Day Two - Route Found (and snakes too!)

The day started with us getting a better handle on the navigation required for this journey. Our route developer (also my best friend of 30+ years) Kevin Collins has put the daily plans together for us with turn by turn directions. The route is also loaded on our bike computers. As we make our way across the country, we will reach waypoints that Kevin has defined for us. Once this is accomplished, our bike computers give the 'Route Found' feedback, which is like a win that occurs throughout the day. It's nice to be reminded we are not lost. I met Ian Sims and Justin Starks (no relation to former Knick John Starks!) on the trail today. Ian has a jersey that reads 'to NY or bust'. Turns out, Ian and Justin on our their way to NY as well. They are doing it the old fashion way, by carrying all their gear and camping. I have to admit, I felt a bit embarrassed telling them I was a former infantryman and I am spending nights in hotels.

My feet starting hurting a bit around mile 80 today. I think they swelled in the heat. As I entered the town of Folsom, I was delighted to see a 'Foot Massage' joint. It was like trail magic and I went in for a 15 minutes massage. Feet were much better the rest of the way.

I wore a helmet cam for a couple hours today. Not sure how the footage came out, but I did have it on during opportunistic times, such as a rest stop at a dog park, where my 2 whippets, who are traveling in the SAG vehicle did the frisbee olympics on camera.

The day will be remembered by 2 things for me.

1 - It was longer and expected - 113 miles was the final number. This is because the route is not exactly determined, particularly due to curves in the roads.

2 - Lots of animals - I saw multiple deer, rats (not kidding), a skunk, and 4 rattlesnakes (also not kidding).

The jokes are over tomorrow. The route from Placerville into Lake Tahoe has us gaining 8500 ft and 1 hill is 37 miles long.

I will check in tomorrow - I hope!

To the limit,

/km/