JUNE 7 -- SACRAMENTO

Today's ride was an enjoyable, short 55 miler through the Sacramento Valley's farmlands and the towns of Vacaville and Dixon. We passed by Travis AFB and UC Davis and rode on to the State Capitol.

It was a Florida "flatlander's" dream ride; while riding with Tim Tolford of Maine, he said "This is the flattest ride I've ever been on". (I'll stay in FL.) We will do some tough climbing in a few days when we hit the Sierras--so it was a pleasant ride for all of us. It was again a beautiful, warm, sunny day. We had a lot of fun riding today. We practiced our "pace lines" (drafting tightly behind each other and taking turns at the lead), and had time for stops and sightseeing.

We rode through the UC Davis campus where wine...from grape to wine rack...is a major field of study. All of us shook our heads as we rode past an athletic field where summer school students were taking instruction in fly casting 101! Where was that course when I needed it?

The City of Sacramento impressed us all. The magnificent Capitol Building, the quiet streets (where were all those government administrators?) the "old town" with cobblestone streets and shops, restaurant and bars, and the American River running through it, all make for a beautiful city.

Biking through Sacramento

Tonight at dinner (chicken, ribs, chili, potato salad, garden salad and cookies...all you can eat) Jim Semradek of Orlando, FL, a fellow biker, told me a terrific story of what had happened to him today. It can reinforce your belief in the goodness of your fellow man:

.....The two of us , while cycling around the Capitol building, stopped to take a picture. We laid our bikes down on the ground. When we finished, we got back on the bikes and caught up to the group.

Much later, back at the motel, Jim got a call from his father, who asked him, "Do you have your wallet?" He said , "Yes, in my bike pack". His father asked again...so Jim checked; it was gone.

A man walking near the Capitol found Jim's wallet (which had fallen out of his bike pack) containing his license, a substancial amount of money, credit cards etc. Wanting to return it, he "googled" the name on the license and Jim's father, an author, came up. Somehow the man made contact with Jim's dad and was given the name of our motel. He came to the motel shortly thereafter with the wallet intact. He wanted nothing more than to return it!

Jim is riding across America to celebrate his grad-school graduation. He just received a master's degree in Bible Studies!

         - Bill

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