flbc42

Hi I'm a newbie on here. I'm flying in from the UK in May. I'm planning to cycle out to Folsom to visit my cousin.

Looking on google maps the distance seems to vary - not quite sure what I'm doing wrong!

So my questions:
How far is it roughly? I've looked at napa route but don't fancy that, just from east side of Bay to Folsom.

Any recommendations for cycle friendly routes?

I'm brining my camping gear but my cousin warms me the weather might not be good for camping ;(. At this stage I'm not even sure how many days it will take.

Any advice very welcome.

Many thanks in advance.

Fran 🚴🏽*♀️🚴🏽*♀️

B. Carfree

While it's not the route I used to take when I lived there twenty years ago, here's part of the route from a local club in the East Bay that is known for selecting good routes. This one starts in Martinez at the Amtrak station and ends in Davis, but you should be able to route yourself from Davis to Folsom without any problem. They're actually doing this ride on April 15.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/18931082

You might want to contact the Valley Spokesmen for more detailed knowledge or alternative routes. They also do a delta ride that overnights in Sacramento that might be a better choice as far as where you are going.

Valley Spokesmen Bicycle Club - Home

cyber.snow

If you go the Davis route, there is a decent trail directly to Sacramento where you can connect to the American River trail that takes you right into Folsom.

raybo

I have ridden the ACA Western Express Trail from San Francisco past Folsom to Carson City (and back).

I took the ferry from San Francisco to Vallejo and started riding from there. I had friends in Davis, where I stopped for the night.

There is a bike lane from Davis to Sacramento that is right next to the freeway. From Sacramento, you can take the American River trail (as mentioned above) that takes you to Folsom. Note that the trail has thorn bushes all along it and flat tires are common, so take a patch kit and/or extra tube.

I wrote a journal of that ride. Here is a link to the journal's first day from SF to Davis.

Salamandrine 

^^^ That looks like a good route. I'll have to try it sometime. +1 on taking the ferry boat from SF to Vallejo. It's a pretty ride, and an easy way to avoid the nastier bits of the east bay.

To answer the OP, it's probably about 140 miles, give or take, depending on which country roads you take. There are endless combinations. You could also go through the delta.

BTW there's nothing wrong with camping in norcal and the Sacramento area. I'm from there originally. You won't even need a tent in late spring or summer most of the time. Worst thing that can happen is a visit from a curious skunk at night. (don't scare it! )

Medic Zero

It might not be a problem this time of year, but "goatheads" can be a serious issue in some of the areas that you'll be travelling through. These are plant thorns that are caltrop shaped and in some years they are all over and any straying from the tarmac may result in flats. I didn't remember them being an issue when I grew up in the area, but when I went back to visit a few years ago (and cycle tour from Sacramento to the coast and then up to Clear Lake) a local bike shop warned me about them and I did get one flat from them. Just make sure you have a spare tube or three and a patch kit.

stevepusser

I'm also curious why your cousin doesn't think the weather in May wouldn't be good for camping. I'll bet you'll also get tailwinds the whole way.

Flash-sideways to Montana thread: "Goatheads" are an example of a noxious invasive species that could possibly be spread by bicycle, but I'd bet that 99.99999% of the distribution is via motor vehicle tires.

cyber.snow

You really shouldn't have any problems with camping, just make sure you don't decide to camp in the neighborhood or area around the mouth of the American River. Other than that, you should be safe.

Goat heads can be a pain as the summer warms up and things dry out. But it is good advice to ride on puncture resistant tires and to carry extra tubes, patch kit and a good pump.

Good Luck!

Doug64

Darth Lefty 

Keep an eye on conditions in Discovery Park. We had flooding this winter and there's still spring runoff coming down. By May, it might be all right. Take the south side of Lake Natoma.

The American River bike trail officially ends at Beals Point on Folsom Lake but you might want to backtrack from there and ride across the new bridge to look at the dam and see the very new Johnny Cash bike overpass. The Tour of California has used this stretch a few times as a TT stage. The west end of the bridge road has a terrific bike shop and coffee bar called Folsom Bike and Folsom Grind. Other Folsom bike feeding areas are a sandwich shop called Coffee Republic, and Karen's Bakery next to Mike's Bikes.

This area is bonkers for bicycles. There's bike trails all over town, regional mountain bike areas, clubs like FATRAC and FABA, BMX bike parks and so on. May is bike month in Sacramento county and it's always great riding weather. Good to have you!

stevepusser

There's an exceptionally heavy snowpack this year in the Sierra, so I'd expect river levels to remain high through the spring into at least early summer. Parts of the American River trail were flooded during the big winter storms when the Folsom Dam operators were forced to release a very heavy flow...They are also actually worried about too much snowmelt in the Owens Valley (east side of southern Sierra) overwhelming and damaging the system that appropriates most of the runoff for the Los Angeles metroplex.

flbc42

Hey everyone, thanks so much for your posts, links, photos. I'm really looking forward to my trip now and feel much more informed of what to expect.

Darth Lefty 

@flbc42 did you make it? Everything is lovely here, the temp has been swinging up and down a bit but the weather has been clear. Discovery Park and the northwest side of Lake Natoma are still blocked, but there are plenty of other ways to go.