12 hour event: Concord to Sacramento, train back

Join me as we explore the regions beyond the bay, navigating our way to Old Town Sacramento. Our ride will pass through / along Concord, Benicia, Fairfield / Mankas Corner, Vacaville, Winters, Davis before finally winding up in Sacramento where we will return via Amtrak.

This is an 85 mile ride, testing your endurance, patience, and navigation. Because this is a long ride, with few services along the way, please no beginners.

Map: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35474556

I expect everyone to maintain a ride pace of 12-14 mph, with short rest stops every 45-60 minutes. I budget 9 hours to cover the route. If we average 12 mph while riding, that works out to approx. 7 hours riding, with 2 hours for breaks. That way we should make the 5:40 p.m. train (last train!) from Sacramento, which brings us back to Oakland at 7:26 p.m. Per our previous experience in 2018, this is doable. Because of the longer distance of this ride and the fact we are dependent on the train to get us back home, and the last train departs at a fixed time, we will not have time wait for riders who have mechanical failure. Essentially, a flat tire is ok, and someone will hopefully be able to help, but anything else, and you'll be on your own. Another factor will be weather conditions. If the wind is against us, or it rains, then we will be slower.

Here is the Amtrak / capital corridor train schedule : https://www.capitolcorridor.org/schedules/

I would like to try to ride as a group, more or less, until we get to the left turn onto Lyon Rd. at 35 mi. This is a good bail-out point for anyone needing to get back to AMTRAK (Fairfield/Vacaville station, 4 mi. away), By then we'll have a better idea of our realistic ETA in Sacramento. There is also an AMTRAK station in Davis, so if you are lagging or a problem occurs after Fairfield, you can return home using that.

Elevation gain is about 2,000. The route is scenic and nice. Prior meetup event and pictures from 2018: https://www.meetup.com/bikethebaycycists/events/248759229

WE WILL GATHER IN FRONT OF CONCORD BART STATION AT 8:35 A.M. with planned roll-out by 8:50 a.m. A BART train departs 19th St. Oak for Concord @ 7:50 a.m. You can optionally meet us at the entrance to the Bridge (Mococo Rd. and Bridgehead Rd) at ~9:25 a.m. This is about 1.7 mi. from Martinez Amtrak station, where you can park your car all day.

Road conditions vary. In 2018, most of the asphalt was good. Some stretches, esp. Industrial Way in Benicia, the bike/ped path next to Russell Road approaching Davis, and the Yolo Causeway next to I-80 were rugged, with a lot of patches and some potholes.

*** THERE WILL BE NO RESTAURANT STOPS, SIT-DOWN SOCIALS, ETC. SOME OPTIONAL BATHROOM BREAKS ARE INDICATED ON ROUTE MAP (currently @ mile 14 and 25) ***

My phone number is 510-759-6646 (text only) if you have last minute questions.

• What to bring
FACE MASK, Water bottle, sunscreen, SPARE TUBE and patch kit, TIRE PUMP. Tire width recommendation 25mm and above. FOOD (esp. some protein / salty snacks / electroytes.) CASH / WALLET for train ticket, roadside snacks. LIGHTS - our planned return to the East Bay is 7:38 p.m. A HI-VIZ jacket to deal with the weather (including at night). Your cycling computer, if you have one.