For my past 5 or 6 birthdays I've taken a long bike ride or short tour to get away from the 4th of July fanfare (my birthday is July 5th). There's also something special about taking a long solo ride and I find my birthday is the perfect opportunity to do it.
This year I wanted to stretch my range so I planned to take Amtrak to Truckee then ride to meet my partner Grace in Nevada City 2 days later.
Grace sitting by her Saluki and my Atlantis before I boarded the train to Sacramento.
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My Atlantis loaded up in the cargo hold of a Truckee-bound bus in Sacramento.
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Self portrait on Emigrant trail in Truckee after I dug through my bag and realized I had forgotten the small tripod I used last year.
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Old Fibreboard Road at about 4000'. Living at sea level and riding at elevation is challenging and fun!
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I camped at Jackson Meadows Campground after riding for about 5 hours. The mosquitos were in full effect, so I had my dinner in my tent and only took a few phone photos. I still got about a dozen bites.
My minimal camp setup among the big trucks and RV's
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A small waterfall on the side of Bowman Lake Road the next morning. It is blurry because I was getting ravaged by mosquitos. There were many photos I didn't take because the sheer number of bugs kept me from stopping. While I was taking this photo 3 mosquitos caught up to me. I think they were following me up that climb.
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Bowman Lake Road to Rucker Lake
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I was riding on jeep roads and didn't see another bike the whole time. The cars that passed me all seemed surprised to see me. There were tons of overlander-ed TRD's and raptors with a full kit of gear. It was nice to think about how I could travel the same roads and do similar activities by bicycle.
The rest of the route was a quick descent on trail and road. I made such good time to my second night camp spot that I decided to continue riding.
I had to reroute after I realized my highway bypass was closed. I rode on the highway for about 5 minutes before a driver with his bike in the bed of his truck stopped and offered me a ride to my the hotel where I had planned to meet Grace. I gladly accepted and threw my bike in his truck because I was tired and I hadn't planned on riding the busy highway on July 4th.
Grace, our dog Blue, and I spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying the lack of fireworks.
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Bonus photo of Blue on the beach of the Yuba River on my birthday.