Foresthill, Yankee Jims, Colfax.

The finest view from a supermarket that I've ever seen!

I decided to take a day off to enjoy the beautiful Spring weather. What better way to appreciate the conditions than a bike ride? Today, I chose a rather challenging ride for me, a loop that would take me up to Foresthill, across the rough dirt of Yankee Jims road to Colfax, then return to Loomis via Placer Hills Road through Meadow Vista and Auburn.

 View from Old Forest Hill Road.

My route takes me through Auburn via Indian Hill road, then down and up Old Foresthill Road. I avoid the new road due to the endless seismic retrofit work which has been going on the massive Foresthill bridge for a couple of years now, with no end in sight! The lanes open are really too narrow for comfort. I made it up to Foresthill and stopped at Worton's market for a break and to enjoy the view. While there I met a couple of other older cyclists. One was riding an interesting Cervelo, he had a mountain rear derailleur on it which allowed him to use a 34 tooth cog in back. The bike was incredibly light, he said that with the small saddlebag, it weighed 16 lbs! The other impressive thing was the price! He said new ones were around $6,000! He got his used at half that! Wow, Shelly, I hope you appreciate how much money my retro tastes save us! After the break, I started down Yankee Jims Road. This starts with a brisk descent down a good road and eventually you come to the small hamlet of Yankee Jims. No services there. Shortly after that village, the road turns to gravel. This year, the road seems to be in pretty good condition. I believe Cal Fire had some work done during the terrible fire down there last year.

Yankee Jims Road; So far, so good.

At the junction of Yankee Jims and Shirttail Canyon. This is close to the point where the 2012 fire started that threatened Iowa Hill. Also a popular place for target practice evidently.

Plenty of water flowing now, here's a nice waterfall I hadn't noticed before. There's a nice pool at the bottom that would be great for soaking in!

The background is a little busy, but I thought this was a nice shot of the Mercian.

Typical conditions of the rougher stretches of this road. Still, 28c tires were fine.

At the bottom, you cross the North Fork of the American. Here's a look back at the bridge.

Nice panorama; I'm looking back while on the north side of the river now, heading to Colfax.

Road conditions on the north side of the river were better than the south side.

Here I am trying to show the hillside covering of lupine and poppies.

Here's a close-up!

At the start of the pavement, on the way to Colfax.

Back on pavement, I headed for Colfax. I didn't actually go into town, but took the overpass south of town, up to Placer Hills Road. After a short snack break, I headed back to Auburn through Meadow Vista. Climbing out of Meadow Vista I felt the first tingling of a cramp starting in my inner thighs. Gearing down helped and after I started descending they went away and I didn't have anymore trouble.

The bike performed well. The bolt fixing the front fender to the underneath of the fork crown loosened a bit at the start of the ride. I tightened it and it held for the rest of the ride but I will need thread lock for that. It handled the dirt very well, even with 28c tires, it was stable and tracked well. Shifting was very good and my missed shifts are becoming rarer. I feel very comfortable on the bike even after the almost 7 hours I spent on it today!