are limited and we need to get as high as possible today to get across the snow zone tomorrow. Tomorrow will be just as difficult.

Distance: 41.6 mi. (67 km)

Climbing: 5767 ft. (1747 m)

Average speed: 6.2 mph (10 km/h)

Maximum speed: 40.5 mph (65 km/h)

Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 96 miles (154 km)

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