Day 99: Sacramento to Vacaville

Yesterday morning, Bob drove me to Old Sacramento and dropped me off by the Tower Bridge. After our farewell, I rode through West Sacramento and got on the bike path toward Davis. Part of the path paralleled route 80. There was only a divider and a fence that separated the path and the interstate highway.

Riding parallel to the highway

When I arrived in Davis it was only around 9:30 AM. I was told by my friend Mario to stop by Woodstock’s Pizza, but the store was closed at this time. I went to B and L Bike Shop to get more air into my rear tire and ended up talking to Dane, the manager, for awhile. He was impressed by my trip and I encouraged him to tour the country on his bike. At Peet’s Coffee around the corner, I had an iced latte macchiato before riding toward Vacaville.

I was on a bike trail again. This one needed some repaving, but I was glad I wasn’t riding on the road with the cars. It was a pleasant ride to Winters with the orchards on the sides of the road and the mountains in the front. As I passed by Winters I thought about stopping by for lunch, but decided not to since the temperature will rise in the afternoon and I told my host, Ben, that I’ll be at his house around noon.

A large wooden bike in the middle of an orchard

About 20 minutes away from Ben’s house I stopped at a bar to get some soda. The ladies there were so interested in my trip that they paid for my drink and gave me $2 for some snacks, which I didn’t use. After cooling down a bit, I rode a few more miles to Ben’s house in Vacaville.

I met Ben and his parents, Bob and Brenda. They are all avid cyclists. Bob and Brenda had done a cross country bike tour last year. Ben had toured in Central and South America on his bike. After I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, we played two games of Rummikub before Ben and I decided to go hang out at a lake.

My hosts: Brenda, Bob, and Ben

Ben drove us to the lake and it was a good time to cool down in the heat. I didn’t stay in the water long, but Ben went in three times. We chatted about life and travel. Ben likes Mexico a lot. I would like to visit there again since I only went there briefly in 2013.

Hanging out at the lake

After the lake, we went to Winters where I bought a cup of frozen yogurt at The Scoop. I also bought Ben a bottle of balsamic vinegar at the local grocery store for tonight’s salad that we will be making.

When we returned home I took a shower. Ben and I prepared a salad, along with rice and beans. We didn’t eat until 9 PM because we got home so late. Ben is a late sleeper, so he might not be up when I leave tomorrow. We said our goodbye before I went to bed.

Today is my last day of riding, I’ll be going to Vallejo and taking the ferry to San Francisco. I plan on eating lunch at Fisherman’s Wharf to celebrate and get in touch with my host, Jack.